Assembly Passes Bill Expanding Railway Undergrounding Projects

The National Assembly on the 26th passed an amendment to the special act on railway undergrounding and integrated development of railway sites, a bill sponsored by Rep. Yeom Tae-young of the Democratic Party of Korea.

The amendment revises rules to spur railway undergrounding projects. It adds the Korea National Railway agency as a project operator and establishes grounds for local governments, state-run institutions and municipal corporations to take part as co-operators. As a result, local governments such as Suwon, along with the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) and Gyeonggi Housing & Urban Development Corporation (GH), can now participate directly in projects, a shift expected to strengthen the leading role of local governments in undergrounding rail lines and developing the land above them.

The amendment also brings artificial ground projects, such as decking over rail tracks, within the scope of railway undergrounding work. It creates grounds for local governments to set up special accounts for railway undergrounding, funded by public contributions, development charges and property taxes. In addition, state-funded research institutes including the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements and the Korea Transport Institute can be designated as support centers for integrated railway undergrounding development, providing advice and assistance on project design and planning. That is expected to speed up implementation.

"This is part of a phased process of delivering on the project we promised residents during the last general election," Yeom said. "It has significantly raised the prospects for undergrounding the Gyeongbu Line section running through Suwon and for the integrated development project, and it will also help spur similar efforts nationwide."

"Through railway undergrounding and integrated development above the tracks, we will keep working to resolve the severance between neighborhoods and the shortage of space," he said. "When politics turns its promises into visible results, citizens will feel a sense of political efficacy — that their lives can actually improve through politics."