Rail transport in North Korea
Encyclopedia
Rail transport in North Korea is provided by Korean State Railway
Korean State Railway
Korean State Railway of North Korea has its headquarters at Pyongyang. In 1998, the Minister of Railways was Pak Yong Sok.-Statistics:* Track gauge: almost entirely standard gauge of but a small mileage of narrow gauge...

 (Choson Cul Minzuzui Inmingonghoagug) which is the only rail operator in 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...

. It has a network of 5,200 km of track with 4,500 km in 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...

. There is a small narrow gauge railway in operation in Haeju peninsula. As of 2006, approximately 3,500 km is electrified.

Routes

In many cases, the name of the line is a combination of the names of the original termini. This is analagous to the Bakerloo line
Bakerloo Line
The Bakerloo line is a line of the London Underground, coloured brown on the Tube map. It runs partly on the surface and partly at deep level, from Elephant and Castle in the south-east to Harrow & Wealdstone in the north-west of London. The line serves 25 stations, of which 15 are underground...

 (Baker Street to Waterloo) in England. However, because of the division of Korea, some lines now terminate short of their original destinations.
  • Chongnyon Ichon Line
    Chongnyon Ichon Line
    The Chongnyon Ichon Line is a railway line in North Korea, running from Pyongsan to Sepo....

    , Pyongsan to Sepo
    Sepo Chongnyon Station
    Sepo Chongnyon Station is the central railway station for Sepo County, Kangwon province, North Korea. It is located on the Kangwon Line, which connects Kowon to Pyonggang, and the Chongnyon Ichon Line, which runs from Sepo to Pyongsan.-History:...

  • Kangwon Line
    Kangwon Line
    The Kangwon Line is a railway line in North Korea, running from Pyonggang to Kowon....

    , Pyonggang
    Pyonggang
    Pyonggang is a kun, or county, in Kangwon province, North Korea. It borders Sepo to the north, Chorwon to the south, Ichon to the west, and Changdo to the east.-Physical features:...

     to Kowon
    Kowon Station
    Kowon Station is the central railway station for Kowon County, North Korea. It is the junction where the Pyongra Line, which connects Pyongyang to Rason, meets the Kangwon Line, which runs from Kowon to Pyonggang.-History:...

  • Kumgangsan Line
    Kumgangsan Line
    The Kumgangsan Line is a railway line in North Korea, running from Anbyon to Kosong. It was formerly part of the Donghae Bukbu Line....

    , Anbyon
    Anbyon Station
    Anbyon Station is the central railway station for Anbyon County in Kangwon province, North Korea. It is located on the Kangwon Line, which connects Kowon to Pyonggang, and is the start of the Kumgangsan Line, which runs to Kosong in the Kumgang Mountains....

     to Kowon
    Kowon Station
    Kowon Station is the central railway station for Kowon County, North Korea. It is the junction where the Pyongra Line, which connects Pyongyang to Rason, meets the Kangwon Line, which runs from Kowon to Pyonggang.-History:...

  • Pyongbu Line
    Pyongbu Line
    The Pyongbu Line is the southern part of the Kyongui Line railway in North Korea, running from Pyongyang to Kaesong, near the border with South Korea. This line theoretically connects Pyongyang to Busan in South Korea but, in reality, it ends at Kaesong because of the Korean Demilitarized Zone...

    , Pyongyang
    Pyongyang Station
    Pyongyang Station is the central railway station of Pyongyang, North Korea. It is the start of the Pyongbu and Pyongui Line, which were adjusted from the Kyongbu and Kyongui Lines used before the division of Korea to accommodate the shift of the capital from Seoul to Pyongyang...

     to Kaesong
    Kaesong Station
    Kaesong Station is a passenger railway station located in Kaesŏng, North Korea. It is on the Pyongbu Line, which is regarded as a part of the Gyeongui Line in South Korea.-History:...

  • Pyongnam Line
    Pyongnam Line
    The Pyongnam Line is a railway line in North Korea, running from Pyongyang to Nampo....

    , Pyongyang
    Pyongyang Station
    Pyongyang Station is the central railway station of Pyongyang, North Korea. It is the start of the Pyongbu and Pyongui Line, which were adjusted from the Kyongbu and Kyongui Lines used before the division of Korea to accommodate the shift of the capital from Seoul to Pyongyang...

     to Nampo
    Nampo
    Namp'o is a city and seaport in South P'yŏngan Province, North Korea. It was a provincial-level Directly Governed City from 1980 to 2004, when it was designated a "Special City" and made a part of South P'yŏngan...

  • Pyongra Line
    Pyongra Line
    The Pyongra Line is a railway line in North Korea, running from Pyongyang to Rajin....

    , Pyongyang
    Pyongyang Station
    Pyongyang Station is the central railway station of Pyongyang, North Korea. It is the start of the Pyongbu and Pyongui Line, which were adjusted from the Kyongbu and Kyongui Lines used before the division of Korea to accommodate the shift of the capital from Seoul to Pyongyang...

     to Rajin
  • Pyongui Line
    Pyongui Line
    The P'yŏngŭi Line is a rail line in North Korea connecting the capital city, Pyongyang, with Sinuiju at the northwestern corner of the country. It is the main corridor for overland traffic between North Korea and China, and is one of the country's most important rail lines...

    , Pyongyang
    Pyongyang Station
    Pyongyang Station is the central railway station of Pyongyang, North Korea. It is the start of the Pyongbu and Pyongui Line, which were adjusted from the Kyongbu and Kyongui Lines used before the division of Korea to accommodate the shift of the capital from Seoul to Pyongyang...

     to Sinuiju
    Sinuiju Station
    Sinuiju Station is the railway station of Sinuiju, North Korea. It is the final stop on the Pyongui Line, which runs from Pyongyang to Sinuiju...


Pyongyang Metro

The Pyongyang Metro
Pyongyang Metro
The Pyongyang Metro is the metro system in the North Korean capital Pyongyang. It consists of two lines: the Chŏllima line runs from Kwangbok station in the southwest to Ragwŏn station in the northeast, and the Hyŏksin line runs north, from Puhŭng station on the banks of the Taedong to...

 operates the only known underground mass transit in North Korea, offering extensive network of underground services within 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...

. Metro services are also supplemented with above-ground tram services in both Pyongyang and a number of secondary North Korean cities.

China

The primary rail gateway to North Korea is via the Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge
Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge
The Sino-Korea, Sino-Korean, or China-North Korea Friendship Bridge connects the cities of Dandong, China and Sinŭiju, North Korea. It was constructed by the imperial Japanese between April 1937 and May 1943, during their reign over Korea and Manchukuo, to span the Yalu River...

 from Dandong
Dandong
Dandong , previously known as Andong and Antung, is a city in Liaoning Province, Northeast China. It lies on the border between China and North Korea, which is marked by the Yalu River, and is the largest border city in China. Also, to the southwest of the city, the river flows into Korea Bay...

, China to Sinuiju
Sinuiju
Sinŭiju is a city in North Korea, neighboring with Dandong City, China via international border and is the capital of North P'yŏngan Province...

, North Korea. Passenger trains are taken as far as Dandong by the China National Railway at which point the domestic Chinese carriages are uncoupled and North Korean carriages and locomotive are attached.
Chungjin also has connections to the Chinese system.

South Korea

In 2000, a freight service was inaugurated, between South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

 and the industrial park at Kaesong
Kaesong Industrial Region
Kaesŏng Industrial Region is a special administrative industrial region of North Korea. It was formed in 2002 from part of Kaesŏng Directly Governed City.-Kaesŏng Industrial Park:...

; however, usage has been very low and most trains carry no freight.

Presidential trains

The nation's current leader Kim Jong Il is known to use the country's railway network extensively, travelling to his palaces and for out-of-town appointments in one of his presidential trains
North Korean presidential trains
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is known to use his high-security private trains as his preferred method of domestic and international travel, as was his father and predecessor Kim Il Sung....

, as did his father Kim Il Sung. Both Kims took their trains to foreign trips as well.

Future plans

A Trans-Korean Main Line
Trans-Korean Main Line
The Trans-Korean Main Line is a project to build railway infrastructure in North Korea, and allow rail freight to travel between South Korea and Russia; it is hoped to halve the time taken to transport freight from eastern Asia to Europe and earn substantial transit fees.In 2001, the leaders of...

 is planned, spanning North Korea and allowing South Korean rail freight access to Russian Railways
Russian Railways
The Russian Railways , is the government owned national rail carrier of the Russian Federation, headquartered in Moscow. The Russian Railways operate over of common carrier routes as well as a few hundred kilometers of industrial routes, making it the second largest network in the world exceeded...

. So far, a cross-border rail link has been built between Khasan
Khasan
Khasan is an urban locality in Khasansky District of Primorsky Krai, Russia. Population: Khasan is the only Russian settlement on the border with North Korea. It lies near Lake Khasan and the Tumen River...

, Tumangan, and a Russian-owned port in Rasŏn.

History

Much of the rail network in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

 was built during the period of Japanese rule
Korea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....

, which ended in 1945. There were 1,735 miles of railway in 1925.
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