Kumgangsan Chongnyon Line

Kumgangsan Chongnyon Line
Overview
Other name(s)	Tonghae Pukpu Line 동해북부선(東海北部線)
Native name	금강산청년선(金剛山靑年線)
Type	Heavy rail, Passenger/freight rail Regional rail
Status	Operarional
Locale	Kangwon
Termini	Anbyŏn Kamho
Stations	17
Operation
Opened	Stages between 1929-1937
Closed	1950 (Samilp'o - Jejin)
Reopened	17 May 2007 (Samilp'o - Jejin)
Owner	Korean State Railway
Operator(s)	Korean State Railway
Technical
Line length	114.8 km (71.3 mi)
Number of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	3000 V DC Overhead line (Anbyŏn - Kŭmgangsan Ch'ŏngnyŏn)
Route map Kangwŏn Line 0.0 Anbyŏn Kangwŏn Line Namdaech'ŏn Kŭmhwach'ŏn 8.9 Ogye 14.9 Sangŭm Ch'ŏngnyŏn 25.2 Tongjŏngho 31.4 Myŏnggo Kŭmbong River 38.0 Kŭmbonggang Kŭmbong River 47.4 Sijungho Hanch'ŏn River 54.3 T'ongch'ŏn Sip'ihyŏnch'ŏn 61.0 Tonghae Kwanggyoch'ŏn 65.1 Pyŏgŭng Closed 70.2 Ryŏmsŏng 75.7 Tup'o 86.2 Nam'ae Onjŏng-ri 93.2 Kosŏng 101.0 Kŭmgangsan Ch'ŏngnyŏn 109.2 Samilp'o Nam River 114.8 Kamho ↑DPRK (Kosŏng-gun) DMZ ↓ROK (Goseong-gun) 125.9 Jejin Donghae Bukbu Line

The Kŭmgangsan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line is an electrified standard-gauge trunk line of the North Korean State Railway running from Anbyŏn to Kamho. The total length of the line is 114.8 km (71.3 mi), but it is only in regular use as far as Kŭmgangsan Ch'ŏngnyŏn; the length of the line to there is 101 km (63 mi).^[1]

History

The line was originally built by the Chosen Government Railway (Sentetsu) as part of the Tonghae Pukpu Line, from Anbyŏn on Sentetsu's Kyŏngwŏn Line to Yangyang. The construction and opening of the line took place in several stages, with the first section opening on 1 September 1929, and the last on 1 December 1937. Plans were made to extend the line from Yangyang to Pohang, but Japan's defeat in the Pacific War and the subsequent collapse of the General-Government of Korea prevented completion of the extension.

After the partition of Korea, the line was split between the North and South, with the section from Anbyŏn to Kamho becoming the Kŭmgangsan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line in the north, while the section from Chejin to Yangyang became the Tonghae Pukpu Line operated by the Korean National Railroad.^[1]

Electrification of the line was completed on 15 April 1997.^[1]

In 2007, after the reconstruction of the disused section between Kamho and Jejin, passenger trains began operating from the south to bring southern tourists to the Mount Kŭmgang Tourist Region.^[2] More than one million civilian visitors crossed the DMZ until the route was closed following the shooting death of a 53-year-old South Korean tourist in July 2008.^[3] Plans are being considered which would see the line become part of a trans-Korean line from Pohang to Tumangang, to connect South Korea's railway network to the Trans-Siberian Railway.^[2]

Route

A yellow background in the "Distance" box indicates that section of the line is not electrified.

References