Goyang City Railway Projects Gain Momentum as "Non-Metropolitan Type" Evaluation Method Confirmed for Preliminary Feasibility Studies

Gyeonggi Province's Request to Reflect "Border Area Characteristics" Accepted by Government
Projects Such as Incheon Line 2 and Gajwa-Siksa Line Expected to Accelerate
Incheon Line 2 Goyang Extension Also Expected to Benefit from New Evaluation Framework

Going forward, major railway projects in Goyang City will be evaluated under the "non-metropolitan type" rather than the "metropolitan type" in preliminary feasibility studies. As a result, these projects will be recognized for their contribution to balanced regional development, moving away from a strict focus on economic efficiency. This change is expected to accelerate the previously stalled expansion of the railway network.

Gyeonggi Provincial Government Building. Provided by Gyeonggi Province

This development comes as the central government has accepted Gyeonggi Province's long-standing request for regulatory improvement. As a result, key railway network projects involving Goyang City, such as the Incheon Line 2 Goyang Extension, the Gajwa-Siksa Line, and the Daegok-Goyang City Hall-Siksa Line, are expected to gain momentum.

According to the province on February 2, Article 42 of the Ministry of Economy and Finance's directive on the "Preliminary Feasibility Study Operation Guidelines" was recently revised to include these changes. This revision provides a basis for Goyang City's railway projects to be classified and evaluated as "non-metropolitan type" in preliminary feasibility studies.

Under the previous guidelines, even if a metropolitan area required special consideration (such as border regions or islands), areas like Goyang City, which are designated as "overcrowding control zones," were automatically classified as metropolitan type and subject to strict, economically focused evaluation criteria.

However, the revised guidelines allow for projects that do not induce population concentration, such as railways, to be classified as non-metropolitan type based on the characteristics of the project, even if they are located in overcrowding control zones.

The core of this revision is that even within the metropolitan area, regions with complex conditions such as border proximity or regulatory restrictions can now have their projects classified as "non-metropolitan type" depending on the nature of the project. If a project is classified as non-metropolitan type, the evaluation framework—previously centered on "economic feasibility (B/C)" and "policy relevance"—will now include an additional "regional balanced development analysis." As a result, Goyang City's railway projects will benefit in terms of economic feasibility analysis, policy relevance analysis, and regional balanced development analysis, as indicated in the reference materials.

Accordingly, the ongoing preliminary feasibility study for the "Incheon Line 2 Goyang Extension (from Dokjeong Station in Seo-gu, Incheon to Geolpo-bukbyeon, KINTEX, and Jungsan District, with a total project cost of 2.083 trillion won)" is expected to receive a favorable assessment in the overall evaluation (AHP).

Additionally, internal railway network projects in Goyang City, such as the Gajwa-Siksa Line and the Daegok-Goyang City Hall-Siksa Line, which are included in the "Second Gyeonggi Province Urban Rail Network Construction Plan," will also have the opportunity to be properly recognized for their regional characteristics in future preliminary feasibility studies.

This guideline revision is the result of joint efforts by Gyeonggi Province and National Assemblyman Kim Younghwan, a member of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, who have been persuading the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Korea Development Institute (KDI) since 2025 to apply the non-metropolitan evaluation method to railway projects in border areas such as Goyang City.

An official from Gyeonggi Province stated, "The grievances of residents in border areas, who have long suffered from reverse discrimination simply because they are part of the metropolitan area, will be largely alleviated by this guideline revision."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.