The western metropolitan express railway (GTX-D) route connecting downtown Seoul and the western metropolitan area will be released in June. The market is inferring the stop station using the southern metropolitan express train that was promoted by Seoul as a skeleton, but as the GTX has a great impact, the nerves between local governments such as Gyeonggi and Incheon are fierce.
GTX is an express train that connects downtown Seoul from the outskirts of the metropolitan area such as Gyeonggi and Incheon. It runs through a tunnel less than 40m underground and runs at a maximum speed of 200 km/h and at least three times faster than a regular subway, allowing you to connect from the entire metropolitan area to downtown Seoul within an hour. Currently, three routes are planned: A (Paju-Dongtan), B (Namyangju-Songdo), and C (Yangju-Suwon). The’Western Wide-area Express Rail Line’ announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport during the first half of the year is being accepted as GTX-D.
GTX-D emerged rapidly in October 2019 when the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Commission on Metropolitan Areas mentioned the need to review new routes. Because of the naming of the western metropolitan railway, the southern metropolitan express train route that was previously reviewed by Seoul city attracted attention. The southern metropolitan express train started at Bucheon Sports Complex Station on Line 7 and stopped at Jamsil Station on Line 2, Songpa-gu. This route was reviewed to increase accessibility from the southwestern part of Seoul to Teheran-ro, Gangnam, Seoul. “The key to transportation in the southwestern part of Seoul is the accessibility to Teheran-ro,” said Kim Si-gon, president of the Korean Transportation Association. “He said.
What matters is the starting point and the ending point. It is relatively clear that GTX-D will pass through the core areas of Gangnam such as Teheran-ro and Jamsil from Bucheon, but opinions are divided among local governments as to the starting and ending points. In fact, as local governments jump in, the battle for GTX-D between local governments is flowing. The GTX-D route proposed by Gyeonggi Province is an east-west line that connects Gimpo-Gomdan-Gyeyang-Bucheon-Southern Seoul-Gangdong-Hanam. Gyeonggi-do suggested that this route be reflected in the 4th national rail network construction plan, and the project cost was estimated at 5,089.7 billion won.
Incheon city also announced that it started service in May last year, departed from Incheon International Airport and Gimpo City in October, and then selected the Y route between Seoul and Hanam City through Bucheon Sports Complex. Just as the east side of Seoul Line 5 splits toward Macheon and Hanam Pungsan after Gangdong Station, it is going to make Incheon Airport and Gimpo to the west of the Bucheon Sports Complex. Incheon City has also suggested that the Y route be reflected in the 4th national rail network construction plan.
Chairman Kim, who was in charge of the research service of each local government, said, “When the subway lines were extremely short in the past, the Y line was necessary, but the situation is different now.” “I have.”
Gangdong-gu is considering three routes, with the lines east of Samseong Station and Jamsil Station. It goes east through Godeok Station, Gildong Ecological Park Station, and Cheonho Station, respectively. Gangdong-gu delivered a signature of 100,000 residents to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last year to attract GTX-D routes. An official at Gangdong-gu Office said, “The three routes are in sharp conflict between residents, and the district is not pushing any one route in particular.” In the meantime, in the Geoyeo and Macheon areas in Songpa-gu, residents are agreeing to attract the GTX-D route. At present, the plate has grown as more than 10,000 people agree.
The reason why each region is infested with GTX is because it has a large impact on house prices. On December 28 last year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it will build a new GTX-A Changneung Station, and the Goyangwonheungdongil Suite Apartment, which is the closest to the place where Changneung Station is expected to be built, jumped 200 million won a new week.
Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Government recently sent a letter to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport requesting an additional station in connection with the GTX-A·B·C project. It is asked to consider adding City Hall Station to Route A, Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station to Route B, and Wangsimni Station to Route C. However, it is highly likely that securing business feasibility will become more difficult as the cost increases when adding stations. Earlier, the Seoul Gwanghwamun Plaza promotion team requested that Gwanghwamun Station be built on Route A in 2019, but it was not accepted due to cost issues.
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