Officials on March 23 inspect a train at Suseo Station in Seoul's Gangnam-gu District at the opening ceremony for the GTX-A (Great Train eXpress) line stretching from Suseo to Dongtan Station in Dongtan-myeon Township of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do Province. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Hyelin

The public will take part in safety inspections of the GTX-A (Great Train eXpress) subway line ahead of its partial opening this month.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on March 17 said 200 citizens and 70 ministry staff on March 30 will participate in public safety inspections on March 19 and 21-22. These checks will precede the opening of a GTX-A section between Suseo Station in Seoul's Gangnam-gu District and Dongtan Station in Dongtan-myeon Township of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do Province.

From Feb. 26 to March 8, the ministry held an open recruitment of ordinary people to inspect facilities at stations that have completed construction like Suseo and Seongnam. This is the first time for such stations to be opened to the public.

The inspections will focus on passenger safety and convenience through activities like test rides on GTX-A trains. The ministry and Korea National Railway will swiftly review and fix any issues raised during these checks.

The GTX-A line connects Dongtan Station in Hwaseong to Unjeong Station in Paju, Gyeonggi-do. Going from Suseo to Dongtan stations takes 20 minutes and this section is slated for opening on March 30.

"We will double-check everything during the public safety inspections from a user's perspective," Second Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Baek Won Kug said. "Because of high public interest in and expectations for the GTX project, we will meticulously inspect each and every detail to do our best to ensure no passenger inconvenience."

kimhyelin211@korea.kr