Pyongbuk Line

Pyongbuk Line
View of Chŏngsu Station
Overview
Native name	평북선(平北線)
Type	Heavy rail, Regional rail
Locale	North Pyŏngan
Termini	Chŏngju Ch'ŏngnyŏn Ch'ŏngsu
Stations	13
Operation
Opened	27 September 1939
Owner	P'yŏngbuk Railway (1939–1945) Korean State Railway (since 1945)
Technical
Line length	120.5 km (74.9 mi)
Number of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	3000 V DC Catenary
Route map P'yŏngŭi Line P'yŏngbuk Line 0.0 Chŏngju Ch'ŏngnyŏn 10.4 Koan Closed 16.5 Pongmyŏng Pongmyŏng Reservoir 28.4 Panghyŏn 7th Industry Bureau Aircraft Parts Factory April 3 Factory Ch'ŏngnyŏn P'arwŏn Line 41.2 Kusŏng 49.0 Paegun 4-track yard 63.9 P'alyŏng 70.5 Taeryŏnggang Taeryŏng River Taegwalli Line 78.2 Sinon 3.4 distance from Sinon tunnel 3.7 km long Kugŏkch'ŏn 91.2 P'ungnyŏn 100.0 Sŏbu 105.9 P'anmak Amrokkang Line Sup'ung Line 120.5 Ch'ŏngsu ←China - Yalu River - DPRK→ Shanghekou (China) China Railway Fengshang Railway

The P'yŏngbuk Line is an electrified standard-gauge secondary trunk line of the Korean State Railway in North Pyŏngan Province, North Korea, running from Chŏngju on the P'yŏngŭi Line to Ch'ŏngsu; it meets the Ch'ŏngnyŏn P'arwŏn Line at Kusŏng.^[1]

History

The line was opened by the privately owned P'yŏngbuk Railway on 27 September 1939 as an industrial railway to serve the Sup'ung Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Yalu River.^[2] The Emperor of Manchukuo, Puyi, travelled along this line when he visited the Sup'ung Dam.^[1]

Following the partition of Korea the line was located within the Soviet zone of occupation, and was nationalised along with all the other railways in the zone by the Provisional People’s Committee for North Korea on 10 August 1946,^[1] becoming part of the Korean State Railway. Electrification of the entire line was completed in 1980, and at the same time, semi-automatic train control was installed on the 41.3 km (25.7 mi) section between Chŏngju and Kusŏng.^[3]

Services

The line serves a variety of industries, including a textile factory in Kusŏng, a chemical factory in Ch'ŏngsu, and North Korea's largest lignite mine near P'ungnyŏn, as well as shipping large amounts of wood south from Amrokkang Station on the Yalu River. Other important commodities shipped on the line are limestone and anthracite.^[3]

There are two long-distance passenger trains that operate on the line - semi-express trains 115/116 between P'yŏngyang and Ch'ŏngsu, and local trains 200/201 between West P'yŏngyang and Ch'ŏngsu.^[1] There are also commuter trains along the Ch'ongsu—Sup'ung—P'ungnyŏn (6 pairs), Kusŏng—Paegun (5 pairs) and Chŏngju—Kusŏng (2 pairs) sections of the line.^[3]

Route

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

References