Expectations are rising that congestion on the Gimpo Gold Line will ease after the government's preliminary feasibility study cleared the extension of Seoul Subway Line 5 to Gimpo and Geomdan. But experts said the policy effect can be maximized only by introducing an "express system," like that of Seoul Subway Line 9, going beyond a simple route consolidation.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 12th, the Seoul Subway Line 5 extension to Gimpo and Geomdan will consolidate a total 25.8 km heavy-rail section starting from Banghwa Station in Seoul, passing through Incheon's Geomdan New Town, and reaching Gimpo Hangang 2 Compact City (Yangchon-eup). There will be 10 stations in total, with a target opening in 2033. The Ministry of Planning and Budget convened the Fiscal Project Evaluation Committee on the 10th and reviewed and approved the results of the preliminary feasibility study for the "Seoul Subway Line 5 Gimpo–Geomdan extension project." With this approval, the metropolitan rail network project for the Gimpo–Geomdan area, discussed since 2018, has effectively entered the preparation stage for groundbreaking.
With the first medium-capacity metro directly connecting Gimpo to Seoul, residents' expectations are high. A worker in their 30s, identified as A and living in Gimpo Hangang New Town, said, "Every time I commute to my job in Seoul and return to my home in Gimpo, I had to endure the 'hell train' and make transfers, but if the Line 5 extension opens, the commute to and from work will be more comfortable," adding, "I hope it opens soon."
Experts, pointing to the "Gimpo Gold Line" as a case of severe congestion due to failed demand forecasting, said the same mistake must not be repeated on this Line 5 extension.
Gimpo's population jumped from 326,000 in 2013 to 509,000 in 2023, an explosive growth rate of about 56.3% over 10 years. But infrastructure expansion did not keep pace. With the two-car Gimpo Gold Line introduced in a city of 500,000, it has been called a "hell train," inflicting severe hardship on residents.
A construction industry official said, "For the Gimpo Gold Line, mindful of cases where the Yongin and Uijeongbu light rail systems suffered fiscal difficulties because actual ridership fell far short of demand forecasts, the demand forecast was instead made conservatively, resulting in a hell train," adding, "If, like the Shinbundang Line or Line 9, platforms had been secured in advance for four to six cars to prepare for future demand, today's congestion could have been avoided."
Some say the Line 5 extension should consider introducing an express system to shorten public transit travel times. It currently takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes to travel from Banghwa Station to Hanam Geomdansan Station on Seoul Subway Line 5. If the Gimpo section is extended without an express system, travel time between the termini will easily exceed 2 hours. Experts said this could significantly undermine its competitiveness as a metropolitan transport network.
A person identified as B at a domestic design firm explained, "In modern transport systems, the value riders prefer most is, unquestionably, speed," adding, "As with the success of Line 9's express service, residents are willing to pay the expense if they can reach their destinations quickly." B added, "Even if upgrading existing sections is difficult, the newly built extension and in-district station designs must include express passing tracks," and continued, "We should also consider developing Janggi Station and others into triple-station hubs to practically cut transfer time to the city center from the current 90 minutes to the 60-minute range."