The Chang-dong rail yard in Nowon District, Seoul, will transfer to Jinjeop. The existing site will be reborn as the Seoul Digital Bio City (S-DBC), a strategic hub on Seoul's bio-industry axis.
Seoul City held a ceremony titled "Commencement of trial operation of the Jinjeop rail yard" on the afternoon of the 3rd at the Chang-dong rail yard in 820, Sanggye-dong, Nowon District. About 500 people, including Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Nowon District Chief Oh Seung-rok, and Dobong District Chief Oh Eon-seok, as well as residents and construction officials, attended the ceremony.
Mayor Oh said, "Construction of the Jinjeop rail yard is in its final stage, and once it goes into operation next year, full-scale development of the Chang-dong rail yard will begin," adding, "The Chang-dong rail yard will become the Seoul Digital Bio City (S-DBC) and, together with the Seoul Arena now under construction, will be reborn as a new base for the Gangbuk area."
The Jinjeop rail yard is in Geumgok-ri, Jinjeop-eup, Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, and began construction in 2018. It has been conducting comprehensive test runs since last month. Once the trial operation for service is completed in June next year, the Chang-dong rail yard will end operations. When the rail yard is moved from Chang-dong to Jinjeop, currently the line's terminus, efficient train dispatching and maintenance will become possible, significantly improving subway operating conditions.
The city plans to use the transfer of the Chang-dong rail yard as an opportunity to develop the Chang-dong–Sanggye area into a new economic center for the northeastern region by combining culture and creative industries with the digital bio industry. The city is investing a total project cost of about 7.7 trillion won to build future industry hubs and various infrastructure.