The South Korean government has approved the preliminary feasibility study for the high-speed rail project between Samcheok and Gangneung, which is the only slow section along the Donghae Line connecting Busan to Gangneung. The project is expected to cost approximately 1.15 trillion KRW and aims to decrease travel time from Busan to Gangneung from the current 3 hours and 50 minutes to 3 hours and 30 minutes. This development is particularly beneficial for improving accessibility between the coastal areas of Gangwon Province and the Yeongnam region.

Local authorities in Gangwon Province anticipate that connecting the high-speed rail along the Donghae coastal route will enhance tourism and industrial growth significantly in the long term. The augmented accessibility is expected to promote the 117 beaches along the East Coast as potential global tourist destinations, alongside boosting the hydrogen industry by integrating six hydrogen hubs spread across Ulsan, Gyeongbuk, and Gangwon into a single industrial belt.

Furthermore, transitioning this historically slow route into a high-speed corridor will improve logistics efficiency, facilitating the rollout of 13 major development projects worth approximately 3 trillion KRW currently planned in the Gangneung, Donghae, and Samcheok areas. The Gangwon authorities are focusing on expediting the project’s timeline while also enhancing transport networks and developing unique regional strategies, including leveraging former railway routes for innovative services like seaside trains.