Domun Railway

Domun Railway Co. Ltd.
Overview
Native name 도문철도주식회사 (Domun Cheoldo Jusikhoesa)
図們鉄道株式会社 (Tomon Tetsudō Kabushiki Kaisha)
Route map
 Domun Railway main line
 Domun Railway secondary lines
 other railways
Sentetsu Hamgyeong Line
0.0 Hoeryeong
Hoeryeong Colliery Line
0.9 Sinhoeryeong
5.3 Bongui
3.7 Geumsaeng
10.6 Yuseon
Geungsim-dong
9.4 Goryeongjin
14.8
0.0
 Sinhakpo
Secheon Line
8.6 Secheon
17.7 Hakpo
14.4 Jungbong
27.1 Sinjeon
33.5 Ganpyeong
40.4 Sangsambong("Upper Sambong")
Tiantu Railway
46.7 Hasambong("Lower Sambong")
55.8
0.0
 Jongseon
Tongpo Line
61.0 Soam
15.6 Tongpo
Songpyeong Line
64.0
0.0
 Donggwanjin
11.5 Seongpyeong

The Domun Railway Company (Japanese: 図們鉄道株式会社, Tomon Tetsudo Kabushiki Kaisha; Korean: 도문철도주식회사, Domun Cheoldo Jusikhoesa), was a privately owned railway company in Japanese-occupied Korea.

History

The Domun Railway's line ran from Hoeryeong to Donggwanjin, and was opened in three stages: the Hoeryŏng–Sangsambong (now called Sambong) section (40.4 km (25.1 mi)) was completed on 5 January 1920, the Sangsambong–Jongseon section (9.1 km (5.7 mi)) on 1 December 1922, and the Jongseon-Donggwanjin section (8.2 km (5.1 mi)) on 1 November 1924.[1]

The narrow-gauge Tiantu Railway, opened in 1923,[2] signed a cross-border operational agreement with the Domun Railway on 26 June 1926,[3] after which a bridge across the Tumen River between Sangsambong and Kaishantun was opened on 30 September 1927.[2]

The last line to be opened by the Domun Railway was the 10.6 km (6.6 mi) Hoeryeong Colliery Line from Hoeryong to Yuseon, which was opened on 11 August 1928.[4]

This line was nationalised on 1 April 1929, becoming the West Domun Line of the Chosen Government Railway (Sentetsu).[1] Subsequently, merged with Sentetsu's East Domun Line (Donggwanjin–Unggi), the management of the entire line was transferred to the South Manchuria Railway; at that time, the merged Domun Line was added to the existing (Wŏnsan-Ch'ŏngjin) Hamgyŏng Line.[5] In 1933 the Manchukuo National Railway bought the Tiantu Railway, converting it to standard gauge to make a shorter, more direct line from Kaishantun to Chaoyangchuan on the MNR's Jingtu Line to Xinjing, opening the new line for use at the end of March 1934.[2]

After the end of the Pacific War, the Provisional People’s Committee for North Korea nationalised all railways in the Soviet zone of occupation on 10 August 1946, and following the establishment of North Korea, the Korean State Railway was created.[6] After the end of the Korean War, the restructuring of the North Korean railway system, including the rearrangement of rail lines, led to the Hoeryeong–Sambong line becoming part of the Korean State Railway's Hambuk Line running from Cheongjin to Rajin via Namyang.[7]

Rolling stock

Little is known about the Domun Railway's motive power; however, it is known that four 2-6-2T tank locomotives operated by the Domun Railway became Sentetsu's Pureko- and Purero-class locomotives after nationalisation of the company.

References

  1. 1 2 朝鮮総督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 669, 28 March 1929 (in Japanese)
  2. 1 2 3 http://www5f.biglobe.ne.jp/~travel-100years/travelguide_054.htm
  3. ↑ 浦野, 起央 (1955). 朝鮮の領土: 【分析・資料・文献】. 三和書籍. p. 160-161. ISBN 978-4-86251-202-4.
  4. ↑ Japanese Government Railways (1937). 鉄道停車場一覧. 昭和12年10月1日現在 [The List of Stations as of 1 October 1937] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Kawaguchi Printing Company. p. 506.
  5. ↑ 南満州鉄道株式会社全路線
  6. ↑ Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), p. 131, ISBN 978-4-10-303731-6
  7. ↑ Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), p. 89, ISBN 978-4-10-303731-6
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