Can Seongnam's proposed Dochon-Yatap station become a reality?

Cost-benefit ratio of 0.46 falls far short of the 1.0 threshold required under relevant regulations

Seongnam held a public briefing Monday at the Dochon-dong Community Service Center, presenting residents with the final results of a preliminary feasibility study on the proposed Dochon-Yatap station — a tentative name for a new stop near the Dochon intersection on the Suseo–Gwangju double-track railway line — along with the city's plans going forward.

The briefing was organized to share transparently the progress made toward establishing the station, the findings of economic and technical reviews, and the results of a study on whether infrastructure could be installed in advance to prepare for a future station.

The city said the final study put the cost-benefit ratio for the proposed station at 0.46.

While that figure is slightly higher than the 0.38 calculated in August, it falls well short of the 1.0 threshold required for a new station under relevant regulations, the city told residents, making it effectively impossible to proceed under current law.

The city also informed residents that it had consulted with central government ministries and received the opinion that installing infrastructure in advance to prepare for a future station cannot be treated separately from building the station itself.

Earlier, Seongnam had proposed to Korea National Railway in 2024 that the structural design of the line be modified in advance — including pre-constructing station structures — to prepare for a potential future stop. Korea National Railway said that changing the structural design also constitutes building a new station and that economic viability would still need to be demonstrated.

"The establishment of Dochon-Yatap station has long been a goal local residents have pursued, and the city has made every effort to make it happen," a Seongnam city official said. "We deeply regret that it has become difficult to move forward due to the failure to meet the relevant regulations and economic viability standards."

The official added that the city would not abandon efforts to improve local transportation conditions simply because a new station was no longer feasible. "We will continue to explore a range of public transit improvements to address residents' transportation inconveniences, in connection with large-scale development plans such as the redevelopment of the original city center and the reconstruction of Bundang," the official said.

fob140@heraldcorp.com