Korean State Railway of North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

 has its headquarters at Pyongyang

Pyongyang

Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...

. In 1998, the Minister of Railways was Pak Yong Sok.

Statistics

• Track gauge: almost entirely standard gauge
  Standard gauge
  The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
  
   of but a small mileage of narrow gauge
  Narrow gauge
  A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
  
  
• Route length: 8,000 km
• Electrification
  Railway electrification system
  A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...
  
  : 3,940 km at 3 kV DC

Rolling stock

Locomotives are a mixture of imported, and locally built, machines. Since the early 1980s, rolling stock

Rolling stock

Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...

, and some locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

s, have been built at the Kim Jong Tae factory at Pyongyang.

The railway fleet consists of a mix of electric

Electric locomotive

An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...

, diesel

Diesel locomotive

A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...

 and steam

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

 locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

s. Railroad car

Railroad car

A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...

s are mostly made in North Korea using Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 designs. There are some locomotives from Imperial Japan, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 remaining in use. Particularly in recent years, a growing number of second-hand China National Railways

China Railways

China Railways is the national railway operator of the People's Republic of China, under the Chinese Ministry of Railways.China Railways operates rail commuter and freight transport via several smaller companies....

 locomotives have been spotted in active service on North Korean trackage, in particular Beijing BJ hydraulic units and early build Chinese DF4

China Railways DF4

The DF4 is a type of diesel locomotive used in the People's Republic of China. It has been in production since 1969 and is still produced as of 2007 by several local companies. It is the most common locomotive in China and is used for both passenger and freight services.-DF4:The first DF4 was...

 units decommissioned from use on the CNR. Soviet-made M62 diesel locomotives are also used; North Korean industry has made at least two copies of the M62 locomotive. Former Chinese DFH3 and Soviet TEM1 diesels are also in operation.