The Korean national government began expansion of urban railway and especially high speed rail in the 1990s following several decades of declining railway mode share investment (from 61% in 1962-1966 to 10% in 1987-1991).

New railway projects were initiated in conjunction with Korea’s New Town Development Plan with a goal of improved commuting traffic conditions to Seoul. This included the new Gwacheon, Islan, and Bundang lines, which opened in 1990.

The 90s also saw the initiation of high speed rail service infrastructure. As of 2011 there is 3600km of high speed rail line, which has a high speed of 350 km/h.

The long-term plans for the HSR network will create a network linking all major cities with a travel time of less than 90 minutes and make stations accessible to >80% of the population within 30 minutes of travel.