On the 28th, trains were stopped on the tracks at the Busan Station yard, which has been selected as a pilot project site for railway undergrounding. Since the railway undergrounding project is still in its early stages, the tasks taking place at the yard were clearly visible from the roof of the Korea Railroad Corporation Busan Vehicle Maintenance Center. Director Hachi-deok noted, "Once the project is fully underway, this area will be covered with an artificial ground (deck)."
The Busan Station yard and Busanjin Container Yard (CY) site were selected as the target sites for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's integrated development pilot project last year. The project, which involves a total expenditure of 1.8184 trillion won, aims to transfer the railway sites, including the 290,000 square meters Busan Station yard and Busanjin CY, to the Busan New Port and develop them as a complex. The general railway functions currently at Busan Station will be moved to the nearby Bujeon Station. After the function transfer, the remaining railway facilities, including tracks on the Gyeongbu Line, will be developed in three dimensions with an artificial ground (deck) covering the top.
Due to difficulties in integrated development caused by the yard obstructing the area between Busan Station, the old city center, and the North Port, the government and Busan City decided to underground the yard site entirely. Director Hachi noted, "The railway facilities have created a disconnection between the Busan old city center and the North Port during the North Port redevelopment project, hindering connectivity. Therefore, using a bridge is the only option to travel between the two areas."
Although this project is referred to as railway undergrounding, it does not actually lower the railway facilities underground. In places where residual railway facilities exist, a deck with a minimum height of 10 meters will be covered, and artificial ground will be created, followed by further three-dimensional development on top. Examples of places developed by applying the method of covering with a deck include Hudson Yards in the United States, Libgosh in France, and Shinjuku complex terminal in Japan.
Director General Yu Samsul explained, "As railways pass through urban areas, issues such as urban disconnection, noise, and safety arise. In this area, it is not possible to reroute the (railway) line, so it will be necessary to develop part of it while covering the top and create areas that are not covered on both sides."
The development section through railway undergrounding covers a total of 2.8 kilometers and a site area of 371,000 square meters. Of this, the area covered by the deck totals 66,524 square meters, which includes 44,299 square meters of a ramen-style structure and 22,225 square meters of a bridge-style structure. The decks covering the railway site will be formed at a minimum height of 10 meters.
The government and Busan City plan to develop this area to supply functions related to international exchange, finance, and tourism in the southeastern region. The spaces covered by the decks will primarily include dwellings, commercial, and office facilities along with parks. The Busanjin CY site, where functions are being transferred to near the Busan New Port, is expected to develop into a commercial and business district.
Director Hachi stated, "While the utilization of the site will be finalized in the basic planning stage, we intend to include public housing such as rental housing and happy housing on the artificial ground, as well as develop it for mixed-use including parks." He added that there are plans to combine commercial and business districts at the Busanjin CY site to create a high-tech industrial district, noting, "Since the yard is where trains are stopped, I believe problems such as noise or vibrations will not be significant."
Busan City anticipates that there will be no major hurdles in progressing the project. Director Hachi explained, "Since the site itself is government-owned land and owned by the Korea Railroad Corporation, the risk of proceeding with the project is low."
The railway undergrounding project plans to establish a basic plan from this year to next year, enter into design in 2027, and initiate the transfer of the CY and deck construction from 2030. Upper development will commence simultaneously with the railway undergrounding while starting the basic planning, followed by implementation plans and compensation from 2027 to 2031, and site creation and sales from 2031 to 2037.