Dorasan station is a railway station situated on the

Gyeongui Line The Gyeongui Line is a railway line between Seoul Station and Dorasan Station in Paju. Korail operates the Seoul Metropolitan Subway service between Seoul Station and Dorasan Station. History ''For the original line's history and other infor ...

, which used to connect

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 Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

and has since been restored. Dorasan station is located approximately 650 meters (710 yards) from the southern boundary of the

Korean Demilitarized Zone The Korean Demilitarized Zone ( Korean: ; Hanbando Bimujang Jidae) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in ...

and is currently the northern terminus of Korail's Gyeongui-Jungang Line, which is served by Shuttle Service to Imjingang Station. North of here the former Gyeongui Line continues as 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 Pyongyang, P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun Song. History ...

's P'yŏngbu Line, but this connection is not in regular service. The current purpose of the station is largely symbolic of the hope for eventual

Korean reunification Korean reunification () is the potential reunification of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea into a single Korean sovereign state. The process towards reunification was started by the June 15th North–South Jo ...

History

On December 11, 2007,

freight trains Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled ...

began traveling north past Dorasan station into North Korea, taking materials to the

Kaesong Industrial Region The Kaesŏng Industrial Region (KIR) or Kaesŏng Industrial Zone (KIZ) is a special administrative industrial region of North Korea (DPRK). It was formed in 2002 from part of the Kaesŏng Directly-Governed City. On 10 February 2016, it was temp ...

, and returning with finished goods. It was scheduled to make one trip every weekday. On December 1, 2008, however, the North Korean government closed the border crossing after accusing South Korea of a confrontational policy. This coincided with the 2008 South Korean legislative election, and a change to a more conservative government. After that it was opened and closed again repeatedly, with the most recent reopening having been on 16 September 2013. On December 11, 2021, a new 3.7 km Gyeongui-Jungang Line shuttle service between Imjingang Station and Dorasan Station began operations. This service operates only once during weekends and public holidays.

Train services

The station is currently served by four daily trains from

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, which are used mostly by tourists.http://info.korail.com/servlets/renew.sta.sta02000.sw_sta02207_v1Svt?code=0403&name=%B5%B5%B6%F3%BB%EA

Gallery

File:Dorasan station outside.jpg, Outside Dorasan station File:Korail dorasan station sign mark.jpg, Dorasan station marker File:Dorasan Station Outside.JPG, A view from Dorasan station's parking lot File:Dorasan station inside.jpg, Inside Dorasan station File:Korail dorasan station inside.jpg, Gates to the platform File:P'yŏngbu Line tracks @ Dorasan station.jpg, P'yŏngbu Line tracks that could bring trains to Pyongyang File:Dorasan Station Pres Bush Visit.jpg, A photo of U.S. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and South Korean president

Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democracy and human ...

visiting the Dorasan station File:Dorasan station pyeongyang.jpg, Pyeongyang sign in the Dorasan station. Notice the name of the capital of North Korea written in the Southern dialect. File:Korail CommutorDieselCar.jpg, Commuter Train File:Entrance of Dorasan Station.jpg, Entrance of Dorasan station File:Hall of Dorasan Station.jpg, Hall of Dorasan station File:Eurasian rail map.jpg, Map of the Eurasian rail network after Korean reunification in Dorasan station

References

External links

{{Pyongbu Line Railway stations in Gyeonggi Province North Korea–South Korea border crossings Railway stations opened in 2002 Paju Korean Demilitarized Zone 2002 establishments in South Korea

History

Train services

Gallery

See also

References

External links