여수공항 접근성 제약. .간이역 설치가 대안? -R(260518월/뉴스데스크)

Although the number of passengers visiting Yeosu Airport is increasing every year, transportation to the airport itself is terrible. While there are city buses, passengers have to wait over an hour for just one to arrive, leaving them with no choice but to take expensive taxis. It has been suggested that building a small, makeshift station could solve this problem all at once. Reporter Kim Jong-tae reports. [Report] Yeosu Airport City Bus Stop It is difficult to find passengers waiting for a bus. Upon arriving at the airport, most flight passengers use taxis or private cars. Although there are city buses running between the airport and Yeosu or Suncheon, passengers are reluctant to use them because the service interval is over an hour. ◀ INT ▶ Gil Jung-han - Suncheon City / Yeosu Airport Passenger - "I looked into the buses and found they run almost every hour or so. I have no choice but to take a taxi, but since taxis are very expensive..." The dissatisfaction is even greater among tourists from out of town visiting tourist attractions in Yeosu or Suncheon. As waiting times for buses become excessively long, there is an increasing number of cases where people are forced to use expensive taxis or rental cars. ◀ INT ▶ Kim Jeong-yeon - Jeju Island - "We have no choice but to use taxis... If you plan to do sightseeing for a day (by taxi), it costs 200,000 won, so that is inconvenient." As inconveniences for airport users continue to mount, there are calls to establish a new railway station near Yeosu Airport. The proposal is to install a small station on the nearby Jeolla Line railway, located about 200 meters away from the airport passenger terminal. If the Mugunghwa train, which operates 10 times a day, is encouraged to stop there after the station is installed, it would be possible to travel to downtown Yeosu or Suncheon in just 10 minutes. Analysts also suggest that the cost of installing the small station would be sufficient at around 4 billion won, as the site is state-owned land near the airport and it would be an unmanned station requiring no large facilities. ◀ INT ▶ Ha Jeong-in - Director of Yeosu Airport - "It is expected that construction costs will not be very high, as it will be a very simple structure requiring only the most basic station facilities and lifting equipment such as escalators and elevators." With the number of passengers using Yeosu Airport increasing by about 20% this year compared to last year, the position is that the construction of a simple station, along with the runway extension, is absolutely necessary for the revitalization of Yeosu Airport. ◀ INT ▶ Han Mun-seon - President of Yeosu Chamber of Commerce - "We have included (the construction of the simple station) in the 7th Comprehensive Airport Development Plan. I believe that if there is the will, it can be done quickly and immediately." Among airports nationwide, Cheongju Airport is the only one with a simple station installed near the airport. For reasons similar to those of Yeosu Airport, since the simple station was installed in 2004, the number of daily passengers has increased more than tenfold, even though the distance between the airport and the station is over 600 meters. This is Kim Jong-tae from MBC News.