The Gyeongin Line (Gyeonginseon) is a railway mainline in South Korea, currently connecting Guro station in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

and

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

. Commuter services along the line through operates into

Seoul Subway Line 1 Seoul Subway Line 1 (dubbed ''The Dark Blue Line'') of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is a rapid transit and commuter rail line which links central Seoul, South Korea to Yeoncheon station, Yeoncheon in the northeast, Incheon in the southwest, an ...

History

The Gyeongin Line was the first railway line built on the

Korean peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

. It was opened by the Keijin Railway Company between Noryangjin, on the shore of the Han River across from Seoul, Geumchon, in

, on September 18, 1899. Soon after, the line was extended across the Han River into Seoul Station, and beyond Geumchon to the port of Incheon. When the construction of the

Gyeongbu Line The Gyeongbu line (''Gyeongbuseon'') is a railway line in South Korea and is considered to be the most important and one of the oldest in the country. It was constructed in 1905, connecting Seoul with Busan via Suwon, Daejeon, and Daegu. It is ...

was completed from

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

to Guro on January 1, 1905, the Seoul-Guro section of the Gyeongin Line became part of the Gyeongbu Line. The remaining Gyeongin Line from Guro to Incheon is long. Following the 1961 coup, the

Supreme Council for National Reconstruction The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction () was the ruling military junta of South Korea from May 1961 to December 1963. The Supreme Council overthrew the Second Republic of Korea in the May 16 coup in May 1961 and established a provi ...

started South Korea's first five-year plan, which included a construction program to complete the railway network, to foster economic growth. As part of the program, from November 1963, two additional tracks were laid to the north of the existing tracks from Yeongdeungpo station on the Gyeongbu Line to Dongincheon station. The of new tracks, also called Gyeonginbuk Line, entered service on September 18, 1965. The line was among the first in South Korea to be electrified with the 25 kV/60 Hz AC

catenary In physics and geometry, a catenary ( , ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or wire rope, cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, ...

system, when two tracks over the between Seoul and Incheon entered service on August 15, 1974, for the Seoul Subway Line 1. Electrification of the second two tracks started with the from Guro to Bupyeong, which went into service on January 29, 1999. The until

Juan ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philip ...

followed on March 15, 2002, and the final on December 21, 2005.

Operation

Korail The Korea Railroad Corporation () is the national railway operator in South Korea. It is branded as KORAIL () and changed its official Korean name () in November 2019. Currently, KORAIL is a public corporation, managed by Ministry of Land, ...

operated regular passenger service along the Gyeongin Line until the electrification of the line in the early 1970s, when passenger service was integrated into Seoul Subway Line 1. Line 1 trains using the Gyeongin Line provide up to ten trains an hour per direction, with services towards Guro, Cheongnyangni, Dongmyo, Seongbuk, Chang-dong,

Uijeongbu Uijeongbu (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It is the tenth-most populous city in the province and a suburb of Seoul within the greater Seoul Metropolitan Area. History Uijeongbu was estab ...

, Yangju, Dongducheon and Soyosan.

References

{{Gyeongin Line 1899 establishments in Korea Rail transport in Gyeonggi Province Rail transport in Incheon Rail transport in Seoul Railway lines in South Korea Railway lines opened in 1899 Seoul Metropolitan Subway lines

History

Operation

See also

References