March 15 - South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak (pictured) today promised to support the construction of a new railway linking Pyeongchang with nearby inland and coastal cities in Gangwon Province, an initiative designed to help the city's bid for the 2018 Olympics and Paralympics.



Lee has reportedly ordered his Government to speed up a multi-billion-dollar project to build a new railroad to link Gangwon's two major cities with Pyeongchang, about 182 kilometres (113 miles) east of Seoul, according to the Presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

The programme to lay a 120km (75 miles) railway between Wonju, one hour away from Seoul by train, and Gangneung on the east coast via Pyeongchang, at an estimated to cost 3.3 trillion won (£1.8 billion), was proposed in the 1990s but it has been delayed due to disputes over the scale of railway and budget restraints.

The project was also hit by a Pyeongchang's failure to win its two bids to host the Olympics, having narrowly missed out to Vancouver for 2010 and Sochi for 2014.

Lee said: "Taking into account economic efficiency and a future-oriented viewpoint, it is right to push to lay a double-track line rather than a single one [in the Wonju-Gangneung section]."

If linked, the railway will shorten the train travel hour between the two cities by up to about 40 minutes from the current five hours, Lee announced during a visit to Chuncheon, the capital of Gangwon Province.

The announcement coincides with today's deadline for bid cities to submit their Application Files to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Lee also used his trip as an opportunity to urge the whole country to join forces to support Pyeongchang's bid to host 2018, when it will face opposition from Annecy and Munich.

He said: "Let's make more efforts so that the dream can come true.

"An opportunity has come for South Korea to get more prosperous and we should not miss this chance."

The IOC is due to announce the host city of the 2018 Olympics at its Session in Durban on July 6, 2011.

Annecy and Munich are also bidding.


Related stories
March 2010: IMF report warns Olympic 2018 cities of the perils of bidding
March 2010: Pyeongchang finish Application File for 2018 Winter Olympic bid
March 2010: Park hails Korean Olympic performance as major force for Pyeongchang 2018
February 2010: Pyeongchang hopes Kim is licenced to thrill for 2018 bid
February 2010: Pyeongchang bid boosted by strong South Korean performance claims Kim