The Gyeongchun Line is a
regional rail
Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster serv ...
line between
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...
and
Chuncheon
Chuncheon (; ; formerly romanized as Chunchŏn; literally ''spring river'') is the capital of Gangwon Province in South Korea. The city lies in the north of the county, located in a basin formed by the Soyang River and Han River. There are some ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, operated by
Korail
The Korea Railroad Corporation ( Korean: 한국철도공사, Hanja: ), branded as KORAIL (코레일, officially changed to in November 2019), is the national railway operator in South Korea. Currently, KORAIL is a public corporation, manag ...
. Its name is derived from Gyeong (, meaning the capital, Seoul) and ''Chuncheon''. It was completely reconstructed in the 2000s. Service on it has operated between
Sangbong station
Sangbong Station is a station on the Seoul Subway Line 7, Gyeongchun Line & Gyeongui-Jungang Line. It is located in Sangbong-dong, Jungnang-gu, Seoul.
References
External links
Station informationfrom Korail
The Korea Railroad Corpora ...
on the
Jungang Line in eastern Seoul and
Chuncheon station
Chuncheon Station () is a railway station on, and the eastern terminus of, the Gyeongchun Line in Geunhwa-dong, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, consti ...
, as part of the
Seoul Metropolitan Subway
The Seoul Metropolitan Subway is a metropolitan railway system consisting of 23 rapid transit, light metro, commuter rail and people mover lines located in northwest South Korea. The system serves most of the Seoul Metropolitan Area inc ...
system, since December 21, 2010. A class of regional rail service named
ITX-Cheongchun began operations on February 28, 2012, linking Chuncheon to
Cheongnyangni and
Yongsan Stations.
History
The original Gyeongchun Line was opened along its full length of between
Kwangwoon University on the
Gyeongwon Line
The Gyeongwon Line is a railway line serving northeastern Gyeonggi Province in South Korea. The line is operated by Korail. The name of the line came from ''Gyeongseong'' (Seoul) and ''Wonsan'', the original terminus of the line, in what is no ...
to Chuncheon by the privately owned
Gyeongchun Railway on 20 July 1939.
Chuncheon was the most popular destination for students on orientation trips, bringing passengers to the line.
Following the
Liberation of Korea
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...
, all railways, including the Gyeongchun Railway, were nationalised.
Upgrade
The line was upgraded into an electrified and double-tracked line for .
Between Geumgok and Chuncheon, from 1997 until 2010, the line was re-laid in a straighter, 64.2 km long alignment with a budget of 2.151,931 billion won. The remaining 17.9 km of the upgraded line was built with a separate budget of 574.124 billion won.
Towards Seoul, after
Toegyewon station
Toegyewon Station () is a railway station of the Gyeongchun Line in Toegyewon-myeon, Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of ...
, this section of the new line diverges from the old alignment that ended in Seongbuk, and connects to the
Jungang Line at
Mangu station
Mangu Station is a station on the Gyeongui-Jungang Line, and the Gyeongchun Line since 21 December 2010. The station was Seoul's main distribution center of charcoal briquettes in the 1950s and 1960s, extracted and manufactured in southern Gang ...
.
The new alignment was originally planned to be opened in 2004, but completion of the works was delayed for various reasons, including lack of funds.
The complete new alignment opened and the old one closed on December 21, 2010.
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 Gyeongchun Line is to be further upgraded for 230 km/h and may see
KTX
Korea Train eXpress (), often known as KTX (), is South Korea's high-speed rail system, operated by Korail. Construction began on the high-speed line from Seoul to Busan in 1992. KTX services were launched on April 1, 2004.
From Seoul Station the ...
service.
For the longer term, the government also considers to build a parallel high-speed line that would continue beyond Chuncheon to
Sokcho
Sokcho ( ko, 속초; ()) is a city in Gangwon Province, South Korea. It is located in the far northeast of Gangwon. The city is a major tourist hub, and a popular gateway to nearby Seoraksan national park. Sokcho is home to the few lakes: Yeong ...
on South Korea's east coast.
On November 4, 2016, two trains (one in the morning, one in the night) were added to the line. These trains run to and from
Kwangwoon University station
Kwangwoon University station (formerly Seongbuk station) is a train station on Seoul Subway Line 1, Gyeongchun Line and Gyeongwon Line in Seoul, South Korea operated by Korail. Together with Incheon station and Suwon station
Suwon Station is ...
, allowing for transfers to
Line 1. These train take Mangu Line Branch.
On September 26, 2016, the service was extended to
Cheongnyangni station to improve access to regional trains at the station. However, only 10 trains in each direction travel past Sangbong Station; the majority of the trains still terminate at Sangbong Station, and the two special rush-hour trains still run to and from Kwangwoon University Station.
Services
Seoul Metropolitan Subway Gyeongchun Line
When the new Gyeongchun Line was opened on December 21, 2010, passenger service was integrated into the Seoul Metropolitan Subway system as a name of ''Seoul Metropolitan Subway Gyeongchun Line (수도권 전철 경춘선)''. It brings that the system from Seoul all the way into
Gangwon-do.
The new service reduced travel time between Chuncheon and
Sangbong in Seoul from two hours to 89 minutes, with different trains operating according to different stopping patterns; and increased capacity five-fold.
Compared to the previous
Mugunghwa-ho
The Mugunghwa-ho is a class of train operated by Korail, main railway operator of South Korea. Mugunghwa trains are Korail's slowest tier of trains stopping at a number of towns and villages, and operating over a number of lines that are not se ...
train service on the Gyeongchun Line, fares were reduced by half.
For the service,
Hyundai Rotem
Hyundai Rotem (founded in 1977) is a South Korean company that manufactures rolling stock, defense products and plant equipment. It is a part of the Hyundai Motor Group. Its name was changed from Rotem to Hyundai Rotem in December 2007 to refl ...
supplied Korail with fifteen eight-car
Class 361000 EMU trains, out of which only fourteen trains remain in service on the line today.
Currently, Seoul Metropolitan Subway Gyeongchun Line serves mainly Sangbong station to Chuncheon station. Rare service to Cheongnyangni or Kwangwoon University station is also available making Y-shaped line.
ITX-Cheongchun service
On February 28, 2012, Korail introduced the
ITX-Cheongchun service (Intercity Train EXpress), which uses Class 368000 trains with double-deck cars. From Chuncheon Station, the fastest ITX trains take 52 minutes to
Cheongnyangni station, and 68 minutes to
Yongsan station in Seoul, operating at a maximum speed of .
The base fare is 9,800
won between Chuncheon and Yongsan, but Korail offers 15% discount at all time resulting price of 8,300 won. Basic discount rate was 30% until July 31, 2016, 25% until July 31, 2018, 15% since August 1, 2018.
Mugunghwa service
Some special Mugunghwa trains which deploy military troops takes Gyeongchun Line.
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Service Route
Current Services
Main Line
The following stations are along the
Gyeongui-Jungang Line and the Gyeongchun Line itself.
The negative sign is only a convention for distance notation from Sangbong Station, the terminus of most services.
Mangu Line Branch (very limited service)
Former alignment
See also
*
Korail
The Korea Railroad Corporation ( Korean: 한국철도공사, Hanja: ), branded as KORAIL (코레일, officially changed to in November 2019), is the national railway operator in South Korea. Currently, KORAIL is a public corporation, manag ...
*
Transportation 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 autom ...
References
{{South Korea rapid transit
Railway lines in South Korea
Railway lines opened in 1939
Transport in Seoul
Transport in Gyeonggi Province
Transport in Gangwon Province, South Korea
Seoul Metropolitan Subway lines