PAJU — Paju, a city in Gyeonggi Province, is concentrating its administrative resources on getting four rail projects — including an extension of Subway Line 3 and a new GTX-H line — written into the central government's rail plan. The city frames the rail buildout not merely as a fix for commuting hassles but as a strategy to strengthen the industrial and logistics base of a border region and build a new growth axis in the northern part of the greater Seoul area.
Paju said on the 14th that, with the Fifth National Railway Network Construction Plan (2026-2035) nearing approval, it is strengthening coordination with local politicians while also working to build public support. The city is putting forward an extension of Subway Line 3 from Daehwa Station in Goyang to Geumneung Station in Paju as its core project, with the aim of carrying it from inclusion in the national plan through to follow-up implementation.
The four projects the city is seeking to have included are the Paju extension of Subway Line 3, the Tongil-ro Line, GTX-H and a KTX extension to Paju. The city is approaching each line not as a standalone transport project but as part of an integrated rail network that would expand the area's residential and economic zone and support future industries.
The centerpiece is the Line 3 extension. The project would invest a total of 1.2127 trillion won (about $830 million) to connect 10.9 kilometers from Daehwa Station in Goyang to Geumneung Station in Paju by 2035. The aim is to tie Goyang and Paju into a single metropolitan living area, meet transport demand created by population growth and improve travel between major hubs.
While the opening of GTX-A improved access to Seoul, expanding the metropolitan rail network to support daily commuting to work and school and access to medical and commercial facilities remains a challenge. Paju expects the Line 3 extension to complement the functions of the existing rail network and provide a foundation for stronger residential and economic links between Goyang and Paju.
The Tongil-ro Line is being pursued as an alternative that would supplement the traffic function of National Highway No. 1. GTX-H is intended to improve rail access in northwestern Gyeonggi Province, while the KTX extension to Paju is meant to prepare for a future expansion of rail and logistics networks on the Korean Peninsula.
Beyond Better Transport: A Bid to Become an Industrial and Logistics Hub
Paju's rail expansion strategy does not stop at solving transport problems. The city plans to broaden the reach of housing in the greater Seoul area while improving access to Seoul, and to build an industrial and logistics base linked to the Peace Economic Special Zone to strengthen the area's self-sufficiency.
Development constraints accumulated from the city's location in a border region and from military restrictions are another factor adding to the case for rail expansion. Paju has set a goal of reducing regional imbalances by making up for its relatively weak metropolitan transport base and emerging as a new growth hub in the northern part of the greater Seoul area.
To that end, the city has joined forces with local politicians. At a party-government consultative meeting in September, with the city council, National Assembly members and provincial council members taking part, participants adopted a joint statement urging that the four core rail projects be reflected in the national plan. The city is reinforcing its case for each project through a task force on key issues set up by the current city administration, and is also gathering residents' views through on-the-ground outreach.
Residents have added momentum. A Gyeonggi Province citizens' petition held from Aug. 14 to Sept. 13 drew 11,238 people calling for the Paju extension of Subway Line 3 to be included in the national plan and for construction to begin promptly. By meeting the threshold for an official response from the governor, the city's long-standing priority project rose to the level of a major provincial issue.
In an official response on the 12th, Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae said the province is "concentrating administrative capacity so that the Line 3 project can be reflected in the Fifth National Railway Network Construction Plan," adding, "We will prepare a commercialization strategy and follow-up procedures with Paju and continue working so that this leads not just to inclusion in the national plan but to an actual start of construction."
Paju Mayor Son Bae-chan has repeatedly stressed a determination to secure approval for the Line 3 extension within the current term.
"We will do our utmost to bring together all of the area's capabilities so that these core rail projects can be reflected in the national railway network plan," Son said. "Even after they are included in the plan, we will work to ensure this leads to substantive implementation."
The city views inclusion in the national plan as the starting point for the projects. Once included, a project can be fleshed out after going through related procedures such as follow-up feasibility reviews. The city plans to continue consultations with relevant agencies until the national plan is finalized, and to concentrate administrative resources on follow-up procedures afterward.
"The Line 3 extension is not a demand for compensation for past sacrifices but a message asking the government to invest first in a city of peace so that it can drive future growth and peace," Son said. "Using inclusion in the national plan as a turning point, we will begin preparing to reshape the urban structure of the northern greater Seoul area and the transport map of the Korean Peninsula."