Gyeongchun Line

The Gyeongchun Line is a regional rail line between Seoul and Chuncheon operated by Korail. 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.

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	Sangbong, Kwangwoon University, Cheongnyangni Chuncheon
Stations	20
Operation
Opened	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)
Number of tracks	Double track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in)
Electrification	25 kV/60 Hz AC catenary
Route map  Main Line  Jungang Line, Mangu Line -0.6 Sangbong  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 () 6.2 Kwangwoon Univ. Gyeongwon Line () 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

History

Trestle on the old Gyeongchun Line

The original Gyeongchun Line was opened along its full length of 87.3 km (54.2 mi) between Kwangwoon University on the Gyeongwon Line to Chuncheon by the privately owned Gyeongchun Railway on 20 July 1939.[1][2] Chuncheon was the most popular destination for students on orientation trips, bringing passengers to the line.[3] Following the Liberation of Korea, all railways, including the Gyeongchun Railway, were nationalised.

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]

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, allowing for transfers to Line 1.

On September 26, 2016, the line 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.[9]

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 EMU trains, out of which only thirteen trains remain in service on the line today, and one train pending re-entry into service.

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][10] The base fare is 9800 won between Chuncheon and Yongsan, currently it has a 30% discount. The express service was phased out along with the advent of the ITX service, but was brought back in early 2017.

Stations

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.

Abandoned platform of Singongdeok station, Gyeongchun line

Station number	Station name			ITX-CheongChun	Express	Local	Transfer			Line name	Station dist.	Total dist.	Location
	Romanized	Hangul	Hanja								in km
K117	Cheongnyangni	청량리	淸凉里	●	●	●		Gyeongui–Jungang (stop going via)	Gyeongui–​Jungang   Bundang  Mugunghwa-ho and ITX-Saemaeul services		2.4	-2.4	Seoul	Dongdaemun-gu
K118	Hoegi	회기	回基	|	●	●				Jungang Line	1.4	-2.6
K119	Jungnang	중랑	中浪	|		●					1.8	-0.8		Jungnang District
K120	Sangbong	상봉	上鳳	▲	●	●			Gyeongui–​Jungang  Mangu Line branch trains		0.8	0.0
K121	Mangu	망우	忘憂	|		●	Gyeongui–​Jungang				0.6	0.6
P122	Sinnae	신내	新內	|		●				Gyeongchun Line	2.1	2.7
P123	Galmae	갈매	葛梅	|		●					2.6	5.3	Gyeonggi Province	Guri-si
P124	Byeollae	별내	別內	|		●	(2023)				1.4	6.7		Namyangju
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 County
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 Province	Chuncheon
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
ITX-CheongChun: Intercity Train Express, Cheongchun ●: regular stop ▲: limited weekday service ♢: some trains pass | : all trains pass

Mangu Line Branch (very limited service)

Station number	Station name			Transfer	Line name	Station dist.	Total dist.	Location
	English	Hangul	Hanja			in km
119	Kwangwoon University	광운대	光云大		Mangu Line	—	-4.3	Seoul	Nowon District
K120	Sangbong	상봉	上鳳	Gyeongui–​Jungang		0.0	4.3		Jungnang District

Seoul Metropolitan Subway Gyeongchun Line

Former alignment

Station name			Connecting services	Station type
Romanized	Hangul	Hanja
Kwangwoon Univ.	광운대	城北	via Gyeongwon	Aboveground
Singongdeok	신공덕	新孔德		Aboveground
Hwarangdae	화랑대	花郞臺		Aboveground
Toegyewon	퇴계원	退溪院		Aboveground
Sareung	사릉	思陵		Aboveground
Geumgok	금곡	金谷		Aboveground
PyeongnaeHopyeong	평내호평	坪內好坪		Aboveground
Maseok	마석	磨石		Aboveground
Daeseong-ri	대성리	大成里		Aboveground
Cheongpyeong	청평	淸平		Aboveground
Sangcheon	상천	上泉		Aboveground
Gapyeong	가평	加平		Aboveground
Gulbongsan	굴봉산	屈峰山		Aboveground
Baegyang-ri	백양리	白楊里		Aboveground
Gangchon	강촌	江村		Aboveground
Gimyujeong	김유정	金裕貞		Aboveground
Namchuncheon	남춘천	南春川		Aboveground
Chuncheon	춘천	春川		Aboveground

See also

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

References

1. "경영원칙 - 경영공시 - 영업현황 - 영업거리현황". Korail. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
2. 私設鉄道運輸開始, 朝鮮総督府官報(The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea)　Showa Nr. 3754, 26 July 1939
3. "Historic railway line chugs on into history". JoongAng Daily. 2010-12-09. Retrieved 2010-12-16.
4. "Korea's railways face a bright future". International Railway Journal. 2008-07-01. Archived from the original on 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
5. "South Korea's growing network". Railway Gazette International. 2008-09-08. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
6. "경춘선 복선전철". Korea Rail Network Authority. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
7. "망우∼금곡 복선전철". Korea Rail Network Authority. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
8. "Bullet trains coming to a town near you by 2020". JoongAng Daily. 2010-09-02. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-02-10. Retrieved 2016-12-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
10. loveaselin (9 September 2011). "[Full HD] 경춘선 좌석급행 2층열차 / Gyeongchun Line's new trains coming" – via YouTube.