Free shuttle buses to run between Dobongsan Station and Jangam Station during closure
Jangam Station on Seoul Subway Line 7 will suspend operations from Friday through Oct. 30 to allow construction of a new station building as part of the Dobongsan–Okjeong metropolitan railway project. During the closure, Line 7 trains will run only as far as Dobongsan Station, the stop before Jangam.
Gyeonggi Province will operate free shuttle buses between Dobongsan Station and Jangam Station to minimize inconvenience for commuters during the suspension.
The shuttle buses will serve the route between the Dobongsan Station transfer center, the main gate of the Dobong vehicle depot and the Jangam Station stop, running from 5 a.m. to midnight. Headways will be seven to 15 minutes on weekdays and 10 to 20 minutes on weekends and public holidays.
The closure is necessary to demolish the existing Jangam Station and build a new one connected to the Dobongsan–Okjeong metropolitan railway. The current station operates as a basic facility inside the Dobong vehicle depot. To keep train service running during construction of the new building, the province has installed a temporary Jangam Station next to the existing station entrance.
However, before the temporary station can open, safety checks are required — including track connections, the relocation of signal and communications equipment, and trial runs — making a roughly one-month suspension of service necessary.
On Friday, the first day of the closure, the province will connect the tracks leading to the temporary Jangam Station to the existing line. Work to relocate related facilities, conduct joint inspections and carry out supplementary work will continue through Oct. 24, followed by operational checks simulating actual service through Oct. 27. Once all checks are complete, the temporary Jangam Station will open on Oct. 31.
Gyeonggi Province has been notifying passengers of the closure schedule and shuttle bus plan since September through announcements at stations, on trains and at bus stops.
"We are continuously informing citizens who use Jangam Station about the closure schedule and alternative transportation so they are not inconvenienced," said Park Young-shin, head of the Gyeonggi Province Railway Construction Division. "We will thoroughly complete all safety checks as planned so that the temporary Jangam Station can be used safely from Oct. 31."
The Dobongsan–Okjeong metropolitan railway is a single-track electric railway project spanning 15.1 kilometers from Dobongsan Station in Seoul through Jangam and Tapseok stations in Uijeongbu to the Goeup district in Yangju. The line will have three stations and carries a total project cost of 893.5 billion won ($658 million). As of September, overall construction progress stood at 63.62 percent.
pjh@heraldcorp.com
