The Seohae Line () is a dual-track, electrified rail line in western

Gyeonggi-do Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous administrative divisions of South Korea, province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a list of provinc ...

and

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 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. The Seohae Line is being built in four sections simultaneously. The line runs south from

Ilsan Ilsan New Town () refers to a planned city occupying Ilsandong District and Ilsanseo District of Goyang. Ilsan is located northwest of Seoul. Like other satellite cities in the Seoul National Capital Area such as Bundang, Ilsan was planned in o ...

Goyang City Goyang (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province in the north of South Korea. It is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Area, making Goyang one of Seoul's satellite cities. It is one of the largest cities in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, with a population ...

, crosses the Han River, passes Gimpo Airport, Sosa,

Siheung Siheung (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The city has a population of 511,807 people, where 508,646 are residents out of 218,846 households as of August 2021. Siheung acquired its cu ...

, and ends in Wonsi in

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

. There is a transfer to different lines at Daegok, Neunggok, Gimpo Int'l Airport, Bucheon Stadium, Sosa and Choji. There are currently 21 stations (Ilsan-Wonsi). The line is operated by

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, ...

, but the stations between Sosa and Wonsi are managed by SEO HAE RAIL CO., LTD., a subsidiary of

Seoul Metro Seoul Transportation Corporation, branded as Seoul Metro (), is a municipal-owned corporation owned by Seoul Metropolitan Government, and one of the two major operators of Seoul Metropolitan Subway with Korail. History On May 31, 2017, ...

. Since the infrastructure is also owned by

, the line runs on the left like the rest of the South Korean mainline railway network.

History

After the completion of planning, the project was written out as a build–lease–transfer (BLT) project, and

Daewoo Daewoo ( ; ; ; ; literally "great universe" and a portmanteau of "''dae''" meaning great, and the given name of founder and chairman Kim Woo-choong) also known as the Daewoo Group, was a major South Korean chaebol (type of conglomerate) and aut ...

was selected as preferred bidder in September 2008. Construction was scheduled to last from October 2009 to March 2013. Due to the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, it was difficult to gather investors to finance the project, and negotiations stalled. An agreement was finally signed on 21 December 2010, with construction set to start in the first half of 2011. Project costs are

₩ The won sign , is a currency symbol. It represents the South Korean won, the North Korean won and, unofficially, the old Korean Empire won, Korean won. Appearance Its appearance is "W" (the first letter of "Won") with a horizontal strike ...

1.5248 trillion; the contractor has altogether seven years for design and construction, and will manage and maintain the line for the first 20 years of operation. The first section began construction in 2011 and opened on 16 June 2018. The second section runs north from Sosa to Daegok on the Gyeongui-Jungang Line and Seoul Subway Line 3, with transfers to several other lines. It was expected to open on 29 June 2021, but did not open until 1 July 2023. Another extension (Daegok-Ilsan) was opened at the end of August 2023. , about ₩4.12 trillion (US$2.98 billion) has been spent on the Seohae Line.

Future

Another extension (Ilsan-Unjeong) was approved in January 2024. There is currently no opening date noted. On 1 September 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 first section is to be further upgraded for the Wonsi–Hwayang extension is to be projected for , and the line may see KTX service. Tentative plans foresee the upgrade and incorporation of the Gyooe Line, a single-track non-electrified line without passenger service that connects Neunggok station (with a junction just before Daegok station) and

Uijeongbu station Uijeongbu station is a station on the Gyeongwon Line in South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea a ...

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 ...

. The Uijeongbu–Daegok–Sosa–Wonsi Line would then provide orbital metro service as a northern semicircle around Seoul, complementing the southern semicircle formed by the Suin–Bundang Line. Another part of the tentative 2010 plans was a southern extension from Wonsi, connecting up with the Janghang Line before Hongseong station. As of April 2023, the construction of this section was 92% completed and was expected to be opened in the second half of October 2024. However, by late 2024, the opening date of the Wonsi–Seohwaseong extension had been delayed to the first half of 2026.

Rolling stock

* Korail Class 391000 * ITX-Maum *

KTX-Eum The KTX-Eum (), also known as Korail Class 150000 or EMU-260, is a South Korean high-speed electric multiple unit train manufactured by Hyundai Rotem and operated by Korail. It is the first domestically designed and developed high-speed EMU in ...

(from March 2026)

Map of the Seohae Line and other surrounding lines

Stations

Urban section

The section from Sosa to Wonsi opened on 16 June 2018. The first phase (Sosa to Daegok) of the Sosa to Ilsan extension opened on 1 July 2023. The second phase (Daegok to Ilsan) of the Sosa to Ilsan extension opened on 26 August 2023. The line currently utilizes seven four-car Class 391000 trains manufactured by

Hyundai Rotem Hyundai Rotem Company, often referred to as Hyundai Rotem (), is a South Korean manufacturer of railway rolling stock, railway signalling, defense products and plant equipment. It is a member of Hyundai Motor Group and has presence in more than ...

and ten four-car Class 391000 trains manufactured by Dawonsys. The line is being extended southward from Wonsi to Seohwaseongnamyang. Station names may be subject to change as the line is constructed and various sources give conflicting information.

Conventional rail

Opened on 2 November 2024.

References

External links

Korail

SeohaeRail corp. official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilsan-Wonsi Line Seohae Line Transport in Seoul Railway lines in South Korea Seoul Metropolitan Subway lines Airport rail links in South Korea 25 kV AC railway electrification