A rail line connecting the Gyeonggi-do Province cities of Goyang, Yangju and Uijeongbu will be reopened on Jan. 11. (Gyeonggi-do Province)
By Kim Hyelin
A suburban train line connecting the Gyeonggi-do Province cities of Goyang, Yangju and Uijeongbu on Jan. 11 will resume operations for the first time since its suspension 21 years ago.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Jan. 9 said service will start from 6 a.m. on Jan. 11 between Daegok Station in Daejeon and Uijeongbu Station.
Launched in 1961, the line was once the main mode of transportation in northern Gyeonggi-do. Its operation was discontinued in April 2004 after the number of passengers declined due to the opening of the Seoul Outer Circular Expressway and the subway system in the Seoul metropolitan area.
Yet the suspension led to more traffic inconvenience for the residents of northern Gyeonggi-do. This prompted the province in 2021 to seek cooperation with the ministry, the municipal governments of Uijeongbu, Yangju and Goyang, Korea Railroad Corp. (Korail) and Korea National Railway to reopen the line.
The line’s six stations are Daegok in Daejeon, Wonneung in Goyang, and Iryeong, Jangheung, Songchu in Yangju and Uijeongbu in Gyeonggi-do. Three Mugunghwa trains will offer shuttle service of eight roundtrips a day.
The first train at Uijeongbu Station will depart at 6 a.m. and the last at 7:29 p.m., and a trip between that station and Daegok will take 50 minutes. Passengers can transfer to the Great Train eXpress Line A, aka the GTX-A, at Daegok.
Covering a combined 30.5 km, the line will initially run eight roundtrips per day, with its frequency to be gradually raised.
The basic fare is KRW 2,600, but through Jan. 31, a user can pay just KRW 1,000 to travel the entire route.
Reservations can be made on the Korail Talk app and Let’s KoRail website. Tickets can be bought on-site through automatic ticket machines at Uijeongbu, Iryeong and Daegok stations and on trains at the unmanned stations Songchu, Jangheung and Wonneung.
kimhyelin211@korea.kr
