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| Two members of Gimpo City Council have their heads shaved during a protest against the government's decision not to extend the GTX-D line, near the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure in Sejong, June 2. Yonhap |
By Yoon Ja-young
The high speed GTX train project that was aimed at stabilizing the housing market is triggering a housing price hike. Residents of various locations are demanding that the train should stop in their town while opposing the building of additional stations in neighboring towns.
"Those who own apartments here have high expectations for the GTX. They expect that it will pull up prices of their apartments even further," said a real estate agent in Haengdang-dong, which is close to Wangsimni Station where the GTX-C train is expected to make a stop.
GTX, which stands for Great Train Express, is a high speed railway that will link central Seoul with towns in Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul. Unlike Korea's subway rail system where trains run at 30 to 40 kilometers per hour at an average depth of 20 meters below ground, GTX will run at around 100 kilometers per hour at a depth of around 40 meters. A trip from Suwon to Samseong Subway Station in southern Seoul will take only 22 minutes compared to the current 78 minutes. The trip from Uijeongbu to Samseong Subway Station will be shortened to 16 minutes from the current 74 minutes. By shortening commute times, the government hopes to entice more people to move out of the capital and thereby stabilize Seoul's infamously out-of-control housing market.
And yet, ironically, GTX is triggering alternative housing bubbles in the towns where the high speed train is scheduled to make stops. It is even causing conflict between neighboring towns.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recently selected a consortium led by Hyundai Engineering and Construction as the preferred bidder for the GTX-C line ― a 4 trillion won project which is expected to be launched next year and completed around the end of 2026. On top of the previously planned 10 stations along the GTX-C line, the consortium suggested adding Wangsimni and Indeogwon stations.
This has pushed up prices of apartments in Dongan District, Anyang City where Indeogwon Station would be built. Properties saw a 0.99 percent rise in prices last week, which was the highest in the country.
It also comes as an annoyance for those who expected the high speed train to stop only in their towns. Residents of Gwacheon and Cheongnyangni, where the high-speed train is already scheduled to stop, are opposing building additional stops in Indeogwon or Wangsimni. Some owners of Lotte Castle Sky L-65 apartments near Cheongnyangni Station even hung a huge banner in their area to oppose a GTX station in Wangsimni, which is just 2.3 kilometers from Cheongnyangni Station. Angry owners say that adding more stations will slow down the train which is supposed to be high speed.
With Wangsimni and Indeogwon likely to be newly added to the route, residents of other areas are demanding the same. Dongducheon, Euiwang and Ansan residents are demanding that GTX stations should be built in their regions. Residents of Gimpo and Incheon are requesting that the GTX-D line ― which will be connected to GTX-B line at Bucheon ― should be extended further to link their town directly with southern Seoul as their local governments had originally suggested. Gangdong District and Hanam City are also demanding the extension.
The GTX project also has angered residents of apartments under which the train line will pass underground without stopping. Residents of Eunma Apartment, a huge apartment complex in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, are protesting as even if the tunnels are made to run deeper, they fear it will negatively affect them due to vibration and noise.
