GTXtension(s) - fast transit rather than mass commuting?

In case you missed it, three new projects of GTX (Great Train eXpress) lines were announced earlier this year. Since we're getting closer to the inauguration of the first section on March 30 (GTX-A from Suseo to Dongtan), but also to key elections on April 10, I'll spare you all the wonderful urban development pledges that have popped up from all sides (I guess merging Gimpo with Seoul was one of the most radical), and talk a bit more about these Great Train extensions and GTX-tensions.

By stretching ABC and adding DEF, the network reaches further North, South, West, and East, and draws a first ring around Seoul and across Gyeonggi-do (GTX-F):

If GTX clearly brings places closer together, dividing by 3 the time to join Suseo and Dongtan, and if it reaches relatively fast speeds (105 km/h in its inaugural section, with peaks at 180 km/h), the system is 'express' in the sense that it makes few stops. And so far, it has more or less managed to resist intense pressure to add intermediary stations, particularly within Seoul. 

Which makes the success of seamless multimodal transport hubs even more critical, and I'm not sure that will be the case from day one. 'Luckily', the traffic shall not be too massive, because as it is conceived now, GTX can't really handle mass commuting. 

Beyond the limited number of trains per hour, their shortness is an issue, and commuters may struggle to find a spot to hop in, particularly in intermediary stations. I've experienced rush hour on Paris region's RER, with its long, double-decker trains, and that's not always pleasant... We may not see scenes similar to Line 9 saturation on steroids, but expect at least significant frustration from a lot of people who were expecting GTX as the instant panacea.

GTX provides fast transit before mass transit, it shortens connections before coping with mass commuting, and that's already something big. Even if you won't commute to work there, simply knowing that you can go to Seoul very quickly for lunch, dinner, or on a weekend can make moving far away less alienating. 

These massive and costly extensions do add Gangwon-do (Chuncheon and Wonju) and Chungcheongnam-do (Cheonan) to the equation, but also risk of further widening the gaps between sudogwon (Seoul-Incheon-Gyeonggi) and the rest of Korea as well as within the capital region and within the capital itself. With its relatively cheap fees (KRW 3.2K + 250 per 5 km), GTX may even cannibalize such alternatives as KTX.

The choices of routes and stations is always debatable and many areas within and beyond Seoul will remain underserved, but I always welcome transversal approaches in transport, and cooperation within the capital region. Nowadays, Seoul is collaborating much closer with Gyeonggi-do, including for its Climate Card now, and a ring bringing Gyeonggi closer together and bypassing the capital altogether marks a significant step.

Somehow, GTX is forcing the emergenceof  the grand vision, the great debate that's always been lacking. The way this whole region keeps developing remains a litany of missed opportunities, particularly since most of this urban and transport development (or lack of) relied on new towns built from scratch. And you know how often I complain about so much urban planning without urbanism or planning.

Now we're hearing about covering the Gyeongin Expressway and the rift between the Eastern and Western sides of Dongtan new town, and both will cost a fortune, but the Seoul-Inchon axis dates from ages ago, and that rift should have been solved from Dongtan's very conception. As demographics plummet and finances shrink, Korea can't afford not to get it right from the beginning. 

This nation is so great at alphabets, it should contemplate beyond ABCDEF.

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New KTX vertical to Gangnam by 2015

Suseo Station has been confirmed as the terminus of the Suseo High Speed Railway (Suseo HSR), a KTX vertical line connecting Southwest Seoul with the main axis Seoul-Busan (Gyeongbu HSR) at Pyeongtaek.

Looking at this old map, covering the Northeastern quarter of the country seemed a priority, but Korail has recently improved the Gyeongchun Line (ITX connecting Chuncheon with Cheongnyangni, Seoul Station), and the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics will KTXize and extend this horizontal axis ("KTX coast to coast Incheon-Gangneung"), even if it may not reach the East Sea for budgetary reasons. Furthermore, 40% of South Koreans live in Seoul or Gyeonggi-do.

So. Again. Ultraprivileged Gangnam-Bundang areas are blessed with major transport infrastructures: Suseo Station, which already connects Line 3 with Bundang Line, will become one of the Capital's biggest hubs.

Express Bus Terminal (Lines 3, 7, 9) may have to balance between the KTX stations of Yeongdeungpo (Line 9) and Suseo, whereas north of the Han river, the Seoul Station - Cheongnyangni horizontal axis looks much more simple, with both centers directly connected via Line 1.

Suseo HSR will connect with Gyeongbu HSR at a future Pyeongtaek Junction, north of Cheonan-Asan Station, with two stations in between:
- Jije Station in Jije-dong, Pyeongtaek (Line 1)
- Dongtan Station (New Dongtan City in Hwaseong)

Let's focus more on the other two winners of the deal:

• Dongtan new town is to cover about 24,000 square meters, and to propose 40,000 dwellings to an expected population of 120,000. But today, it is not directly on the subway map: Seodongtan Station is the sole station on a branchlet of Line 1.
• Among South Korea's biggest harbors and industrial complexes Pyeongtaek will soon add the US troops leaving Yongsan, Uijeongbu, and Dongducheon to an already impressive military hub comprising two USFK facilities.

The 61 km stretch will be inaugurated in 2015. 

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Here comes the sun

Seoul city just published* a Request For Proposals for small solar power plants across the city.

Seoul Citizen's Solar Power Coop will operate the following sites:
- the Gangseo Agricultural and Fishery Wholesale Market in Balsan-dong, Gangseo-gu (16,635 sqm, 1,600 KW)
- the treatment station in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu (3024 sqm, 270 KW)
- the Mangu youth center in Mangu-dong, Jungnang-gu (1,094 sqm, 100 KW)
- the Gangdong Bus Garage in Gangil-dong, Gangdong-gu (895 sqm, 90 KW)
- Dongbu Women's Center (Seoul Women's Foundation) in Jayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu (800 sqm, 80 KW)

The remaining three projects shall be handled by consortia:
- Amsa Water Purification Center in Amsa-dong, Gangdong-gu (10,130 sqm, 1,000 KW)
- Yeongdeungpo Arisu Water Purification Center in Yanghwa-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu (9,177 sqm, 910 KW)
- Gangnam Resource Recovery Facility in Suseo-dong, Gangnam-gu (3,800 sqm, 380 KW)

Overall: 4.43 MW for 45,555 square meters, a classic ratio of 10 sqm for 1 KW.

Nice, but far from the 230 MW announced last may in Seoul's ambitious plan for hydrogen fuel cell power: by 2014, Seoul will boast power plants, plus 102 cells in buildings. Enough to serve 400,000 households.

Well the economics of solar energy are well known, and you have to start somewhere. And anyway, it's good to see Seoul make good use of its roofs, which are also getting greener by the day. I already mentioned a big boost more than two years ago (see incentives and projects in "Seoul Rooftops Go Green"), and this summer, the above pictured Dongdaemun Design Plaza alone has added 20,330 sqm: 55.3% on the tail, 29.7% on the Convention Hall, 14.9% on the Exhibition Hall. Five different species of sedums have been selected: less demanding than grass or other plants for maintenance, sebum is an interesting CO2 trap that also reduces dust concentration in the air.

Now how to fill the 80,000 sqm inside Zaha Hadid's dramatic empty shell? That's yet another challenge for Seoul Metropolitan Government.

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* "서울시 햇빛발전소 시범사업 제안서 공모 추가 공고" (seoul.go.kr 20120910)