Osong station

Osong station (Korean: 오송역) is a train station on the Honam and Gyeongbu high-speed railways in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It is located at the intersection of the Gyeongbu KTX high-speed rail line, the conventional Chungbuk Line and, since April 2015, the Honam high-speed railway.^[1] KTX trains began calling there from November 1, 2010, bringing high-speed rail service to the nearby city of Cheongju.

오송 Osong
Korean name
Hangul	오송역
Hanja	五松驛
Revised Romanization	Osongnyeok
McCune–Reischauer	Osongnyŏk
General information
Location	123 Osonggarak-ro, Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do South Korea
Coordinates	36°37′14.85″N 127°19′40.08″E
Operated by	Korail
Line(s)	Chungbuk Line Gyeongbu High Speed Railway Honam High Speed Railway
Platforms	6
Tracks	10
Connections	Sejong BRT
Construction
Structure type	Aboveground
History
Opened	November 1, 1921
Services
Preceding station Following station Cheonan–Asan towards Seoul or Haengsin Gyeongbu KTX Daejeon towards Busan Cheonan–Asan towards Seoul, Yongsan or Haengsin Honam KTX Gongju towards Mokpo
Location

Not all KTX trains call at Osong; only a select number of trains per day in each direction stop there.^[2]

While not directly attached to the station, there is a KTX test track that connects with the lines just north of the station. The facility is named 철도종합시험선로 and was expanded in 2019.^[3][4]

Criticism

The Gyeongbu high-speed railway was originally not planned to have a station in North Chungcheong Province. The railway was also planned to be built across Sejong instead of Cheongju. After the initial plan was revealed, residents of Cheongju insisted that authorities build Gyeongbu HSR across Cheongju and build a station there, and threatened to blow up the HSR if they did not build Osong station.^[5]

In fact, there wasn't any plan about Sejong City by then. However, if there were no Osong Station, there would be no station on North Chungcheong Province even though Kyeongbu HSR passes North Chungcheong Province.

The real problem with this station is that it was selected as a branch station for the Gyeongbu and Honam high-speed railway. As a result, The price of the round-trip KTX from Yongsan station to GwangjuSongjeong Station has increased by 6200 won and Distance from Yongsan to GwangjuSongjeong increased by 19 km.^[6][7]