Yangcheon-gu (District Mayor Lee Ki-jae) announced that it derived the optimal route plan for the “construction of Sinwolsa-geori Station and relocation of Sinjeong Depot” through the Seoul Subway Line 2 Sinjeong Branch Gimpo Extension Project and submitted the route plan to Seoul City for reflection as a new project in the “5th Metropolitan Area Wide-area Transportation Implementation Plan” (‘26~’30).
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▲[Korean Today] Yangcheon-gu, ‘Line 2 Shinjeong Branch Gimpo Extension’ Optimal Route Plan Submitted to Seoul City © Reporter Byun A-rong |
The ‘Metropolitan Area Wide-area Transportation Implementation Plan’ is a statutory plan that must be established every five years according to the Metropolitan Transportation Act, and must be reflected in the higher-level statutory plan before the railway project can be promoted after going through preliminary feasibility studies, etc.
In order to realize the common goal of expanding the railway network with Gimpo City, the district signed a ‘Sinjeong Branch Line Gimpo Extension Business Agreement’ in March and has been conducting a preliminary feasibility study since July. As a result, Yangcheon-gu was able to solve the problems of building a new Sinwol Intersection Station and relocating the Sinjeong Depot, and Gimpo City was able to alleviate congestion on the Gimpo Gold Line, thereby presenting an optimal win-win solution that simultaneously addresses the major long-standing issues of both local governments.
The route that was selected as the best alternative is a plan that extends the route from the end of Line 2, Sinjeong Branch, to Kkachisan Station, about 2.4 km, and connects to Gimpo, Gyeonggi-do via Sinwol Intersection. This is expected to solve the chronic inter-regional traffic problem by building a new railway network that connects southern Seoul and the northwestern part of Gyeonggi-do.
In addition, the economic feasibility (B/C) of this project can be secured by relocating the new vehicle depot to Gimpo City and reflecting the development profits from the development of the existing site, so the city plans to increase its competitiveness through high-density development in the city center in the future.
Meanwhile, as cooperation from Seoul City, which has the authority to establish the railway network plan, is essential for promoting the railway project, the district has continued consultations with related organizations such as Seoul City and Seoul Metro. In particular, after delivering a business agreement to the mayor of Seoul in March, the district explained the optimal route plan during a meeting with the mayor on December 4 and actively requested that it be reflected in the ‘5th Metropolitan Area Wide Area Transportation Implementation Plan’.
If the optimal route plan derived from this preliminary feasibility study is reflected in the 5th Metropolitan Area Wide Area Transportation Implementation Plan after review by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, administrative procedures such as a preliminary feasibility study by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance will be carried out in the future.
Yangcheon-gu District Mayor Lee Ki-jae said, “In order for this project to get on track, it is essential to reflect it in the legal plan,” and added, “I will do my best to ensure that the optimal route derived from this preliminary feasibility study is reflected in the 5th Metropolitan Area Wide-area Transportation Implementation Plan so that it goes beyond the simple concept stage and becomes a reality.”
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