The Changyŏn Line is a non-electrified standard-gauge secondary line of the

Korean State Railway The Korean State Railway (), commonly called the State Rail () is the operating arm of the Ministry of Railways of North Korea and has its headquarters at P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun Song. History 1945–195 ...

running from Sugyo on the Ŭnnyul Line to Changyŏn,

South Hwanghae Province South Hwanghae Province (Hwanghaenamdo; , lit. "south Yellow Sea province") is a province in western North Korea. The province was formed in 1954 when the former Hwanghae Province was split into North and South Hwanghae. The provincial capital i ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

.Kokubu, Hayato (2007), , Shinchosha, Tokyo,

History

This line was originally opened on 21 January 1937 as part of the

Chosen Railway The Chosen Railway Company (Japanese: 朝鮮鉄道株式会社, ''Chōsen Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha''; Korean: 조선철도주식회사, ''Joseon Cheoldo Jusikhoesa''), was a privately owned railway company in Japanese-occupied Korea. History The ...

's narrow gauge Hwanghae Line network, as an extension to the

Sariwŏn Sariwŏn () is the capital of North Hwanghae Province, North Korea. Population The city's population as of 2008 is 307,764. Administrative divisions Sariwŏn is divided into 31 ''tong'' (neighbourhoods) and 9 '' ri'' (villages): Healthcare ...

—Sanghae (renamed Samgang after nationalisation)— Sugyo line. The entirety of the Hwanghae Line network was nationalised on 1 April 1944 and absorbed by the

Chosen Government Railway Chosen or The Chosen may refer to: The chosen ones *Chosen people, people who believe they have been chosen by a higher power to do a certain thing including **Jews as the chosen people Books *The Chosen (Potok novel), ''The Chosen'' (Potok novel ...

, which then split the Hwanghae Line network into separate lines, with the Sariwon—Sugyo—Changyŏn line becoming the Changyŏn Line. (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Showa Nr. 5143, 29 March 1944 After the end of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, the Changyŏn Line ended up in North Korea as a result of the subsequent

partition of Korea The division of Korea began with the defeat of Japan in World War II. During the war, the Allied leaders considered the question of Korea's future after Japan's surrender in the war. The leaders reached an understanding that Korea would be li ...

. After the end of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

the Railway Ministry of the DPRK began to expand and improve its network, including in South Hwanghae, leading to the opening of a line from Sugyo to Ch'ŏlgwang in 1961.North Korea Geographic Information: Transportation Geography - Unnyul Line (in Korean)
/ref> With the opening of the new line, the Sariwŏn—Sugyo—Ch'ŏlgwang line was named Ŭnnyul Line, leaving the Changyŏn Line as just the short branch from Sugyo to Changyŏn. This line was converted to standard gauge in 1971.

Services

Semi-express passenger trains 138-139/140-141 operating between Manp'o and Changyŏn serve the entirety of this line from Sugyo to Changyŏn.

Route

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

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Changyon Line Railway lines in North Korea Standard gauge railways in North Korea