Expansion of High-speed Rail

Government to increase budget for railroad projects so that any point in the country can be reached within 2 hours

Director General Lee Seung-ho, in charge of the Railroad Policy at the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM), said the government budget for railroad construction projects will be increased by 2 trillion won to 6 trillion won annually based on a new plan for the construction of the high-speed railroad network in the country, which will make 98 percent of the highly-populated areas in Korea reachable within two hours by KTX, meaning that most cities in Korea can be reached within two hours.
The MLTM’s new plan to build more high-speed rail is aimed at expanding investment in railroad projects to 50 percent of all railroad social overhead capital investment by 2020 on the premise that people will use more railroad transport, which is an environmentally friendly transportation means.
The plan is to have most of the population centers benefit from the KTX by building more connected railroads to the KTX lines, changing the paradigm of the railroad transportation network.
The government also plans to expand railroad services for short-and medium distance destinations by building more railroads so that any city in the country can be reached by rail. The government will provide financial support to the GTX Line, linking Seoul and its satellite cities, putting all nearby cities within 30 minutes from Seoul. The GTX Line will run express trains, as there will be not many stations along the way. nw

Director-General Lee Seung-ho in charge of Railroad Policy at the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.