A high-speed railway linking South Korea's main airport to the suburbs of Seoul opened Friday, amid hopes it will bolster the chances of Incheon becoming one of the world's top airports.
Known as A'REX, the link began operating on a 40 kilometre (25 mile) section between the futuristic airport and the country's former main international air hub at Gimpo in western Seoul. "A'REX will serve as a springboard for Incheon to become a top world international airport," Minster of Transportation Lee Yong-Sup said at the opening ceremony.
The remaining 20.7km of track between Gimpo and Seoul railway station in the heart of the city will be completed in 2010. A'REX offers two types of service. An express train covers the distance in 28 minutes while a commuter service stops at four stations en route and adds five minutes to the journey time. Until the entire track is completed, passengers will be able to take Seoul's subway system to Gimpo and then transfer.
A'REX said it expects commuters will make up most of the users. The entire line will cost 4.1 trillion won (4.3 billion dollars), including 3.1 billion won raised by a private consortium led by Hyundai Engineering and Construction. It is the country's first private railway line.
Incheon, which opened in 2001, was judged the world's best airport in terms of customer service in the 2006 Airports Council International Airport Service Quality Awards. At present, a fleet of buses or taxis links the airport to Seoul. Journey time is about one hour in non-peak periods.