Gyeongchun Line

Gyeongchun Line
Overview
Native name	경춘선（京春線） Gyeongchunseon
Type	Heavy rail, Passenger rail Commuter rail, Intercity rail
System	Seoul Metropolitan Subway
Status	Operational
Locale	Seoul Gyeonggi Gangwon (South Korea)
Termini	Mangu Chuncheon
Stations	20
Operation
Opening	July 20, 1939 (original route) December 21, 2010 (realigned route)
Closed	December 20, 2010 (original route)
Owner	Korea Rail Network Authority
Operator(s)	Korail
Technical
Line length	80.7 km (50.1 mi)
No. of tracks	Double track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification	25 kV/60 Hz AC catenary
Route map Legend  Main Line  Jungang Line, Mangu Line -0.6 Sangbong Line 7 Gyeongui–Jungang 0.0 Mangu Gyeongui–Jungang Jungang Line (Gyeongui–Jungang) 2.1 Sinnae Sinnae-Namyangju Expressway ↑Seoul/Guri↓ 4.7 Galmae since 2010 The old main line 13.9 5.6 Galmae until 1974 ↑Guri/Namyangju↓ 6.1 Byeollae Seoul Ring Expressway 7.7 Toegyewon 11.0 Sareung 14.6 Geumgok Pyeongnae Rail Yard 18.6 Pyeongnae–Hopyeong since 2006 Pyeongnae until 2006 22.8 Cheonmasan 25.0 Maseok Damnae closed in 1974 ↑Namyangju/Gapyeong↓ 32.4 Daeseongni Cheongpyeong Lake closed in 1969 39.9 Cheongpyeong 44.7 Sangcheon 49.5 Sangsaek closed in 1974 51.8 Gapyeong since 2010 53.4 Gapyeong until 2010 ↑Gapyeong Bukhan River ↓Chuncheon 58.0 Gyeongang until 2010 56.6 Gulbongsan since 2010 59.4 Baegyangni since 2010 Baegyangni until 2010 64.7 Gangchon Uiam closed in 1974 72.1 Kimyujeong 77.4 South Chuncheon until 2010 78.0 South Chuncheon since 2010 80.7 Chuncheon  Seongdong ― Toegyewon  0.0 Seongdong closed in 1971 1.2 Gosangjeon closed in 1971 3.7 Wolgok closed in 1971 Gyeongwon Line (Line 1) 6.2 Kwangwoon Univ. Line 1 Gyeongwon Line (Line 1) 8.3 Singongdeok closed in 2010 10.6 Hwarangdae closed in 2010 ↑Seoul/Guri↓ Main Line 13.9 Galmae until 1974 ↑Guri/Namyangju↓ Byeollae Toegyewon Main Line Gyeongchun; (Kwangwoon Univ. -) Sangbong - Chuncheon

Gyeongchun Line

The Gyeongchun Line operated by Korail is a Seoul Metropolitan Subway line between Seoul and Chuncheon. The name of the line is derived from Gyeong (京, meaning the capital, Seoul) and Chuncheon. The line was reconstructed in a new alignment in its entirety in the 2000s. Rail service operates between Sangbong Station on the Jungang Line in eastern Seoul and Chuncheon Station as part of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway 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

Trestle on the old Gyeongchun Line

The original Gyeongchun Line was opened along its full length of 87.3 km between Seongbuk Station, on the Gyeongwon Line, to Chuncheon on July 20, 1939.^[1][2] In South Korea, Chuncheon was the most popular destination for students on orientation trips, bringing passengers to the line.^[3]

Upgrade

The line was upgraded into an electrified and double-tracked line for 180 km/h (112 mph).^[3][4][5] 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.^[6] The remaining 17.9 km of the upgraded line was built with a separate budget of 574.124 billion won.^[7] Towards Seoul, after Toegyewon Station, this section of the new line diverges from the old alignment that ended in Seongbuk, and connects to the Jungang Line at Mangu Station.^[7]

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.^[5] The complete new alignment opened and the old one closed on December 21, 2010.^[3]

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 service.^[8] For the longer term, the government also considers to build a parallel high-speed line that would continue beyond Chuncheon to Sokcho on South Korea's east coast.^[8]

Services

When the new Gyeongchun Line opened on December 21, 2010, passenger service was integrated into the Seoul Metropolitan Subway system, bringing that system from Seoul all the way into Gangwon-do.^[3] 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.^[3] Compared to the previous Mugunghwa-ho train service on the Gyeongchun Line, fares dropped by half.^[3] For the service, Hyundai Rotem supplied Korail with fifteen eight-car Class 361000 EMUs, out of which only 13 remain in service on the line today.

On February 28, 2012, Korail introduced ITX 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 180 km/h (112 mph).^[5][9] The base fare is 9800 won between Chuncheon and Yongsan, currently it has a 30% discount. The express metro rail service was phased out along with the advent of the ITX service.

Stations

Current alignment

Opened December 21, 2010

abandoned platform of Singongdeok station, Gyeongchun line

Station number	Station name			ITX	Metro	Transfer	Line name	Station dist.	Total dist.	Location
	Romanized	Hangul	Hanja					in km
	Yongsan	용산	龍山			Line 1 Jungang	Gyeongwon Line	—	−12.7	Seoul	Yongsan -gu
	Cheongnyangni	청량리	淸凉里			Line 1 Gyeongui–Jungang		8.7	−4.0		Dongdaemun -gu
119	Kwangwoon University	광운대	光云大			Line 1	Mangu Line	—			Nowon -gu
K120	Sangbong	상봉	上鳳			Line 7 Gyeongui–Jungang		4.0	0.0		Jungnang -gu
K121	Mangu	망우	忘憂			Gyeongui–Jungang		0.6	0.6
P122	Sinnae	신내	新內			Line 6 (2016)	Gyeongchun Line	2.1	2.7
P123	Galmae	갈매	葛梅					2.6	5.3	Gyeonggi -do	Guri-si
P124	Byeollae	별내	別內			Line 8 (2020)		1.4	6.7		Namyangju -si
P125	Toegyewon	퇴계원	退溪院					1.6	8.3
P126	Sareung	사릉	思陵					3.3	11.6
P127	Geumgok	금곡	金谷					3.6	15.2
P128	Pyeongnae –Hopyeong	평내호평	坪內好坪					4.0	19.2
P129	Cheonmasan	천마산	天摩山					4.2	23.4
P130	Maseok	마석	磨石					2.2	25.6
P131	Daeseong-ri	대성리	大成里					7.4	33.0		Gapyeong -gun
P132	Cheongpyeong	청평	淸平					7.5	40.5
P133	Sangcheon	상천	上泉					4.8	45.3
P134	Gapyeong	가평	加平					7.1	52.4
P135	Gulbongsan	굴봉산	屈峰山					4.7	57.1	Gangwon -do	Chuncheon -si
P136	Baegyang-ri	백양리	白楊里					2.9	60.0
P137	Gangchon	강촌	江村					5.3	65.3
P138	Gimyujeong	김유정	金裕貞					7.4	72.7
P139	Namchuncheon	남춘천	南春川					5.9	78.6
P140	Chuncheon	춘천	春川					2.7	81.3
- Yongsan, Cheongnyangni Stations are not included in the actual distance due to lack of metro rail service. The negative sign is only a convention for distance notation. - ITX: Express Train Class (: regular stop | : only stops during rush hours | : only stops for trains departing from/bound for Cheongnyangni | : does not stop)

Seoul Metropolitan Subway Gyeongchun Line

Former alignment

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gyeongchun Line.

• Korail
• Transportation in South Korea
• List of Korea-related topics

References