Native name 경인선(京仁線) Line length 27.0 km (16.8 mi) Operator Korail | Status Operational Number of tracks Double track Stations 21 | |
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Type Heavy rail, Passenger/Freight rail
Commuter rail Opened 18 September 1899 (1899-09-18) Owner Korea Rail Network Authority Line number 301 (Korea Rail Network Authority) Terminis Incheon Station, Guro Station Locale Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, Incheon | ||
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.
Contents
History
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. 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. The remaining Gyeongin Line from Guro to Incheon is 27.0 km (16.8 mi) long.
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. 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. The 27.8 km (17.3 mi) of new tracks, also called Gyeonginbuk Line, entered service on September 18, 1965.
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. 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. 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.
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.