(formerly Siheung Station)
Origins The
Seoul-
Busan axis is Korea's main traffic corridor. In 1995, it housed 73.3% of Korea's population, and conducted 70% of the freight traffic and 66% of the passenger traffic. With both the
Gyeongbu Expressway and
Korail's
Gyeongbu Line congested, the government saw the need of another mode of transport. The first proposals for a second Seoul-Busan railway line originated from a study prepared between 1972 and 1974 by experts of France's
SNCF and Japan Railway Technical Service on a request from the
IBRD. A more detailed 1978-1981 study by
KAIST, focusing on the needs of freight transport, also came to the conclusion that separating off long-distance passenger traffic on a high-speed passenger railway would be advisable, thus it was taken up in Korea's next
Five Year Plan. In 1991, bids were called for the supply and technology transfer of the core system technology, which in addition to the rolling stock also included the
catenary and signalling of the line. Once planning progressed, in March 1992, the Korea High Speed Rail Construction Authority (KHSRCA) was established as a separate body with own budget responsible for the project. an open line cross section including two tracks with centerlines apart, and a two-track tunnel cross sectional area of . Of the planned line, would be laid on bridges, and another in tunnels. Meanwhile, the bidding of the core system technology contract progressed through five rounds of evaluation, and the French and German consortia submitted final bids on 15 June 1993. The technology was almost identical to that found on the high-speed lines of France's TGV system. Track-related design specifications included a design speed of ,
standard gauge, continuously welded rails with
UIC 60 profile (), wide concrete sleepers, high ballast bed, swing-nose
switches for high-speed passage,
25 kV/60 Hz electrification, standard French
TVM 430 automatic
cab signalling and
centralised train control. After further design changes, the high-speed tracks were finished over a length of , with of interconnections to the conventional Gyeongbu Line, including at a short interruption at Daejeon. The high-speed section itself included 84 viaducts with a combined length of , among them the Pungse Viaduct; and 46 tunnels with a combined length of , Hwanghak Tunnel became Korea's longest bored tunnel once the line opened.
Pandrol and
Bechtel was also involved in project management. After 12 years of construction, service using the first phase of the Gyeongbu HSR started on 1 April 2004. of high-speed tracks, The two largest structures are the long Geomjeung Tunnel, under
Mount Geumjeong at the Busan end of the line; and the 13,270 m long Wonhyo Tunnel, under Mount Cheonseong south-west of Ulsan, which will be the longest and second longest tunnels in Korea once the line is opened. The original plans foresaw a second-phase opening in 2008, with new trains cruising at a top speed of cutting Seoul-Busan travel times to just 1 hour and 56 minutes. The dispute gained nationwide and international attention due to the repeated hunger strikes of a Buddhist nun, led to a suspension of works in 2005, and only ended with a supreme court ruling in June 2006. For the second phase of the Gyeongbu HSR, the RHEDA 2000
ballastless track system of German manufacturer RAIL.ONE was chosen. However, construction faced quality problems concerning
sleepers and fastenings. Meanwhile, it was revealed that the Pandrol and Vossloh clips chosen for the rail fastenings were submitted to indoor tests only, omitting field tests, and the Pandrol clips saw no prior use on another high-speed line. By that time, ₩4,905.7 billion was spent out of a second phase budget, or ₩17,643.4 billion out of the total.
Other connected high-speed lines The Honam HSR branches from the Gyeongbu HSR at its newly built
Osong station, and is meant to accelerate Honam KTX services to
Mokpo. The first stage from Osong to Gwangju started construction in December 2009, and was to planned be opened in 2014 with actual opening date of 1 April 2015. A branch from the existing Gyeongbu HSR near its northern end to
Suseo-dong, a southeastern ward of Seoul, was in the original plans of the Honam HSR.
Singyeongju station on the second phase section of the Gyeongbu HSR is to become a junction with the re-aligned Ulsan-Gyeongju-Pohang section of the
Donghae Nambu Line, which is to open in 2014. On 23 April 2009, the project was approved by the government and a ground-breaking ceremony was held. On 1 September 2010, the government released a new strategic plan, with the aim to reduce travel times for 95% of Korea to under 2 hours by 2020. Longer-term plans under consideration included a branch from the Gyeongbu HSR to Jinju and further to the southern coast. ==Stations==