Starting 2027, people traveling from Yongsan, Seoul, to Sokcho, Gangwon-do, will be able to make the trip in one hour and 40 minutes. The current traveling time, about three hours, will be almost halved.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) held a ground-breaking ceremony for the project to build the East-West High-Speed Railway, linking Chuncheon and Sokcho, at the Sokcho Expo Plaza on Oct. 18.
President Yoon Suk-yeol, who made good on his public pledge to implement the project, participated in the event.
In Yoon’s speech, he said, “A railway will be opened in the Hwacheon, Yanggu, Inje and Sokcho area for the first time and stations will be set up, and it will be a watershed of regional development in the norther area of Gangwon-do.” He said the long-sought after project is now taking its first step.
A map on the route of the East-West High-Speed Railway Project to link Chuncheon and Sokcho.
The East-West High-Speed Railway Project calls for building a railway network connecting the Seoul metropolitan area and Gangwon-do by extending the railway, now in operation between Seoul and Chuncheon, to Sokcho.
The distance is 93.7 km. The project will involve building five stations in Hwacheon, Yanggu, Inje, Baekdam and Sokcho. It will cost 2.4 trillion won and take six years.
Currently, it takes 75 minutes to travel from Seoul to Chuncheon via the Intercity Train express (ITX), and 120 minutes to make it from Chuncheon to Sokcho via bus - a combed three hours and 15 minutes to travel from Seoul and Sokcho.
Motorists can make it almost three hours via the Seoul-Yangyang expressway.
When the East-West High-Speed Railway is opened to the public, it will take one hour and 40 minutes to travel from Yongsan to Sokcho without transferring, curtailing the traveling time by one hour and 20 minutes compared to the use of passenger cars.
The government sees the dedication of the East-West High-Speed Railway as a watershed of regional development, in consideration of the characteristics of the border areas.
President Yoon said, “Gangwon-do is an area of an unlimited potential with pristine tourism resources, but insufficient transportation infrastructure and restrictions of the border area have undermined regional development, and Gangwon-do now has to make a leap forward as an eco-friendly industry area, President Yoon said.
Among those on hand at the ground-breaking ceremony were MOLIT Minister Won Hee-ryong, Gangwon-do Gov. Kim Jin-tae, Chuncheon Mayor Yook Dong-han, Rep. Han Ki-ho, Rep. Lee Yang-soo and Rep. Noh Yong-ho, all from the ruling People Power Party, and Rep. Hur Young of the Democratic Party of Korea.
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