This story was originally published on Jan. 4, 2012.
(ATR) Organizers of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang say that plans to connect the region to Seoul by high speed rail are still in place, calling "inaccurate" news reports that said the project has been scrapped.
The reports said the rail line was not included in a budget for the Games adopted on Dec. 30 by the Korean National Assembly.
A press release from the organizing committee says the media incorrectly reported that the high speed rail line would operate from Incheon Airport to PyeongChang. The OCOG says the planned rail line will run from Wonju, in the western side of Gangwon Province to PyeongChang. The OCOG release says that the rail line will still cut travel time from Seoul to PyeongChang to a 90-minute journey, more than an hour less than current highway travel times.
The budget is said to include $182 million for the rail project, however the bid book estimated that more than $4 billion is to be spent on road and rail improvements ahead of the Games.
There was no explanation from the OCOG about the discrepancy.
"This announcement puts to rest the recent speculations of the local media, which had reported inaccurately that the government was not supporting the new high-speed railway which they thought would cover the distance between Incheon and Gangneung. In fact, the Organizing Committee remains on course to achieve its bid targets," says the press release.
"We never said we would build a bullet-train track from Incheon to PyeongChang, but the media did,"Chang Hwan Sohn, PyeongChang 2018 director of venue planning and design told The Korea Herald.
"The only proposed plan is connecting Wonju and Gangneung with a new express railroad," the PyeongChang official is quoted. That new rail line will connect the two cities, about 120km apart, with service traveling at 250 km per hour. The train would stop on the way at PyeongChang, 30 km from Gangneung, the coastal city where all ice events are taking place.
The IOC issued a statement saying that it understands that the high-speedrail line remains part of the plan for the Olympics, and "will be delivered as mentioned in the bid book".
"We look forward to hearing more about how their plans are progressing during the next Coordination Commission visit this coming spring," says the IOC. The IOC Coordination Commission for 2018, headed by Gunilla Lindberg, will hold its first meeting in March.
In its bid book, PyeongChang saida rail link will be built.
"PyeongChang has a well-developed urban road netowork, connected to the Seoul Metropolitan Area through expressways" the bid book states.
"A railroad-based transport system will be added to the existing road network to ensure the transport needs of spectators and the Olympic Family are fully met."
The route would connect "Wonju and Gangeung via PyeongChang" the document added. It is unclear from maps in the bid book if the rail link would connect Incheon to PyeongChang.
The PyeongChang official quoted by The Korea Herald admitted that the 68-minute travel time between Seoul and PyeongChang via rail have been optimistic.
"The 68 minute proposal was the best possible time that could be. We said that number to persuade the IOC members," she is quoted by the newspaper.
The budget passed by the Korean assembly also includes $21.7 million for the designs of six new venues. The legislation also includes provisions protecting the intellectual property of the 2018 Olympics.
The press release also noted that plans to move the downhill venue have been rejected as a satisfactory alternative is not available. The venue in the hamlet of Jungbong will require tree-cutting and other development in a pristine area.
PyeongChang, making its third bid for the Winter Olympics, won the IOC vote at the session held in Durban last July. Munich and Annecy were the other two candidates.
Written by Ed Hula and Ed Hula III.
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