The government’s metropolitan area express railway (GTX) project has been delayed one following another. Not only the A and B routes, but also the GTX-C route, which is scheduled to open in 2028, is currently unable to promise a specific business schedule.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 24th, the overall project schedule for the GTX-C route was delayed by regarding nine months from the original plan as negotiations with the Hyundai E&C consortium, the preferred bidder, were delayed. When the preferred bidder was selected in June of last year, the GTX-C route was scheduled to begin construction following negotiating the concession agreement in the first half of this year. However, due to the delay in negotiations, the concession agreement was delayed until March of next year.
The biggest obstacle is the problem of undergrounding the section between Changdong Station and Dobongsan Station. In the basic plan approved by the government in 2020, the section was planned as underground, but at the end of that year, it was changed to aboveground in the plan for the selection of privately funded operators. Then, Dobong-gu and the residents strongly protested, saying, “It causes noise, dust and vibration damage.” The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has also commissioned the Korea Development Institute (KDI) to investigate the suitability of the above-ground and underground plans for the section. Results are expected in January next year. If both methods are eligible, or if only the undergroundization is eligible, there is concern that the construction start will be delayed indefinitely as the demand for undergroundization becomes even stronger. It is controversial who will bear the increased construction cost if it is converted back to underground as per the basic plan.
In the case of the wide-area express railway in the western region, called the GTX-D route, the project timing may change depending on the final route map. President Yoon Seok-yeol said during the presidential election that he would significantly extend the route map announced by the previous government.
The government is also pushing for the early construction of E and F routes. In order to start construction within President Yoon’s term, he is planning to review the preliminary feasibility study exemption from various angles. An official from the construction industry said, “It is absurd to talk regarding the early construction of lines D, E, and F in the midst of the delay in the completion of the A line and the delayed selection of the B line operator.”
Reporter Lee Hye-in [email protected]
