Additional Entrance to Suwon Line Gosaek Station to Be Installed

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] An additional entrance to Gosaek Station on the Suwon Line, which will open in the latter half of this year, will traverse beneath National Route 43 (Maesong-Gosaek Road), allowing residents on the north side of Gosaek-dong to use the station more conveniently and safely.

Suwon City and Korea Railroad Facility Corporation signed an agreement on the second to establish the "Additional Entrance (4th) Installation Project for Gosaek Station" at Suwon City Hall, attended by Mayor Yeom Tae-young and Kim Sang-gyun, President of Korea Railroad Facility Corporation.

Under the agreement, the city will bear approximately 9.5 billion won in additional installation costs, and Korea Railroad Facility Corporation will carry out construction to add one more entrance on the opposite side of Maesong-Gosaek Road.

The fourth entrance to be installed across Maesong-Gosaek Road will be connected to Gosaek Station via an underground passage. It will be equipped with escalators and elevators to provide improved railroad accessibility to transit-disadvantaged users.

Initially, the city and corporation signed an agreement in March 2013 on the "Underground Development Project for the Section 2 of Suwon Line in Suwon City" and planned three entrances at Gosaek Station.

Accordingly, residents on the north side of National Route 43 (Maesong-Gosaek Road) had to cross a major road spanning seven lanes (25 meters) via an overpass or crosswalk to use Gosaek Station.

However, the city determined that an additional entrance across Maesong-Gosaek Road was necessary for the safety and convenience of residents. Beginning in October 2016, the city requested additional review and, after three years of continuous consultation, successfully secured the installation of the fourth entrance.

Once the entrance is additionally installed in the direction of Gosaek Elementary School, passengers will be able to move directly to Gosaek Station's waiting room using an approximately 78-meter-long underground connecting passage.

In particular, transit-disadvantaged users such as children and the elderly are expected to be able to use railroad services safely and conveniently without crossing the major road.

The city and corporation plan to proceed with necessary administrative procedures and construction after the opening of the Suwon Line in the latter half of this year, with the goal of making the fourth entrance of Gosaek Station available by the end of next year.

Kim Sang-gyun, President of Korea Railroad Facility Corporation, said, "Since the fourth entrance will be installed with the city bearing the costs, we will do our best to ensure that students and the elderly can use it safely and comfortably," and added, "We will cooperate so that Suwon can become a center of railroad transportation once again through future projects such as the Suwon-originated KTX."

Mayor Yeom Tae-young said, "I am grateful to the residents of West Suwon who believed and waited until this year's opening after several years of effort following the Suwon Line underground development agreement," and added, "We will strive to make Gosaek Station a central axis for balanced development between the east and west of Suwon, including the upper park development and connecting passages, as well as this additional entrance installation."