'Missing Reinforcing Bars' at GTX Samseong Station: Non-Stop Service Expected in First Half of Next Year if Columns Are Reinforced

Final option to be selected by year-end... Rebuilding also under review
Additional deficiencies found in government joint inspection

The start of non-stop train service through Samseong Station on the Seoul Metropolitan Area Express Railway (GTX)-A line is expected to be pushed back to the first half of next year.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on November 3 that it plans to finalize by the end of this year whether to reinforce the GTX Samseong Station columns, which are missing a large number of reinforcing bars, or demolish and rebuild them. The schedule for the first half of next year assumes that the existing columns will be retained and reinforced. If they are rebuilt instead, a delay to the start of non-stop service is inevitable. The ministry said, "We will decide on a specific schedule after selecting the final option, taking into comprehensive consideration the possibility of carrying out reinforcement work alongside trial operations for commercial service."

The site of the Yeongdong-daero underground complex development project, part of the GTX-A line in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Yonhap News Agency.

The GTX-A currently operates separately between Unjeong Jungang Station in Paju and Seoul Station, and between Suseo Station and Dongtan Station in Hwaseong. "Non-stop service through Samseong Station" means connecting Seoul Station and Suseo Station without trains stopping at Samseong Station in between. Passengers will be able to travel from Paju to Dongtan without changing trains, but will not be able to board or alight at Samseong Station.

The Korea Concrete Institute, which was commissioned to review reinforcement options, examined 12 proposals starting May 28, including a steel-plate reinforcement plan put forward by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The city's proposal uses a method previously applied at Gongdeok Station to withstand the load of facilities above it. It was a standard reinforcement project carried out on 162 columns around 2014, when the upper station facilities at Gongdeok Station on the Incheon International Airport Railroad were expanded. Steel plates were attached to the outer surfaces of the columns to withstand the additional load from the new facilities on the upper floor and to prepare for earthquakes.

The institute concluded that it would be difficult to apply this method as is at Samseong Station. Unlike at Gongdeok Station, Samseong Station is an exceptional case in which a large number of reinforcing bars are missing, leaving the columns with insufficient load-bearing capacity. Because the area and materials needed to fill the gaps differ, simply attaching steel plates to the outer surfaces has its limits.

The institute therefore narrowed the 12 proposals down to two options considered feasible for use at the site. One involves applying high-strength special cement (mortar) to the outer surfaces of the columns to thicken their structural core; the other is a composite reinforcement method that also wraps the columns in steel plates. The institute is building full-scale column models to directly test the strength of the special cement and whether it can fill the gaps completely.

The Korean Society for Structural Maintenance and Inspection is analyzing an option to demolish the existing columns and rebuild them.

Comparison of the bridge reinforcement method at Gongdeok Station and the column reinforcement plan at GTX-A Samseong Station. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

The issue came to light after Hyundai Engineering & Construction, the contractor, first confirmed on October 23, 2025, that reinforcing bars were missing from underground columns in Section 3 of the Yeongdong-daero Complex Development Project, and reported the matter to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on November 10, 2025, together with the construction supervision team.

A government joint inspection team has been examining the design and construction of all Sections 1 through 4 since May 21, 2026. It is verifying the existing 2D designs through detailed 3D analysis and using reinforcing-bar detection to identify additional defects, including insufficient concrete cover thickness and inadequate bearing strength, before discussing reinforcement measures. The contractor immediately corrected minor issues, such as improperly installed safety railings.

On October 30, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held a comprehensive inspection meeting with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the National Railroad Authority, and the institute's research team to coordinate future plans. The ministry plans to finalize by the end of this year its review of violations of guidelines identified during the inspection, impose penalty points on the contractor, and take administrative measures.

Before the missing reinforcing bars came to light, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport had set June 2026 as the target for starting non-stop service. The schedule that the GTX-A operator reported to the Seoul Metropolitan Council in September 2025 also called for non-stop service by the end of June 2026, partial opening of Samseong Station the following year, and full opening in 2028.

Kim Taebyeong, director general of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Railway Bureau, said, "We will conduct thorough inspections and reviews related to the construction errors at Samseong Station, putting public safety first. We will do our utmost to select the best option by the end of this year, taking public convenience into consideration, and inform the public."

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