The Namheung Line (南興線, ''Nankō-sen'') was a narrow gauge railway line of the
Chōsen Railway (''Chōtetsu'') of
colonial-era Korea, located in
South Hamgyeong Province, serving an industrial area south of the city of
Hamheung
Hamhŭng (''Hamhŭng-si''; ) is North Korea's second-largest city, and the capital of South Hamgyŏng Province. It has an estimated population of 768,551. Located in the southern part of the South Hamgyong province, Hamhung is the main and most p ...
.
[Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), ]
History
The
Chōsen Forestry Railway extended its
Hamnam Line from
Oro to
Jangpung on 25 August 1923, and at the same time opened
West Hamheung Station between Hamheung and
Heungsang, from Hamheung.;
[朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Taishō No. 3320, 4 September 1923] later that year, it merged with five other companies to form the Chōsen Railway.
Establishment of the Chosen Railway
Dong-A Ilbo, 3 September 1923 (in Korean) Eleven years later, this new station would become the starting point for a new line to serve factories being opened to the south of the city. The first section, running from West Hamheung to Cheongiri, was opened on 11 May 1934. Two years later the line was extended, first with a section from Cheongiri to Naeho on 5 March, followed by another section from Naeho to Seohojin on the Chōsen Government Railway's Hamgyeong Line opened on 15 December. The Sinheung Railway was absorbed by Chōtetsu on 22 April 1938,[朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 3385, 3 May 1938] which continued to operate the line until the end of the Pacific War.
After the establishment of 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 the nationalisation of its railways, the Namheung Line was renamed Sŏho Line by 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
...
,
Services
In the November 1942 timetable, the last issued prior to the start of the Pacific War, Chōtetsu operated the following schedule of commuter services:[Tōa Travel Co. (東亜旅行社), Ministry of Railways Combined Timetable 1 November 1942 (鐵道省編纂時刻表昭和１７年１１月１日)]
Route
References
{{ChosenRyLines
Rail transport in North Korea
Rail transport in Korea
Korea under Japanese rule
Defunct railway companies of Japan
Defunct railway companies of Korea
Chosen Railway