Will the Pyeongtaek-Bubal Railway Pass the Preliminary Feasibility Study?

Ministry of Strategy and Finance Holds SOC Subcommittee Meeting...
59.4km Connection from Pyeongtaek Station to Anseong, Yongin, and Bubal Station
Jung Jangsun, Pyeongtaek Mayor: "If the new line is established, the east-west export and import logistics system will be dramatically improved"

The "Pyeongtaek-Bubal Railway Construction Project," which connects Pyeongtaek City in Gyeonggi Province with Anseong, Yongin, and Icheon, has entered the final stage of its full-scale feasibility assessment.

According to Pyeongtaek City on the 23rd, the Fiscal Project Evaluation Committee of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance held a Social Overhead Capital (SOC) Subcommittee meeting on the 20th at the main building of the Korea Development Institute (KDI) in Sejong City.

On the 20th, local government heads from southern Gyeonggi Province prayed for the preliminary feasibility study approval of the Pyeongtaek-Bubal line at the SOC Subcommittee of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance's Fiscal Project Evaluation Committee held at the Korea Development Institute (KDI). Provided by Pyeongtaek City

This project has been a long-term initiative, first included in the National Backbone Transportation Network Plan in 1999 and subsequently discussed multiple times as part of the National Rail Network Construction Plan. The planned route spans 59.4 kilometers from Pyeongtaek Station, passing through Anseong and Yongin, to Bubal Station in Icheon. It will also connect with the Poseung-Pyeongtaek Line, the Pyeongtaek-Bubal Line, the Yeoju-Wonju Line, and the Wonju-Gangneung Line.

If the railway is established, travel time from Pyeongtaek to Gangneung will be reduced from the current 3 hours to about 1 hour and 20 minutes, cutting the duration by more than half. This is expected to dramatically improve accessibility between southern Gyeonggi Province in the Seoul metropolitan area and the east coast of Gangwon Province.

The committee meeting held that day was a key procedure to review the project's final validity. The governors of Gyeonggi Province and the four relevant local governments attended in person, jointly emphasizing the importance of building the railway network.

Pyeongtaek Mayor Jung Jangsun stated, "The Pyeongtaek-Bubal railway is not just a transportation network but a national logistics artery that innovatively connects east and west Korea and serves as a gateway to realizing a mega-regional economic zone. If the project is implemented, the east-west export and import logistics system centered on Pyeongtaek Port will be significantly strengthened."

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance plans to comprehensively review the project's economic feasibility, policy relevance, and regional balanced development effects discussed at this subcommittee and announce the results of the preliminary feasibility study between June and July.