Suseo-Dongtan Section Opened in March Last Year
Unjeongjungang-Seoul Station Section Opened in December Last Year
The metropolitan express railroad (GTX)-A line in the Seoul metropolitan area has marked its first anniversary since opening. The southern section from Suseo to Dongtan began operation on March 30 last year, and the northern section from Unjeongjungang to Seoul Station was sequentially opened from December 28 of the same year.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 1st that the cumulative number of passengers on the GTX-A line over the past year reached 7,710,783. Four million one hundred thousand passengers used the Suseo-Dongtan section, and 3.6 million passengers used the Unjeongjungang-Seoul Station section within just three months. Until April last year, when the Suseo-Dongtan section had just opened, about 7,700 people used it daily on average, but with the northern section starting operation, the average daily ridership on a weekly basis increased about eightfold to around 62,000 by the end of last month.
The average daily ridership on the Suseo-Dongtan section is 11,214. As of the end of last month, it increased to 16,171, reaching about 75% of the initial forecast. The Unjeongjungang-Seoul Station section has an average daily ridership of 39,321. In early January this year, shortly after opening, it was only about 67% of the forecast, but by the end of last month, it rapidly increased to about 91%.
The section with the highest average daily ridership is the Unjeongjungang-Seoul Station section. The Kintex-Seoul Station section ranked second. These two sections accounted for 39% of the total ridership. In the southern section, the Suseo-Dongtan ridership was the highest at 11% of the total.
Reducing travel time was effective. Before the GTX opened, traveling from Paju to Seoul Station took 46 minutes by subway and 66 minutes by express bus. GTX takes 22 minutes. The Suseo-Dongtan section takes 75 minutes by express bus, but only 21 minutes by GTX.
The station with the highest average daily ridership is Seoul Station, accounting for about 31% of the total. Unjeongjungang Station and Kintex Station followed. It was found that ridership increased significantly when major events were held at Kintex. By time of day, weekdays saw peak usage during commuting hours, and weekends in the afternoon. By day of the week, Friday had the highest ridership. Considering that Saturday was the second highest, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport analyzed that there is considerable weekend leisure demand as well.
The Suseo-Dongtan section increased the number of trips from 52 to 60 each for up and down directions starting December 28 last year. The Unjeongjungang-Seoul Station section increased trips from 112 to 141 each for up and down directions early last month. The interval between trains during commuting hours was reduced from 10 minutes to 6 minutes. Following the opening of Guseong Station in June last year, additional entrances were opened at Dongtan Station and Yeonsinnae Station. The Ministry explained that they are steadily improving transportation infrastructure by adding connecting bus routes at Dongtan Station and opening roads, thereby enhancing passenger convenience.
Over the past year, the GTX-A line has operated a total of 2,781,881 km, equivalent to 70 laps around the Earth. There have been no railway accidents during the operation period. To complete the entire line, construction began at the unopened Changneung Station at the end of last month. Samsung Station aims for non-stop passage next year and full opening in 2028. Once non-stop passage at Samsung Station is achieved, the entire GTX-A line will be connected in one go.
Yoon Jin-hwan, Director of the Railway Bureau at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "The GTX-A line is greatly contributing to alleviating commuting difficulties between Seoul and the northern and southern districts of Gyeonggi Province," adding, "We will prioritize safety and quality to complete the unfinished sections at Changneung and Samsung stations on schedule so that more people can benefit."
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