Korea National Railway launches design work for Saemangeum port rail link, targeting 2033 opening

Korea National Railway announced Thursday that it has formally launched integrated basic and detailed design work for the Saemangeum Port Access Railway project, whose master plan was published last November.

The project will build a 48.3-kilometer single-track electrified line connecting Daeya Station in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, to the rail freight terminal at Saemangeum's new port, at a total project cost of 1.59 trillion won ($1.12 billion). The line combines 19 kilometers of electrification on existing track with 29.3 kilometers of newly built route. Korea National Railway completed the selection of a design firm in July and began formal design work this month.

For the first construction section in particular, the agency will apply an integrated design approach that bundles earthworks, track, communications and rolling stock depot work into a single process, allowing efficient coordination across disciplines and raising the overall quality and completeness of the design output.

Once the line opens in 2033, travel time from the planned Waterfront City Station — a tentative name — to Iksan Station is expected to be cut to within about 40 minutes.

The line will also make transfers easier to major rail corridors including the Janghang, Jeolla and Honam lines, improving inter-regional accessibility and strengthening the passenger and freight transport network in ways expected to contribute significantly to balanced national development.

The rail link's role as a key transport artery is set to grow further after the government and Hyundai Motor Group signed an MOU on Feb. 27 to invest in fostering robot and hydrogen advanced industries and building an AI hydrogen city within the Saemangeum zone.

"The Saemangeum port access railway is the backbone of a tri-port logistics system linking rail, port and airport," said Lee An-ho, acting president of Korea National Railway. "We will do our utmost to get ahead of the surge in transport and logistics demand to come, while making safety and user convenience our top priorities so the line opens on schedule."

Meanwhile, Korea National Railway plans to put out 24 large-scale construction supervision contracts worth a combined 76.1 billion won this month to support the more stable rollout of its LTE-R integrated railway radio network and Korean Train Control System-2 projects.