The P'yŏngra Line is an electrified standard-gauge trunk 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 Pyongyang, P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun Song.
History
...
in
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 ...
, running from
P'yŏngyang to
Rason
Rason (formerly Rajin-Sŏnbong; ) is a North Korean special city and ice-free port in the Sea of Japan in the North Pacific Ocean on the northeast tip of North Korea. It is in the Kwanbuk region and location of the Rason Special Economic Zon ...
, where it connects with the
Hambuk Line
The Hambuk Line is an electrified standard-gauge trunk line of the Korean State Railway in North Korea, running from Ch'ŏngjin) on the P'yŏngra Line to Rajin, likewise on the P'yŏngra line.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama n ...
.
[Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), ] It is North Korea's main northeast–southwest rail line.
History
P'yŏngwon Line
Hamgyŏng Line
The section from Kowŏn to Kŭmya was originally opened 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), a 1967 novel by Chaim ...
(''Sentetsu'') on 21 July 1916 as part of its
Hamgyŏng Line.
Ch'ŏngra Line
The Ch'ŏngra Line was the name of a line planned by Sentetsu to run from
Ch'ŏngjin to
Rajin. On 1 February 1945 the Ch'ongjin−
Ch'ongam section was opened,
[朝鮮総督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 5394, 31 January 1945 (in Japanese)] however due to the defeat of Japan in 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 ...
, Sentetsu was unable to complete the remainder of the line. 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 ...
, construction of the line was resumed with the support of
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, being completed on 10 June 1965.
Later, the P'yŏngwon Line, the Ch'ŏngra Line, and the
Kowŏn−Ch'ŏngjin section of the Hamgyŏng Line were merged to create the P'yŏngra Line. With the construction of a new section between
Kalli and
Paesanjŏm the
Ryongsŏng Line
The Ryongsŏng Line is an electrified standard-gauge secondary line of the Korean State Railway in P'yŏngyang, North Korea, running from Sŏp'o on the P'yŏngŭi Line to Tongbungri on the P'yŏngra Line. From Ryongsŏng, this line also has a ...
was separated from the former P'yŏngwon Line; in 1993 construction of the bypass between
Puraesan and Kowŏn was completed.
咸南 高原-浮來山간 새 철도건설
Yonhap News, 6 September 1993
Services
The following passenger trains were scheduled on this line in the 2002 passenger timetable:[Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), pp. 124-125 ]
* Express trains 1/2, operating between P'yŏngyang and Hyesan Ch'ŏngnyŏn, run on this line between P'yŏngyang and Kilju;
* Express trains 3/4, operating between West P'yŏngyang and Hyesan Ch'ŏngnyŏn, run on this line between P'yŏngyang and Kilju;
* Express trains 7/8, operating between P'yŏngyang and Tumangang
Tumangang-rodongjagu ( ko, 두만강로동자구) is a neighbourhood in Sonbong, Rason, North Korea, near the China–North Korea–Russia tripoint where the borders of the three countries converge. It is also the closest town in North Korea ...
and Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, run on this line between P'yŏngyang and Rajin;
* Express trains 9/10, operating between P'yŏngyang and Musan
Musan County is a county in central North Hamgyong province, North Korea. It borders the People's Republic of China to the north, across the Tumen River. It is divided into one ''ŭp'', six labor districts, and fifteen ''ri''. The county sea ...
, run on this line between P'yŏngyang and Ch'ŏngjin;
* Express trains 11/12, operating between P'yŏngyang and Kŭmgol, run on this line between P'yŏngyang and Yŏhaejin;
* Express trains 13/14, operating between P'yŏngyang and P'yŏnggang, run on this line between P'yŏngyang and Kowŏn;
* Semi-express trains 104-107/108-111, operating between Haeju Ch'ŏngnyŏn and Manp'o Ch'ŏngnyŏn, run on this line between P'yŏngyang and Sunch'ŏn;
* Semi-express trains 113/114, operating between West P'yŏngyang and Unsŏng, run on this line between West P'yŏngyang and Ch'ŏngjin;
* Semi-express trains 117/118, operating between Taedonggang
Taedonggang is a brand of North Korean beer brewed by the state-owned Taedonggang Brewing Company based in Pyongyang. There are four brands of beer marketed as Taedonggang, though the brand known simply as "Taedonggang Beer" is that described ...
and P'yŏnggang, run on this line between Sinsŏngch'ŏn and Kowŏn;
* Semi-express trains 119-122/120-121, operating between Sinch'ŏn and Ch'ŏngjin Ch'ŏngnyŏn, via the P'yŏngra Line and the Ŭnnyul Line, run on this line between P'yŏngyang and Ch'ŏngjin and taking three days to travel each way;[Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), p. 86 ]
* Semi-express trains 124-125/126-127, operating between Sinŭiju Ch'ŏngnyŏn and Ch'ŏngjin Ch'ŏngnyŏn, run on this line between P'yŏngyang and Ch'ŏngjin;
* Semi-express trains 128-129-130/131-132-133, operating between Kalma and Rajin, run on this line between Kowŏn and Rajin;
* Semi-express trains 134-135/136-137, operating between Manp'o Ch'ŏngnyŏn and Hamhŭng, run on this line between Sunch'ŏn and Hamhŭng;
* Regional trains 202-203-204/205-206-207, operating between Hamhŭng and 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 ...
, run on this line between Hamhŭng and P'yŏngyang;
* Regional trains 261/262, operating between Hamhŭng and Samgi, run on this line between Ham and Sinbukch'ŏn;
* Regional trains 263/264 operate between Hamhŭng and Tanch'ŏn Ch'ŏngnyŏn;
* Local trains 311/312 and 313/314 operate between P'yŏngyang and Paesanjŏm - these trains, intended for commuter use by scientists, are operated with the Juche-class EMU
The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus '' Dromaius''. The emu ...
;
Route
A yellow background in the "Distance" box indicates that section of the line is not electrified.
References
* Japanese Government Railways
The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national railway system directly operated by the Japanese Ministry of Railways ( ja, 鉄道省, Tetsudō-shō, ) until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Rai ...
, 鉄道停車場一覧 昭和12年10月1日現在(The List of the Stations as of 1 October 1937), Kawaguchi Printing Company, Tokyo, 1937, pp 496, 498~501 (Japanese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyongra Line
Railway lines in North Korea
Standard gauge railways in North Korea