The Gyeongbuk Line is a railway line serving

North Gyeongsang North Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상북도, translit=Gyeongsangbuk-do, ) is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea until the ...

Province in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. The line runs from

Gimcheon Gimcheon (; , trans., 'gold spring city') is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is situated on the major land transportation routes between Seoul and Busan, namely the Gyeongbu Expressway and Gyeongbu Line railway. In ancient ...

on the

Gyeongbu Line The Gyeongbu Line (''Gyeongbuseon'') is a railway line in South Korea and is considered to be the most important and one of the oldest ones in the country. It was constructed in 1905, connecting Seoul with Busan via Suwon, Daejeon, and Daegu. ...

via

Sangju Sangju () is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, central South Korea. Although Sangju is rather rural, it is very old and was once a key city. Along with Gyeongju, it gives rise to half of the name of the Gyeongsang provinces. Sangju is nickna ...

Jeomchon Jeomchon is the urbanized center of Mungyeong city, in Gyeongsangbuk-do province, South Korea. The name literally means "mountain-pass village", and may refer to the low hills that run along the edge of town. It has a population of about 45,000 ...

(junction with the

Mungyeong Line Mungyeong ( ko, 문경 ' ()) is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The local government, economy, and transportation networks are all centered in Jeomchon, the principal town. Mungyeong has a lengthy history, and is known today fo ...

), and

Yecheon Yecheon County is a county in the province of North Gyeongsang, South Korea. It is 661 km2 in area, and in 2004 had a population of 52,311. It has lost over 2/3 of its inhabitants since the mid-1960s. It consists of twelve administrative d ...

Yeongju Yeongju () is a city in the far north region of North Gyeongsang province in South Korea, covering 668.84 km2 with a population of 113,930 people according to the 2008 census. The city borders Bonghwa county to the east, Danyang county of North ...

on the Jungang Line.

History

Construction of the line was begun by the privately owned Chosen Industrial Railway; however, before the line was finished, that company merged with five others to create the Chosen Railway (''Chōtetsu'') in 1923, and it was the new company which completed the first section of the line, opening the

–

section on 1 October 1924, followed by the Sangju–

section on 25 December. Chōtetsu then extended the line in several stages, first reaching

on 1 November 1928, then reaching Gyeongbuk Andong on 16 October 1931; however, the latter section was dismantled in 1944 to use the material elsewhere as Japan's military faced material shortages during 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 ...

. After the

Liberation of Korea The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

, the Chosen Railway was nationalised along with all other railways in the country. Following the 1961 coup, the

Supreme Council for National Reconstruction The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction ( ko, 국가재건최고회의) was the ruling military junta of South Korea from May 1961 to December 1963. The Supreme Council overthrew the Second Republic of Korea in the May 16 coup in May 19 ...

started South Korea's

first five-year plan The first five-year plan (russian: I пятилетний план, ) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was a list of economic goals, created by Communist Party General Secretary Joseph Stalin, based on his policy of socialism in ...

, which included a construction program to complete the railway network, to foster economic growth. Under the program, the Gyeongbuk Line was extended to Yeongju, to create a connection both with the Jungang Line and the

Yeongdong Line The Yeongdong Line is a line of Korail. It connects Yeongju in North Gyeongsang Province with Gangneung in Gangwon Province. From Yeongju, it crosses the Taebaek Mountains and reaches the Sea of Japan (East Sea) at Donghae, thence proceedin ...

, allowing the transport of coal from the latter. Work began in May 1962, the from Jeomchon to Yecheon was opened in January 1966, the from Yecheon to Yeongju was opened on 10 October 1966. The complete line is long, and remains single-tracked and unelectrified. A long branch from Jeomchon to Mungyeong, the Mungyeong Line, was opened on 10 May 1969.

Operation

As of 2010, the line is served by both passenger and freight trains along its entire length, as is the Mungyeong branch. As of November 2010, the line is served by Mugunghwa cross-country trains from

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

and

Dongdaegu Dongdaegu Station, meaning "East Daegu Station", is a railway station in Daegu, South Korea. It is on the national high-speed KTX railway network, south of Seoul Station. History The station opened in 1962 and KTX trains on the Gyeongbu Li ...

, which travel in 2 hours 12 minutes from Gimcheon to Yeongju.

Route

References

{{Gyeongbuk Line Transport in North Gyeongsang Province Railway lines in South Korea Railway lines opened in 1924

History

Operation

Route

See also

References