The government will inject 134 trillion won, or around 100 billion U.S. dollars, to ease the regional gap in access to public transportation.

At a new year public debate led by President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday, the government announced a reform plan aimed at reducing commute time within the Seoul metropolitan area to 30 minutes or less, and within one hour for major cities outside the capital region.

The government will accelerate the planned Great Train eXpress(GTX) higher-speed commuter rail network project in the greater Seoul area, with the Suseo-Dongtan section of the GTX Line A set to open in March.

Once the entire route is up and running by 2028, travel time from Gyeonggi Paju's Unjeong to Seoul Station is expected to be reduced from as much as 70 minutes to 20 minutes. Lines B and C are set to operate from 2030 and 2028, respectively.

Lines D, E, and F will be included in the national rail network plan for a simultaneous push through private investment, while an express train network will be built outside the capital region, such as the Chungcheong Train eXpress(CTX) linking the central cities of Daejeon, Sejong and Cheongju.

In addressing transportation issues in new towns within the metro area, additional train cars will operate on the notoriously overcrowded Gimpo Gold subway line, while officials also proposed a plan to build underground pathways for trains and cars.