The construction of the 'Okjeong-Pocheon metropolitan railway,' an extension project of Seoul Subway Line 7, is set to begin in earnest.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the 'Okjeong-Pocheon metropolitan railway' at Okjeong Lake Park in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, on the 26th, and will commence construction, it noted on the 25th.
This project extends Seoul Subway Line 7 northward to the Dobongsan-Pocheon line’s second phase section (Yangju Go-eup, Pocheon Gunnae-myeon), with a total project cost of 1.5 trillion won. The section will include 16.9 kilometers of main line and four stations, as well as one vehicle depot. The target opening date is in 2030.
Once the railway opens, travel time from northern Gyeonggi areas like Pocheon and Yangju to Dobongsan Station in Seoul is expected to reduce from about 62 minutes by bus to approximately 38 minutes by rail. Commuting and metropolitan transit conditions are anticipated to improve significantly. The project implementer, Gyeonggi Province, plans to commence construction on all three sections by the first half of this year, starting from this groundbreaking ceremony.
Kang Hee-eob, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Committee, said, “This will be a turning point for dramatically improving transportation in the relatively inconvenient northern Gyeonggi region among the metropolitan areas.” He added, “The Committee will actively support securing national funds and continue efforts to improve metropolitan transportation through the expansion of a metropolitan transfer center, enhancements of metropolitan and congested roadway facilities, and the expansion of the K-Pass to ensure on-schedule completion by 2030.”