"How Much Longer Must We Wait?" ... Calls Grow for Early Opening of Bujeon-Masan Double-Track Railway This Year

by Lee Seryeong

Published 04 Feb.2026 13:10(KST)

Business circles and citizens in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province have called for the early opening within this year of the Bujeon-Masan double-track railway, which has been stalled for years.

On the 4th, the Gimhae Chamber of Commerce and Industry and residents of Jangyu 1, 2 and 3-dong held a press conference at the Gimhae City Hall press center, demanding, "Open the double-track railway connecting Bujeon in Busan and Masan in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province ahead of schedule within this year."

Gyeongnam Gimhae Chamber of Commerce and Industry and residents of Jangyu 1, 2 and 3-dong are holding a press conference calling for the early opening of the Bujeon-Masan double-track railway by the end of the year. Photo by Lee Seryeong

Local residents said, "The opening date promised by the government has been postponed several times, and even now we do not know the exact schedule," and criticized, "How long do we have to wait amid rush-hour congestion, time wasted on the road, and repeated transportation inconveniences?"

They continued, "Safety is of course the top priority and is important," but added, "However, endless delays and opaque administration in the name of safety amount to turning a blind eye to citizens' lives."

They went on to say, "We demand from the government a clear opening schedule and responsible implementation," and appealed, "Please at least partially open sections where construction has been completed so as to ease rush-hour congestion and inconvenience for citizens."

No Eunsik, chairman of the Gimhae Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, "The Bujeon-Masan double-track railway project is not just a railway project; it is core infrastructure that will connect Gimhae, Changwon and Busan into a single living and economic zone, and will determine corporate investment decisions, logistics costs and job creation."

He added, "Once the double-track railway opens and operates normally, travel time between major hubs in Gimhae and Busan will be reduced by more than 30 minutes from the current 90 minutes, and as a result, corporate logistics efficiency is expected to improve by more than 10 to 20 percent," noting, "There is also analysis that it will directly and indirectly create tens of thousands of jobs."

Chairman No stressed, "If it had opened on time, the southeastern region centered on Gimhae could have seen the possibility of attracting private investment on the scale of several trillion won," and said, "Early opening is not preferential treatment for the region but the minimum national duty to enable companies to operate and hire people."

Plan for the Bujeon-Masan double-track railway. Provided by Gimhae City

The Bujeon-Masan double-track railway is a rail line of about 51 kilometers across nine sections, connecting Bujeon Station in Busan to Masan Station in Changwon via Sinwol Station in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province.

Construction began in April 2014 and the line was scheduled to open in 2020, but the lower Nakdong River tunnel collapsed just before opening, and it took more than five years merely to restore the accident section. Although the project has reached a 99 percent completion rate, the opening has been delayed for a fifth year due to issues such as the additional construction of emergency evacuation passageways.

As the government failed to narrow differences with the project operator over the emergency evacuation passageways, it extended the construction period by one more year through a notice of changes to the implementation plan for the private investment facility project in December last year. As a result, the opening date, which had been set for June 2026 as stated during the National Assembly audit, was postponed again to the end of the year.

The partial opening of the Masan Station-Gangseogeumho Station section, where construction has been completed, is under review, but operations are expected to begin in the second half of the year at the earliest.