Gwangju Metro () is the
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...
system of
Gwangju,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
, operated by the Gwangju Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation (GRTC, or Gwangju Metro). The subway network first opened in 2004 with 14 stations. The Gwangju Metro consists of one line, serving 20 operational stations, and operating on of route. It crosses both of the major rivers in Gwangju, the
Yeongsan River and the Hwangryong River. Most of the system is underground, except for the sections between Sotae-Nokdong and Pyeongdong-Dosan.
History
* Apr 28, 2004 : Line 1 partially opened ( Nokdong ↔ Sangmu )
* Apr 11, 2008 : Line 1 fully opened ( Nokdong ↔ Pyeongdong )
Lines
Line 1
As of 2021 Line 1 consists of twenty stations. Most trains run between Pyeongdong and Sotae, with about one train per hour continuing towards Nokdong.
Line 2
Line 2 () of the subway is under construction as of 2021. It is scheduled to open in three phases between 2023 and 2025.
Expansions and plans
Plan to extend Line 1
The Gwangju City Government has a plan to extend the current Line 1 eastward to
Hwasun
Hwasun County (화순군; ''Hwasun-gun'') is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea.
Symbol
* County Flower : Wild Chrysanthemum
* County Tree : Zelkova Tree
* County Bird : Dove
Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves a ...
and westward to
Naju
Naju () is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea.
The capital of South Jeolla was located at Naju until it was moved to Gwangju in 1895. The name Jeolla actually originates from the first character of Jeonju () and the first character of Na ...
. In 2009, the Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development promised to include the Line 1 extension in its '5+2 extensive economic zone' project.
Planned lines
Line 2 was originally planned as a circle line, but the Gwangju City Government also considered a 'South-North type' as well. After the results of a public hearing conducted in 2019 construction started as originally planned, with the first section of the line being scheduled to open in 2023. Phases 2 and 3 are scheduled to open in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Network Map
See also
*
Transport in South Korea
Transportation in South Korea is provided by extensive networks of railways, highways, bus routes, ferry services and air routes that traverse the country. South Korea is the third country in the world to operate a maglev train, which is an automa ...
*
List of metro systems
References
External links
*
Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...
Underground rapid transit in South Korea
Railway services introduced in 2004
{{SouthKorea-metro-stub