The XXIII Winter Olympic Games held in Peyongchang (South Korea) have highlighted the major underground works undertaken by Korean authorities and the Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (member nation of the ITA) that allowed the efficiency of public transportation for the event. Korea’s high-speed railway system, known as Korea Train eXpress (KTX), has been extended to PyeongChang for the Olympics by constructing new line: GyengGang Line. Due to the mountainous topography of GangWon province, the KTX extension project consisted of the construction of 34 tunnels, totaling 76 km in length, including two major tunnels DaeGwanRyeong (21.7 km) and GangNeung (2.8 km).
The DaeGwanRyeong Tunnel, constructed by the conventional drill and basting method, is the longest railway tunnel in Korea and the 8th longest mountain tunnel in the world. The tunnel excavation work began in June of 2012 and was completed in November of 2015 with a total construction cost of EUR400 million (USD500 million). This project was separately awarded to three consortiums: Hyundai E&C, Halla Corporation, and Samsung C&T, by Korea Railway Network Authority (KRNA).
The GangNeung tunnel is the last tunnel to have been completed along the stretch of the extension project. The tunnel runs across the GangNeung city center. A 1.2 km long section is an underwater tunnel excavated though the riverbed of NamDaeChun river using a 8.4m diameter slurry shield TBM. This project was awarded to Samwhan Corporation consortium by Korea Railway Network Authority (KRNA), the owner. The tunnel excavation work began in November of 2015 and was completed in October of 2016 with a total construction cost of EUR98.46 million (USD120 million).
The new GyengGang Line is now 120.3 km long and operates from Seoul to GangNeung and connects Incheon International Airport to GangNeung station within two hours, providing more than 50% time saving compared to other transportation options. For further information read the Ita-Aites press release. Visit http://english.molit.go.kr. 09/18.
