A class of regional rail service named ITX-Cheongchun began operations on February 28, 2012, linking Chuncheon to Cheongnyangni and Yongsan Stations.

[3][4][5] Between Geumgok and Chuncheon, from 1997 until 2010, the line was re-laid in a straighter, 64.2 km long alignment with a budget of 2.151,931 billion won.

[7] The new alignment was originally planned to be opened in 2004, but completion of the works was delayed for various reasons, including lack of funds.

[3] On September 1, 2010, the South Korean government announced a strategic plan to reduce travel times from Seoul to 95% of the country to under 2 hours by 2020.

[8] For the longer term, the government also considers to build a parallel high-speed line that would continue beyond Chuncheon to Sokcho on South Korea's east coast.

[3] The new service reduced travel time between Chuncheon and Sangbong in Seoul from two hours to 89 minutes, with different trains operating according to different stopping patterns; and increased capacity five-fold.

[3] Compared to the previous Mugunghwa-ho train service on the Gyeongchun Line, fares were reduced by half.