※This content was broadcast on the 'Economy ON' program of Yonhap News TV at 4 PM on Thursday, January 9th. (Featuring: Hong Kyung-pyo, Yonhap Infomax reporter, Hosted by: Lee Min-jae, anchor)

 

[Anchor Lee Min-jae]

 

The Metropolitan Area Express (GTX). Many of you might have heard about it. The GTX line connecting Suseo to Dongtan is already in operation, and now a new GTX line has started running, right?

[Reporter Hong Kyung-pyo]
GTX is the Metropolitan Area Express Railway. It can be seen as a railway connecting major points in the metropolitan area. While subways already exist, this railway was created to alleviate traffic congestion in the metropolitan area, allowing faster access to core areas from Seoul's suburbs.

This GTX line is currently planned from A to F, and G and H are also being conceptualized. Currently, the Suseo-Dongtan section of Line A is in operation. The line that started operating this time is the northern part of Line A. It can be described as a line connecting Paju and Seoul Station. The middle section of Line A, connecting Seoul Station and Suseo Station, is scheduled to open in 2028.

[Anchor]
The Paju area would be in the northwestern part of Korea's metropolitan area, right? I heard that the transportation environment has greatly improved due to this opening.

[Reporter]
The newly opened line runs from Paju Unjeong Central Station to Seoul Station.
In fact, Paju might feel distant to us as it's a border area with North Korea, but the distance from Paju Unjeong Central Station to Seoul Station is only 32.3km. It wasn't actually far, just inconvenient in terms of transportation. Near Paju Unjeong Central Station, there was Paju Unjeong New Town, which previously had difficult commutes to Seoul, but with GTX, the commuting accessibility has dramatically improved. In this case, we could say that one railway has revitalized an entire city.

However, it's not easy to know just by hearing if commuting has really become that much faster. Often, areas described as "station-adjacent" are actually quite far from the station. So, I personally took the GTX from Paju to Seoul Station on a commute. Let's take a look together.

[Anchor]
Watching the on-site video, it seems like the northern metropolitan area and Seoul could be tied into a single living zone. With such speed and new facilities, the transportation costs might be expensive, right?

[Reporter]
Currently, the fare from Unjeong Central Station to Seoul Station is 4,450 won. For a round trip commute, it's 8,900 won. If you work 20 days a month, arithmetically, the pure GTX cost would be 178,000 won. Of course, we should consider the existing transportation opportunity costs, but it's not an insignificant price. However, by applying K-pass and metropolitan area integrated transfer, it can be used more cheaply. Applying the general 20% discount rate of K-pass, the fare from Unjeong Central Station to Seoul Station drops to 3,560 won. Also, since the Gyeonggi Pass is applicable, you can use it more reasonably by choosing between K-pass and Gyeonggi Pass.

[Anchor]
It seems the fares will also be adjusted to a level that people can afford for commuting. This GTX opening is likely to affect the real estate market as well, right?

[Reporter]
Real estate and location and transportation are inseparable. It's natural that as transportation develops, real estate values rise. Especially, being able to commute to the metropolitan area will act as a big boon for nearby real estate. Of course, since real estate is also an asset, prices will inevitably be pre-reflected. But there's a difference between expecting GTX to come and actually riding it and feeling how close it is.

Let's take a look at the newly opened GTX-A line. It passes through Paju Unjeong New Town, Ilsan KINTEX Station, Daegok Station, Yeonsinnae, and arrives at Seoul Station. Unjeong New Town's transportation has dramatically improved. In the case of Ilsan KINTEX Station, it's located near Daehwa Station and Juyeop Station of Line 3 in Ilsan, a first-generation new town. Daegok Station is a major transfer hub in the northwestern metropolitan area, connecting Line 3, Seohaean Line, Gyeongui-Jungang Line, and Gyeongwon Line, expected to play an important role in revitalizing Ilsan. I talked with Kim In-man, director of the Real Estate Economic Research Institute, about the impact of the GTX opening on the real estate market. Let's meet him together.

(Yonhap Infomax Broadcasting News Department, Reporter Hong Kyung-pyo)
※This content is from the video news covered in the Yonhap News TV Investigation File corner.
kphong@yna.co.kr
(End)

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