Gyeongin Line

Gyeongin Line
Overview
Native name	경인선(京仁線)
Type	Heavy rail, Passenger/Freight rail Commuter rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Seoul Gyeonggi Incheon
Termini	Guro Incheon
Stations	21
Operation
Opened	18 September 1899
Owner	Korea Rail Network Authority
Operator(s)	Korail
Technical
Line length	27.0 km (16.8 mi)
No. of tracks	Double track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV/60 Hz AC Overhead lines
Route map Legend Gyeongbu Line 0.0 Guro Gyeongbu Line National Route 1 1.4 Guil 2.4 Gaebong 3.7 Oryu-dong For Gyeonggi Chemical National Route 46 5.6 Onsu ↑Seoul/Bucheon↓ 6.9 Yeokgok 8.4 Sosa 9.5 Bucheon National Route 39 Former Gimpo Line 11.2 Jung-dong 12.2 Songnae Seoul Ring Expressway ↑Bucheon/Incheon↓ 13.4 Bugae 14.9 Bupyeong  1  16.6 Baegun 18.1 Dongam 19.3 Ganseok 20.5 Juan Gyeongin Expressway 21.5 Dohwa Former Juin Line 22.5 Jemulpo 23.9 Dowon 25.1 Dongincheon (Former Sangincheon)[1] For Port of Incheon 27.0 Incheon terminus

Gyeongin Line
Hangul	경인선
Hanja	京仁線
Revised Romanization	Gyeong-in-seon
McCune–Reischauer	Kyŏng-in-sŏn

The Gyeongin Line (Gyeonginseon) is a subway line in South Korea, currently connecting Guro Station in Seoul and Incheon. Originally South Korea's first railway, it has been converted to a metro line forming a major part of the Seoul Subway Line 1.

History

Opening ceremony in 1899

The Gyeongin Line was the first railway line built on the Korean peninsula. It was opened between Noryangjin, on the shore of the Han River across from Seoul, Geumchon, in Incheon, on September 18, 1899.^[2] Soon after, the line was extended across the Han River into Seoul Station, and beyond Geumchon to the port of Incheon. When the construction of the Gyeongbu Line was completed from Busan to Guro on January 1, 1905, the Seoul-Guro section of the Gyeongin Line became part of the Gyeongbu Line.^[2] The remaining Gyeongin Line from Guro to Incheon is 27.0 km (16.8 mi) long.^[2]

Following the 1961 coup, the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction started South Korea's first five-year plan, which included a construction program to complete the railway network, to foster economic growth.^[3] As part of the program, from November 1963, two additional tracks were laid to the north of the existing tracks from Yeongdeungpo Station on the Gyeongbu Line to Dongincheon Station.^[3] The 27.8 km (17.3 mi) of new tracks, also called Gyeonginbuk Line, entered service on September 18, 1965.^[3]

The line was among the first in South Korea to be electrified with the 25 kV/60 Hz AC catenary system, when two tracks over the 38.9 km (24.2 mi) between Seoul and Incheon entered service on August 15, 1974, for the Seoul Subway Line 1.^[4] Electrification of the second two tracks started with the 14.9 km (9.3 mi) from Guro to Bupyeong, which went into service on January 29, 1999.^[4] The 5.6 km (3.5 mi) until Juan followed on March 15, 2002, and the final 6.6 km (4.1 mi) on December 21, 2005.^[4]

Operation

Korail operated regular passenger service along the Gyeongin Line until the electrification of the line in the early 1970s, when passenger service was integrated into Seoul Subway Line 1. Line 1 trains using the Gyeongin Line provide up to ten trains an hour per direction, with services towards Guro, Cheongnyangni, Dongmyo, Seongbuk, Chang-dong, Uijeongbu, Yangju, Dongducheon and Soyosan.^[5]

See also

• Transportation in South Korea
• List of Korea-related topics

References

1. Japanese Government Railways (1937), 鉄道停車場一覧. 昭和12年10月1日現在(The List of the Stations as of 1 October 1937), Kawaguchi Printing Company, Tokyo, p 483
2. "경영원칙 > 경영공시 > 영업현황 > 영업거리현황". Korail. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
3. "철마 110년, 영고의 자취 [12] 경제개발과 철도" (in Korean). Silvernet News. 2010-03-20. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
4. "Electricity Almanac 2009" (PDF). Korea Electric Association. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
5. "Timetable (Incheon)". SMRTC. Retrieved 2010-11-30.