Mayor Donggeun Kim: "Focusing Policy Capabilities on Inclusion in the 5th Metropolitan Transportation Implementation Plan"

Reviewing Railway Plans and Discussing Implementation Strategies with the Railway Policy Advisory Panel
Uijeongbu City Strongly Promotes Double-Tracking of the Dobongsan-Okjeong Line

Uijeongbu City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Donggeun Kim) announced on the 21st that it held the "12th Railway Policy Advisory Meeting" in the small conference room at City Hall on the 18th, where it reviewed the progress of the "Pre-feasibility Study for the Optimization of Uijeongbu City's Railway Network" project.

Mayor Donggeun Kim is conducting the "12th Railway Policy Advisory Meeting" on the 18th. Photo by Uijeongbu City

This meeting was organized to share key analysis results and discuss the validity of prioritization and future implementation strategies with the railway policy advisory panel, as the city’s railway network research project is entering its final stage.

Launched in March 2023, this project aims to establish comprehensive implementation plans to efficiently promote currently planned railway projects, including the extension of Line 8 to Uijeongbu, the discovery of new railway projects, the extension of the Metropolitan Express Railway (GTX), and the light rail extension.

Based on this, the city has proposed optimal alternatives for major routes, including the extension of Line 8 to Uijeongbu, the GTX-F route passing through Minlak, and the double-tracking of the Dobongsan-Okjeong Line. The city has also formally requested that these projects be included in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's "5th National Railway Network Construction Plan" and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's "5th Metropolitan Transportation Implementation Plan."

In particular, the necessity of double-tracking the "Dobongsan-Okjeong Metropolitan Railway," which is the extension section of Line 7, emerged as a key agenda item at the meeting.

The advisory committee members pointed out that, given the current plan to extend the Okjeong-Pocheon section as a double track while the Dobongsan-Okjeong Line remains a single track, and considering the expected increase in future demand, the current single-track plan could severely limit the stability and capacity of train services.

Accordingly, it was suggested that double-tracking is needed to improve operational efficiency and minimize delays. The committee also emphasized that the current single-track construction of the Dobongsan-Okjeong Line makes it difficult to ensure punctuality and reliability of train operations, and that there are limitations to increasing the number of trains in the future. Therefore, they stressed that reviewing double-tracking at this stage is now an urgent and unavoidable task.

Uijeongbu City plans to focus its administrative efforts and begin full-scale consultations with relevant agencies so that key routes, such as the extension of Line 8 to Uijeongbu, the GTX-F route via Minlak, and the double-tracking of the Dobongsan-Okjeong Line, can be included in the 5th National Railway Network Construction Plan and the 5th Metropolitan Transportation Implementation Plan.

Mayor Donggeun Kim stated, "We will continue to urge Gyeonggi Province and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to ensure that the double-tracking of the Dobongsan-Okjeong Line is implemented without fail," adding, "We will also concentrate all our policy capabilities to ensure that the extension of Line 8 is included in the 5th Metropolitan Transportation Implementation Plan."