2024.06.04. The Fair Economy — The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Metropolitan Transport Commission (MTC) announced on the 4th the "Transportation Convenience Improvement Measures for the Northern Metropolitan Area".
According to the ministry, the plan is a follow-up measure to the three major transportation innovation strategies announced at the sixth public livelihood policy debate presided over by the president. Following the plan for the southern Seoul metropolitan area announced on May 3, this latest measure was designed to realize a "30-minute commute era" for the northern metropolitan area, including Goyang, Paju, Uijeongbu and Yangju.
The commission drew up the plan after analyzing rail, road and other infrastructure as well as travel patterns in the northern metropolitan area, and consulting with local governments on areas where wide-area transit improvements are needed.
Trips bound for Seoul account for an average of 45% of all travel from the northern metropolitan area. Most of these trips within Seoul go to districts adjacent to the northern metropolitan area, and roads were found to be more congested than railways.
Public transportation accounts for an average of 50% of trips between the northern metropolitan area and Seoul. Subway users make up the largest share, at 21% of all trips, and taking the subway was also found to require the least travel time.
The MTC focused on expanding express buses and bus rapid transit (BRT) services linking the northern region with Seoul, as well as strengthening transfer systems to improve convenience for subway riders.
Key elements of the plan include expanding wide-area bus service to new towns in the northern region.
New wide-area bus routes will be created and existing service expanded in new towns that lack both wide-area rail connections and sufficient bus service.
For wide-area buses, route No. 1205 (from Songsan-dong to Sangbong-dong, Jungnang-gu) has been running since March to improve transit convenience in Uijeongbu's Millak district. On two routes where high demand has led to long waits, the commission plans to add chartered buses during morning commute hours to cut wait times.
Metropolitan DRT (Metropolitan Ttukbus) will be newly introduced in northern new town areas lacking express buses, such as Goyang Deokeun and Hyangdong districts and Yangju Hoecheon district. This includes three vehicles in Goyang Deokeun, four in Goyang Hyangdong, and two in Yangju Hoecheon.
Improvements will be made to existing railway and road operations.
The Gyooe Line, which was suspended in April 2004, will have its facilities upgraded and resume service in December this year with 20 (tentative) daily runs, connecting northern metropolitan areas such as Goyang, Yangju and Uijeongbu from east to west.
On the Gyeongui–Jungang Line's Munsan–Yongsan section, commuter-only trains currently running four times a day with four cars will be lengthened to eight cars starting in the first half of next year, to help ease commuting congestion in the northern new towns.
Two new BRT corridors will be built: the Unjeong BRT (from the entrance of Paju's Unjeong 1 and 2 districts to Daehwa Station) and the Hwarang-ro BRT (from Goyang's Samsong district to Korea Aerospace University Station). These will improve connectivity with existing BRT roads and enhance bus speed and punctuality.
Transfer connections centered on rail stations will be strengthened.
Transfer facilities such as park-and-ride lots and transfer centers will be expanded, focused on fast wide-area rail stations, to improve convenience for transferring to and from cars, buses and other modes.
Park-and-ride lots will be built at Wonheung Station, Jichuk Station, and Korea Aerospace University Station in Goyang to enhance public transportation convenience and encourage car users to switch to public transit.
The projects had been delayed by long-standing disputes between local governments and developers over the size of the lots. The MTC formed a task force for concentrated investment projects to mediate the conflicts, allowing full-scale implementation to begin this year.
At Wonheung Station on Line 3, used by an average of 20,842 people a day from areas including Goyang's Samsong and Wonheung districts, 81 new parking spaces are set to be completed by the end of this year.
In addition, detailed design is underway for a 130-space park-and-ride lot at Jichuk Station on Line 3, used by an average of 12,234 people daily. Construction will begin in September this year, with completion scheduled for the second half of next year.
A new 100-space park-and-ride lot will be built at Korea Aerospace University Station on the Gyeongui–Jungang Line, located at the southern end of Goyang's Changryeong new town.
A transfer center will be newly established at Unjeong Station to coincide with the opening in December of the upper section of the GTX-A line (Paju Unjeong-Seoul Station). City and neighborhood bus routes from Unjeong New Town and Paju's outer areas, including Jeokseong-myeon and Beopwon-eup, will also be expanded to improve access to the commuter rail.
Integrated transport systems, including new city and neighborhood bus routes, will be established at Kintex Station and Daegok Station on the GTX-A line. Plans for transfer centers are also being considered in connection with nearby development projects.
Detailed integrated transport measures will be developed through in-depth discussions by a task force comprising the ministry, Goyang and Paju city governments, SG Rail, KOREA NATIONAL RAILWAY and experts.
Transfer center plans will also be formulated for Deokjeong Station and Uijeongbu Station, where the GTX-C line is scheduled to run. Follow-up procedures, including design and construction, will be carried out promptly to improve transfer convenience for local residents.
Mid- to long-term transportation measures will be carried out swiftly.
New commuter rail and road projects currently in progress over the medium and long term will also be completed swiftly.
Construction of the Okjeong-Pocheon section (Line 7 extension) of the commuter rail network is set to begin by the end of this year. An agreement on work delegation will also be signed among relevant agencies to extend the Seohae Line, which currently runs to Ilsan, to Paju's Unjeong Station.
The four-lane highway section between Paju and Yangju, part of the second metropolitan ring road, is also scheduled to open by the end of this year.
A project to widen the heavily congested National Route 3 section from Deokjeong Intersection through Hoecheon district to Yangju City Hall, from four to six lanes, will also proceed on schedule.
Kang Hui-eop, chairman of the Metropolitan Transport Commission, said, "In line with the opening of the upper GTX-A section at the end of this year, we will complete the Unjeong Station transfer center without delay, and expand the creation of new wide-area bus routes and the introduction of wide-area DRT, focusing on new towns that lack sufficient bus service." He added, "Following the transportation convenience measures for the southern metropolitan area announced in May and this latest plan for the northern region, we will swiftly prepare transportation measures for the eastern and western regions as well, and work to create a comfortable commuting environment in the Seoul metropolitan area."
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