'November is effectively the last chance': Incheon council pushes for Seoul Line 2 extension, GTX-D inclusion

Incheon City Council has launched an all-out push to secure the inclusion of a Seoul Subway Line 2 extension to Cheongna and the GTX-D route in the government's 5th National Railway Network Plan, expected to be finalized in November.

The council's Environment and Transportation Committee held a resolution rally Tuesday calling for both the Cheongna extension of Seoul Line 2 and the GTX-D Y-shaped route to be incorporated into the 5th National Railway Network Plan and advanced without delay.

The rally reflected a cross-party consensus within the council that the region's future must take precedence over political differences when it comes to expanding transportation infrastructure in northwestern Incheon.

The Seoul Line 2 Cheongna extension would stretch the planned Daejang-Hongdae Line — set to connect Bucheon's Daejang district with Hongik University Station in Seoul — further out to Cheongna International City.

If realized, the project is expected to significantly improve access to Seoul from Cheongna and the broader northwestern Incheon area.

The GTX-D Y-shaped route is a metropolitan express rail project that would link Incheon International Airport through Cheongna and Gajeong to Samsung Station in Seoul and the southern metropolitan area. It has long been a top transportation priority for residents of northwestern Incheon.

The council held the rally because the national railway network plan has fallen well behind its original schedule.

The 5th National Railway Network Plan was originally due to be announced in June last year but has been delayed by more than a year.

With the government now expected to finalize and release the plan in November, concern is growing in Incheon that failure to secure inclusion of the key rail projects at this stage could set them back by years.

The council called on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to finalize the 5th National Railway Network Plan promptly and to include both the Seoul Line 2 Cheongna extension and the GTX-D Y-shaped route.

It particularly urged the government to quickly resolve potential issues — such as overlapping route segments between the two projects — so they do not become obstacles in the planning process.

The council also called on the relevant ministries and Incheon city government to move swiftly through follow-up procedures, including preliminary feasibility studies, to ensure that inclusion in the national railway plan translates into actual ground-breaking.

"This is a matter directly tied to Incheon's future, so the council has come together with one voice, setting aside partisan differences," said Jo Seong-hwan, chairman of the Environment and Transportation Committee. "We will continue to persuade the government and relevant agencies to ensure that the key rail projects for northwestern Incheon are included in the 5th National Railway Network Plan."