GTX-C Line Breaks Ground, Bringing 'Railway Special City Suwon' One Step Closer to Completion

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] The Capital Area Express Railway Line C (GTX-C), which departs from Suwon Station and passes through Indukwon Station, Samsung Station and Cheongnyangni Station (Seoul), and Uijeongbu Station before reaching Deokjeong Station (Yangju), has broken ground. This marks another step closer to completing 'Railway Special City Suwon.'

The GTX-C line groundbreaking ceremony held on the 25th at the Uijeongbu City Hall multipurpose gymnasium was attended by President Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Hyun-su, First Vice Mayor of Suwon, as well as mayors and vice mayors of local governments along the GTX-C route.

The GTX-C line, scheduled to open in 2028, spans a total length of 86.46 km (14 stations). Once the GTX-C line opens, travel time from Suwon Station to Samsung Station (Seoul) will be just 27 minutes, and reaching northern Gyeonggi Province will take less than an hour, dramatically reducing commute times.

The project is being carried out by GTX Corporation, which signed an implementation agreement last August. As a private-sector project, total project costs of 4.6084 trillion won will be invested.

Once all railway network construction projects currently underway, including the GTX-C line, are completed, Suwon Station will be established as a 'hub for the wide-area railway network of southern Gyeonggi Province.'

The number of subway stations has grown from four in 2012 to over 20, and travel times from Suwon to major areas in the metropolitan region and major stations nationwide will be drastically reduced.

The Shinbundang Line section from Jeongja Station to Gwanggyo Station opened in 2016, making it possible to travel from Gwanggyo Station to Gangnam Station in Seoul in the mid-30s minutes (37 minutes). In 2020, the third phase of the Suin Line double-track project from Suwon Station to Han Dae-ap Station (19.9 km) opened, completing the entire Suin Line after 25 years.

The 'Shinbundang Line Gwanggyo to Homaesil Extension Project,' which passed preliminary feasibility review in January 2020, is scheduled to break ground, while the 'Dongtan Indukwon Line Double-Track Railway Construction Project,' which runs from Indukwon (Anyang) through Suwon to Dongtan (Hwaseong), is also set to break ground soon.

Once the Shinbundang Line extension from Gwanggyo to Homaesil (10.1 km) opens, travel from Homaesil to Gangnam will be possible in under 50 minutes. This cuts roughly in half the approximately 100 minutes it currently takes by wide-area bus during rush hour.

The Dongtan Indukwon Line, which connects Indukwon (Anyang) to Uiwang, Suwon, Yongin (Heungdeok), and Hwaseong (Dongtan), will be built across a 37.1 km section. In the Suwon section (13.7 km, construction blocks 4-9), six stations are planned.

The 'Suwon KTX Direct Connection Project,' which constructs railroad connecting Seojongni Station and Jije Station to make Suwon Station a KTX departure hub, and the Dongtan Urban Railroad (Tram) Mangpo Station extension project are also underway. Additionally, Suwon is pursuing a 'Seoul Line 3 Extension and Southern Gyeonggi Wide-Area Railway Joint Project' with Yongin, Seongnam, and Hwaseong cities and Gyeonggi Province.

The Suwon KTX Direct Connection Project involves constructing railroad connecting Seojongni Station on the Gyeongbu Line and Jije Station on the Suseo High-Speed Railway to establish Suwon Station as a KTX departure hub. Currently, there are four daily KTX departures to Busan (on weekdays), but once the Suwon KTX Direct Connection Project is completed, the number of services will increase significantly, and KTX service to Mokpo will also be operated.

The Seoul Line 3 Extension and Southern Gyeonggi Wide-Area Railway Joint Project aims to improve transportation conditions in southern Gyeonggi Province and proactively address large-scale development projects by expanding wide-area subway lines from Seoul through Seongnam, Yongin, and Suwon to Hwaseong.

Suwon City and Yongin, Seongnam, Hwaseong cities, and Gyeonggi Province signed a 'Mutual Cooperation Agreement for the Promotion of Seoul Line 3 Extension and Southern Gyeonggi Wide-Area Railway Joint Project' in February last year, pledging cooperation.

In August last year, Suwon City commissioned 'Seoul Line 3 Extension and Southern Gyeonggi Wide-Area Railway Basic Concept and Preliminary Feasibility Study.' The study is being pursued jointly with Gyeonggi Province, Yongin, Seongnam, and Hwaseong cities, with costs shared equally. Based on the study results, the goal is to reflect the Seoul Line 3 Extension and Southern Gyeonggi Wide-Area Railway Joint Project in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 'Fifth National Railway Network Construction Plan.'

Suwon Mayor Lee Jae-joon said, "The dream of our citizens for the 'Suwon-Gangnam 30-minute era' is becoming a near reality," and "The efforts our city has exerted to expedite the start of construction have finally borne fruit." He continued, "Our Suwon is the core of the metropolitan wide-area transportation system," pledging, "We will construct a dense grid-patterned railway network to become the best transportation hub in southern Gyeonggi Province."