Though not a major project by any means, sometimes smaller projects are not without problems.
It is well known that Noryangjin Station which serves both Lines 1 and 9 (Metro 9), does not have an internal transfer connection between the two lines. This means that passengers which wish to transfer to Line 1 from Line 9 must go up two escalators and outside, walk a very short distance and then up one flight of stairs and down another. Though in actuality the length may not be so different from some of the longer transfer paths at other stations, with the stations parallel to each it might seem odd to some that there is not an easily accessible tunnel underground. For those with transport cards, transfers work the same as in any other station, however passengers without a transport card must purchase another one-use ticket, making the trip more expensive.
Originally a contract was signed to construct the tunnel in December 2008 but the construction and contract fell through in January 2010. Both Korail and Metro 9 had different explanations of what happened, but awaiting a decision on a new survey and design of the tunnel, the contract was cancelled. It wasn’t until one year later that changing of the tunnel plans began. The new plans were completed in early April 2011 and construction finally recommenced later that month. The tunnel is being built constructed by Korail and is expected to take 28 months to complete, meaning that it will not be finished until 2013. The entire cost is expected to add up to 18.3 billion won.
The plans for the tunnel can be seen below.
Sources: Ian Han | Prime News
Koreans copied what NYC Subway has at 59th/Lexington on the 4/5/6/N/R/Q trains and 63rd/Lexington on the F train. No direct underground connection but a free out-of-system transfer for those using MetroCard. Total knock-off.
Thank you for your comment. I think it was more of a temporary solution while the underground tunnel is being built than an attempt to copy another subway station. As stated above the tunnel contract was signed in 2008 before the line even opened. If anything, Korail is taking flack for the delays in construction and wants to get the underground connection finished ASAP.
It would be nice if they tried to do a connector between Namyŏng Station on line #1 and Samgakchi Station on line #6. The southern end of Namyŏng and the western end of Samgakchi are a short walk, but the two lines have no connector (I think).
I personally think that the distance is a little far for a transfer tunnel and the military base in-between the two could make it a little tricky. Nevertheless, I can definitely see how it could be extremely handy and it seems a big oversight that there is no transfer point here but having barely used line 6 I had never noticed before. After looking around a bit it seems the idea of moving Namyŏng closer to Samgakchi to make this happen has definitely been brought up though. (http://goo.gl/loAb4 & http://goo.gl/Y0DvX)
You might like to check out this post as well. – http://ketel.egloos.com/2985229
Still, nothing official happening unfortunately. :(
Thanks for the link. It reminded me that indeed the main part of lines #1 and #6 hit each other at Tongmyo-ap Station, though that’s way on the other side of downtown.
As I was envisioning it, a transfer point would avoid the military base altogether. Instead, it would be a walkway that extends southward from the Namyŏng Station platform until it hits the roadway bridge that goes over the tracks, then running parallel to or above it and hooking up somehow with a stairway or escalator created just for this purpose.
This would also allow for a southern entrance to Namyŏng Station.
Namyŏng Station was my primary station for years before I bought a place closer to Seoul Station, and at the same time I frequented the area around Samgakchi, so this oversight of the planners was a nuisance.