Gwangju Metro Line 1 is a
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...
line in
Gwangju
Gwangju (; ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated Special cities of South Korea, metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home ...
,
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 ...
, operated by the
Gwangju Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation (GRTC, or Gwangju Metro). It connects
Nokdong station in
Dong-gu at its eastern
terminus to
Pyeongdong station in
Gwangsan-gu in the west, via the
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
and
Gwangju Airport. On maps, it is designated by teal (
●).
The line began operations in 2004, making Gwangju the fifth South Korean city with a rapid transit system.
History
* August 28, 1996: Ground breaking ceremony for the Line 1
* April 28, 2004: Line 1 partially opened (Nokdong ↔ Sangmu)
* April 11, 2008: Line 1 fully opened (Nokdong ↔ Pyeongdong)
Stations
As of 2021 Line 1 consists of twenty stations. Most trains operate between Pyeongdong and Sotae, with about one service per hour continuing to Nokdong station.
All stations are in Gwangju.
Plan to extend Line 1
The Gwangju City Government has a plan to extend the current Line 1 southward to
Hwasun
Hwasun County () is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea.
Anthem: Song of Citizens of Hwasun County
Symbol
* County Flower : Wild Chrysanthemum
* County Tree : Zelkova Tree
* County Bird : Dove
History
Before Hwasun became an admi ...
and northward to
Naju. Recently, the Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development promised to include the Line 1 extension in its '5+2 extensive economic zone' project.
See also
*
Transportation in South Korea
References
Gwangju
Railway lines in South Korea
1
Railway lines opened in 2004
Airport rail links in South Korea
{{SouthKorea-metro-stub
1500 V DC railway electrification
25 kV AC railway electrification