[Thinking of Seoul While Walking] GTX Speed and Seoul Road Improvements

Opening of GTX-A Line in 2024
The World's Fastest Transit Network
Integrated Railway System for Seoul and Gyeonggi
Chronic Road Congestion Persists
Underground Expressways and Major Roads
Solutions That Highlight Seoul's Unique Charm Needed

The year 2024 marks a significant turning point in the history of Seoul's transportation. This is because the metropolitan express railway GTX Line A, which connects Seoul’s original downtown and Gangnam to northern and southern Gyeonggi Province, has been opened. Now, it takes about 20 minutes to travel from Unjeong in Paju, Gyeonggi Province to Seoul Station, and about 20 minutes from Dongtan to Suseo. When the final section of Line A, connecting Seoul Station to Suseo, is opened as planned in 2028, the impact of this change will be even more strongly felt. With the opening of Lines B and C scheduled for 2030, Seoul and Gyeonggi Province will truly have an integrated railway network.

While there are cases of large cities with integrated railway networks, GTX represents a leap forward. In existing integrated railway networks of major cities, stations in the original downtown areas serve as terminals where passengers must transfer to other means of transportation to continue their journey. Examples include Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station and New York’s Grand Central Terminal. Shinjuku Station, with about 3.5 million daily users, is considered the busiest station in the world. Although some passengers have Shinjuku as their final destination, most must transfer to other transportation modes to reach other stations in central Tokyo. Grand Central Terminal has far fewer users compared to Shinjuku, but most passengers must also transfer to other means such as the subway after disembarking. Although the partially opened GTX-A line is currently in a similar state, once all sections are operational, it will be usable in the same way as existing subways.

The speed has also become astonishingly fast. GTX is faster than any other public transportation system in any city. Among global public transit systems, only Guangzhou Metro Lines 18 and 22 in China are faster than GTX. Thanks to GTX, residents of Gyeonggi Province can enter Seoul much faster and more conveniently. There is also growing anticipation that the commuting time for office workers will be drastically reduced, thereby improving their quality of life.

Is everything only positive? As expected, there are also considerable criticisms of GTX. Concerns include accelerating the concentration in the metropolitan area and worries about rising real estate prices around stations. There are also voices criticizing that the gap with major cities lacking metropolitan railway networks will widen.

However, it is hard to deny that GTX symbolizes the excellence and advancement of Seoul’s public transportation. It is not only the fastest public transit network in the world but also not an experimental line targeting specific sections. It is highly praised for its very long routes covering wide areas while conveniently connecting with existing transportation networks.

Vehicles on Seoul Olympic-daero. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

GTX is the result of 50 years of continuous technological development since the opening of Seoul Subway Line 1 in 1974. Seoul, which barely opened a single subway line 50 years ago, has since become a city with the fastest metropolitan railway in the world.

Unlike the subway and train systems, which have made remarkable progress over the past 50 years, road development has lagged behind. At the end of the 20th century, Seoul suffered from severe traffic congestion as its population surged, similar to other major cities in developing countries. To solve this problem, from the 1980s, Seoul simultaneously built subways and worked hard on highways and road maintenance. Although traffic congestion has gradually improved in the 21st century, interest in roads as a transportation mode began to decline. The introduction of bus-only lanes narrowed major roads, and the highway entry system has not changed much since then. Discussions on how to improve Seoul’s still heavily congested roads have also stalled.

Looking at various cities worldwide, two clear trends emerge regarding road improvements. One is to redesign roads as spaces where people can walk and play. Some cities even eliminate roads entirely, but more commonly, roads are narrowed. For example, Paris’s Champs-?lys?es and New York’s Fifth Avenue are planned to be redesigned as pedestrian-centered streets.

The other trend is the introduction of “congestion charges” during rush hours in commercial areas with heavy vehicle traffic. Starting in Singapore in 1975, this has been implemented in London and Milan, and New York has also begun introducing it in Manhattan’s commercial district. This encourages drivers to park outside the boundary and use public transportation to enter the commercial area, while also generating public funds from those who bring cars inside. However, since many people dislike congestion charges, there is a political burden. Norway’s Oslo offers a noteworthy example by eliminating parking lots inside commercial areas and encouraging public transportation and bicycle use instead of charging fees, thereby reducing the number of vehicles on the roads.

The purpose of these trends is clearly to curb vehicles, especially private cars. This is one of the measures against climate change and also helps improve various aspects of urban environments. So, how should Seoul apply these?

Seoul is a mix of many things. Unlike old European cities, it lacks many consistently maintained landscapes. It has a high population density with many buildings and commercial areas clustered in one place. Although alleys have mostly disappeared, there are many narrow roads where pedestrians and various modes of transportation move considerately alongside each other. It is inconvenient, but the vibrancy felt in these narrow spaces is perhaps Seoul’s charm.

How about maximizing Seoul’s unique charm and applying GTX’s sense of speed? Rather than restrictive policies like congestion charges that suppress vehicle inflow into the city center, which some cities implement, wouldn’t it be a more Seoul-like and future-oriented solution to consider ways for vehicles to flow quickly and conveniently within the city? For example, since GTX runs underground, it can maintain high speeds even in densely populated areas. Inspired by this, if even parts of highways and major roads were moved underground, vehicles could travel much faster, and noise and dust on the surface could be reduced. The space thus secured could be used for pedestrians and bicycles. Only by thoughtfully balancing cutting-edge public transportation, pedestrian-friendly walkways, and roads suitable for running can Seoul find the most fitting solution. I propose actively exploring ways to apply the speed experience of GTX beyond the rails.

Robert Fauzer, Former Professor at Seoul National University