Gyeongjeon Line

TheGyeongjeon Line(Korean:경전선) is a railway line servingSouth GyeongsangandSouth JeollaProvinces inSouth Korea. It covers a total of 300.6 km, fromSamnangjin StationinMiryang, South Gyeongsang, toGwangju Songjeong StationinGwangju, South Jeolla.
An east-west railway along Korea's southern shore was long seen as a strategic route, but it took a number of attempts to complete the line.The first section of the line was opened as a branch from the newly builtGyeongbu Lineat Samnangjin to Masan in May 1905, which was named the Masan Line.On December 1, 1923,the Jinju Line opened from Masan to Jinju, extending the line to 110.2 km (68.5 mi).A branch fromChangwonon theMasan LinetoJinhae, the Jinhae Line, opened on November 11, 1926.
Meanwhile, construction started in the opposite direction from Songjeong-ri (today Gwangju·Songjeong) on theHonam Line, the other end of the future Gyeongjeon Line, with the first 14.9 km (9.3 mi) to Gwangju opened in July 1922.The 155.5 km (96.6 mi)Gwangju Line was completed to Yeosu on December 25, 1930.Six years later, on December 16, 1936, the Suncheon–Yeosu section became part of the newly establishedJeolla Line,leaving the 134.6 km (83.6 mi) long Songjeong-ri–Suncheon section as the Gwangju Line.
Following the 1961 coup, theSupreme Council for National Reconstructionstarted South Korea'sfirst five-year plan, which included a construction program to complete the railway network, to foster economic growth.As part of the program, work began on a line to plug the gap between Jinju and Suncheon on April 28, 1962.The difficult 80.5 km (50.0 mi) long section included 38 bridges with a total length of 1,697 m (5,568 ft) and 27 tunnels with a total length of 7.67 km (4.77 mi), as well as 13 new stations.The Jinju–Suncheon line opened on February 7, 1968, when the whole 325.2 km (202.1 mi) railway line from Samnangjin to Songjeong-ri was renamed the Gyeongjeon Line.By the mid-2000s, alignment modifications shortened the line length to 300.6 km (186.8 mi).
The line is being upgraded to an electrified and double-tracked line for higher speeds in stages, to facilitate regional development.On September 1, 2010, the South Korean government announced a strategic plan to reduce travel times from Seoul to 95% of the country to under 2 hours by 2020. As part of the plan, the entire Gyeongjeon Line was to be further upgraded for 230 km/h.
The upgraded section is 101.4 km long.The 41 km section until Masan includes a re-alignment with tunnelscloser to Changwon,the Masan–Jinju section also includes significant re-alignments along the way.
The project was implemented as a public-private partnership: the government contribution is 1,680.473 billion won, private capital contributes 338.309 billion won.By April 2009, construction progress reached 50.9% of the planned budget of 2,018.782 billion won.The Samnangjin-Masan section opened on December 15, 2010,the Masan–Jinju section followed on October 23, 2012. The design speed of this section is 200 km/h.
Work started in 2003 on a 56.1 km long section between Jinju and Gwangyang.By March 2010, progress was 19% out of a budget of 1,005.984 billion won.This section includes significant re-alignments with longer tunnels and bridges.The upgrade works also commenced at the junction with theJeolla Lineeast of Suncheon,this section opened on September 30, 2015. The first track of the realigned Jinju-Gwangjang section opened on April 29, 2016, followed by the second track on July 14, 2016. Electrification was put in operation on June 23, 2023. The design speed of this section is 150 km/h.
BetweenHyocheonand GwangjuSongjeong, to relieve congestion at road crossings in the city, the Gyeongjeon Line got a new alignment bypassing Gwangju to the south.The section of the old alignment between GwangjuSongjeong and Gwangju was upgraded as a 11.9 km (7.4 mi) spur line, again called the Gwangju Line,while the 10.8 km (6.7 mi) section between Hyocheon and Gwangju, including Namgwangju Station, was torn up.The realignments opened on August 10, 2000.
The rest of the Suncheon-Gwangju section is foreseen for upgrading in a new 230 km/h alignment under the government's 2010 plan for 2020.A decade later, only plans for single-track electrification were drawn up.
A new 44.8 km (27.8 mi) long branch fromHallimjeong Stationwas projected to improve freight transport connections toBusan's expanded port. The line proper to Busan New Port Station is 38.8 km (24.1 mi) long, followed by 6.0 km (3.7 mi) of port access tracks.Part of the alignment became part of the Gyeongjeon Line realignment, shortening the branch and changing the starting point to Jillye. By April 2009, progress was 80.7% out of a total budget of 902.384 billion won.The line was opened on November 30, 2010 and the first freight train travelled the line on December 13, 2010.On January 1 and 31, 2013, two single-track non-electrified branches opened: the 7.7 km (4.8 mi) New Port South Line to Namcheol Songjiang and the 5.8 km (3.6 mi) New Port North Line to Bukcheolsong.
A new direct connection fromBusanwill meet up with the realigned Gyeongjeon Line southwest of Jillye, with a connection to the Busan New Port Line at Jangyu Station. The 32.6 km long double-track cutoff had a budget of 1,396.15 billion won, and was implemented with private finance, the preferred bidder for the franchise was selected in July 2010.This line was foreseen for an upgrade to 230 km/h under the government's 2010 plan for 2020.Construction started in 2014, after design changes and construction problems, opening is scheduled for the first half of 2025.
From Boseong, a new cutoff branch is to connect with the Honam Line at Imseong-ri, just before Mokpo.Construction of the 79.5 km long aingle-track branch commenced in 2002,however, work was suspended in 2007 for lack of funds,after having progressed to 5.5% of the 1,297.924 billion won budget.Construction resumed in 2015, plans were upgraded with the addition of electrification and a top speed of 200 km/h in 2019, with opening scheduled for December 2024. This branch includes the 5,960 m long Jangdong Tunnelnortheast ofJangheung.
In Gyeongsangnam-do:
In Jeollanam-do:
The following stations formerly on the Gyeongjeon Line are now defunct:
The line is served by passenger and freight trains. As of October 2010, fromBujeon stationin Busan, cross-countryMugunghwa-hotrains travel in a minimum 1 hour 25 minutes to Masan, 2 hour 55 minutes to Jinju, 4 hours 20 minutes to Suncheon, 6 hours 33 minutes to Gwangju·Songjeong, and 7 hours 34 minutes to Mokpo,while the travel time with transfer fromKTXhigh-speed trains atMiryangis as short as 3 hours 15 minutes.
KTX service from Seoul to Masan started withKTX-IItrains on December 15, 2010,with Seoul–Masan travel times between of 2 hours 54 minutes and 2 hours 59 minutes, depending on the stopping pattern.The service started with 14 daily trains on weekdays and 24 on weekends (Friday to Sunday),with standard class Seoul–Masan tickets costing 47,400 won on weekdays and 50,700 won on weekends.In the first month of service, express bus services between Seoul and Masan or Changwon experienced 30–40% drops in ridership.Korail added an extra pair of Monday morning trains on from January 17, 2011.
After leaving theGyeongbu High Speed Railway, the Gyeongjeon KTX service stops at the following stations:
The service was extended to Jinjufrom December 5, 2012, and may cover the entire line after further upgrades under the government's 2010 plan for 2020.
SRT also started operating high-speed services on the eastern ection to Jinju on September 1, 2023.