Uiwang City Holds Preliminary Feasibility Study Interim Report Meeting for GTX-C Uiwang Station Stop

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Uiwang City held an interim report meeting on a preliminary feasibility study on the 25th at the city hall conference room to promote a Uiwang Station stop on the GTX-C Metropolitan Express Rail line being advanced by the government.

About 20 attendees participated in the report meeting, including Mayor Kim Sang-don, City Council Speaker Yun Mi-geun, National Assembly Member-elect Lee So-young, professors and experts in railway and transportation fields, and members of companies and private organizations in the area.

During the report meeting, the city emphasized that the greatest advantage of Uiwang Station, presented at an expert consultation meeting held on the 21st of last month, is that conditions for utilizing the GTX station building and depot facilities are secured.

In particular, the city explained that if the spare track lines at Uiwang Station are utilized as a waiting space for the first GTX train departing from Suwon, it can resolve the vehicle depot issue in the southern region, and this is an advantageous factor in terms of economic feasibility as it can significantly reduce project costs for new station construction and depot facility construction.

Additionally, the location is accessible not only to Uiwang citizens but also to residents of adjacent areas of Gunpo and Suwon where public transportation conditions are poor. In particular, with Uiwang Station as a hub, reconstructions in the Bugok area and land development projects in the Woram District, Chopyeong District, and Uiwang Technopark, as well as industrial complex development are underway, forecasting that future demand for use will significantly increase due to continuous population inflow.

Reflecting these factors, the cost-benefit analysis results for the GTX Uiwang Station stop were presented as confirming economic viability. The existing train operation plan on the Gyeongbu Line can be optimized to maintain track capacity without train interference, and compared to the average distance between GTX-C line stations of approximately 8 km, the distance between Geumjeong and Suwon is 14 km longer, so the decline in express speed from the Uiwang Station stop is at a negligible level, and it was reported that there are no technical issues.

Meanwhile, the city plans to submit interim results on project feasibility including technical review and economic analysis results of this service to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in early next month, requesting that the Uiwang Station stop review be reflected in the GTX-C line basic design service scheduled to be completed in the latter half of this year.

Mayor Kim Sang-don stated, "This interim report meeting was an opportunity for all attendees to understand the necessity of the Uiwang Station stop for balanced development in the southern Gyeonggi region and to confirm the possibility of attracting it through securing technical and economic feasibility," and added, "I will do my best to ensure that Uiwang Station is reflected in the GTX-C line plan for the future development of the area around Uiwang Station, which has been neglected due to regulations such as the development restriction zone."