South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol vowed to drastically reduce commute times for residents in the Seoul Metropolitan Area by pushing ahead with the country’s highly anticipated high-speed commuter rail network, also known as the Great Train eXpress (GTX) project.
“We aim to make the long-promised ‘30-minute commute era’ a reality by moving forward with the GTX project,” he said during a policy debate held at the Uijeongbu city hall in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, on Jan. 25. Yoon also said a similar initiative, called the x-TX project, will be promoted in four key metropolitan regions: Busan-Ulsan-South Gyeongsang, Daegu-North Gyeongsang, Daejeon-Sejong-Chungcheong, and Gwangju-South Jeolla.
“The average commute time in metropolitan areas across the country is about two hours,” said President Yoon. “With better transportation, people can get more sleep, spend more time on self-development, and most importantly, spend more time with their families and children.”
He stressed the significance of transportation, equating its importance to housing. “Housing and transportation go hand in hand,” he said. “I know how much people suffer from long commutes, and that’s why I promised to reduce commute times to 30 minutes since the presidential election.”
Yoon announced plans to accelerate the GTX project, focusing on extending the existing A, B, and C lines and introducing new lines - D (linking Incheon, Gimpo, Namyangju, and Wonju), E (connecting Incheon, Seoul Gangbuk, Guri, and Namyangju), and F (a Metropolitan Area Circulation Line). These expansions will be incorporated into the national rail network plan and implemented simultaneously. “The GTX era is set to commence in earnest this year,” he added.
Yoon stated that when all the GTX lines are completed, a commute from the metropolitan area to central Seoul will take only 30 minutes, effectively converting the time saved from commuting into additional leisure and family time.
“Moreover, a single, hyper-connected economic zone in the metropolitan area will be established [with the completion of GTX lines], creating new investment opportunities and jobs,” said Yoon. Developing new housing sites near these stations is expected to help stabilize the real estate market by spreading the demand for housing over a wider area.
The GTX project is expected to create 500,000 jobs, with an estimated direct economic output of $56 billion (75 trillion won), according to the Korea Transport Institute.
Yoon plans to extend the GTX services nationwide so that “rural areas can also reap the benefits of better transportation.” The ‘x-TX’ project, with a maximum speed of 180 kilometers per hour, will be promoted in four major urban areas.
He also declared plans to allocate 11 trillion won to improve transportation infrastructure in the Seoul metropolitan area. This investment aims to address traffic congestion problems prevalent in the area.
