The Sinansan Line (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The l ...

: 신안산선,

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: 新安山線, meaning "New Ansan Line") is the tentative name of a

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

line that will eventually link Cheongnyangni station with western

Gyeonggi province Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

, passing through key areas of the Seoul metropolitan area, including

Yeouido Yeouido ( Hangul: 여의도, en, Yoi Island or Yeoui Island) is a large island (or eyot) on the Han River in Seoul, South Korea. It is Seoul's main finance and investment banking district. Its 8.4 square kilometers are home to some 30,988 peopl ...

Yeongdeungpo Yeongdeungpo District () is an administrative district in southwest Seoul, South Korea. Although the origin of the name is uncertain, the first two syllables are thought to be from "''yeongdeung''" (靈登) or "divine ascent", a shamanic rite. T ...

and Gwangmyeong station.

Planning

The forerunner of the Sinansan Line was Line 10, proposed in 1994 as part of Seoul Metro's Phase 3 expansion but was mostly unbuilt due to the

1997 Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...

. Originally Line 10 was also planned to extend east beyond downtown Seoul going through either Sinchon, Dongnimmun and Hyehwa or pass through Gongdeok, Seoul Station and Dongdaemun Stadium. However, following the restoration of the

Cheonggye Stream Cheonggyecheon (Hangul: 청계천, ) is a modern public recreation space in downtown Seoul, South Korea. The massive urban renewal project is on the site of a stream that flowed before the rapid post-war economic development caused it to be co ...

, under which Line 10 was planned to be laid, the former route seems much more likely. The Sinansan Line underwent many design changes during planning stages, but generally the line was envisioned to run between Sinpung and Gwangmyeong station. In particular, the section south of Gwangmyeong station has led to heated disputes between the cities of

Ansan Ansan ( Hangeul: , ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It lies southwest of Seoul and is part of the Seoul National Capital Area. It is connected to Seoul by rail via Seoul Subway Line 4. It is situated on the Yellow Sea coast and ...

and Siheung. Ansan has requested for the line to be built almost perfectly south from Gwangmyeong station so it terminates at Hanyang Univ. ERICA Campus, passing through Seongpo-dong on the way. This would also open the possibilities for the trains on this line to travel to

Suwon Suwon (, ) is the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea's most populous province which surrounds Seoul, the national capital. Suwon lies about south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety". With a popul ...

via the

Suin Line The Suin Line (Suwon-Incheon) was a metro line of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway serving the Seoul Capital Area. The original route, abandoned in 1995, was one of the few narrow-gauge railways in South Korea. Opened by the privately owned Chosen ...

. The consortium behind the construction of the Sin Ansan Line, however, favors a line running southwest from Gwangmyeong station and joining the Sosa-Wonsi Line, transferring with Line 4 and the

at Choji station and terminating at southwestern Ansan. The city of Siheung proposed the section in dispute does not even pass through the city of Ansan at all, making the name "Sin''ansan'' Line" meaningless. The Siheung plan has the section go west from Gwangmyeong station, intersect the Sosa-Wonsi Line at Siheung City Hall, and terminating at Wolgot station. Construction was planned to begin in 2015 with the first section of this line (Gwangmyeong station - Yeouido) is set to be opened in 2023. However, contract disputes between the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs and the preferred operator delayed the project and lead to a retendering. Construction of Phase 1 (Yeouido to Hanyang University/Songsan stations) began 2019 September 9.

History

* 2007 June 7: Feasibility Study Announcement * 2007 June 5: The Primary Route Announced * 2008 March 20: Second Route Announced * 2009 November 3: Confirmed Gwangmyeong Southern Section Final Route * 2010 December 15: Master Plan Presented

Stations

NOTE: The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs announced the station list on December 15, 2010, routes are finally announced on 2015.

Siheung Branch Line (planned)

References

{{Public transport in the Seoul Metropolitan Area Proposed public transport in South Korea Seoul Metropolitan Subway lines