Rail transport in North Korea is provided by Korean State Railway (조선 민주주의 인민 공화국 철도성, ''Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk Ch'ŏldosŏng'') which is the only rail operator in North Korea. It has a network of over 6,000 km of track, of which the vast majority is standard gauge; there is, however, nearly 400 km of narrow-gauge lines (762 mm) in various locations around the country.Hayato, Kokubu, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō),

Routes

In many cases, the name of the line is a portmanteau of the original termini. However, because of the division of Korea, some lines now terminate short of their original destinations. The following lists the main standard-gauge trunk lines: * Hambuk Line: Ch'ŏngjin Ch'ŏngnyŏn - Rajin, 331.1 km, *

Kangwŏn Line The Kangwŏn Line is a electrified standard-gauge trunk line of the Korean State Railway of North Korea, connecting Kowŏn on the P'yŏngra Line to P'yŏnggang, providing an east–west connection between the P'yŏngra and Ch'ŏngnyŏn Ich' ...

: Kowŏn - P'yŏnggang, 145.8 km, * Manp'o Line: Sunch'ŏn - Manp'o, 299.9 km, * Paektusan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line: Kilchu Ch'ŏngnyŏn - Hyesan Ch'ŏngnyŏn, 141.7 km, *

P'yŏngbu Line The P'yŏngbu Line is an electrified standard-gauge trunk line of the Korean State Railway running from P'yŏngyang to Kaesŏng in North Korea and further south across the DMZ to Seoul in South Korea; the name comes from the two (theoretical) term ...

: P'yŏngyang - Kaesŏng (-> Dorasan, ROK), 187.3 km, *

P'yŏngdŏk Line The P'yŏngdŏk Line is an electrified standard-gauge trunk line of the Korean State Railway in North Korea running from Taedonggang Station in P'yŏngyang, where it connects to the P'yŏngbu, P'yŏngnam, P'yŏngra and P'yŏngŭi Lines, to ...

: P'yŏngyang - Kusang Ch'ŏngnyŏn, 192.3 km, *

P'yŏngnam Line The P'yŏngnam Line is an electrified standard-gauge trunk line of the Korean State Railway in North Korea, linking P'yŏngyang with the port city of Namp'o and the hot springs at P'yŏngnam Onch'ŏn. The length of the line is .Kokubu, Hayato, ...

: P'yŏngyang - Namp'o, 55.2 km, *

P'yŏngra Line The P'yŏngra Line is an electrified standard-gauge trunk line of the Korean State Railway in North Korea, running from P'yŏngyang to Rason, where it connects with the Hambuk Line.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), I ...

: P'yŏngyang - Rajin (and on to Khasan, Russia), 819.0 km, * P'yŏngŭi Line:

P'yŏngyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 population ...

Sinŭiju Sinŭiju (''Sinŭiju-si'', ; known before 1925 in English as Yeng Byen City) is a city in North Korea which faces Dandong, Liaoning, China across the international border of the Yalu River. It is the capital of North P'yŏngan province. Part of ...

(and on to

Dandong Dandong (), formerly known as Andong, is a coastal prefecture-level city in southeastern Liaoning province, in the northeastern region of People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese border city, facing Sinuiju, North Korea across the ...

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 ...

), 225.1 km,

Stations

Pyongyang Metro

The Pyongyang Metro operates the only known underground mass transit in North Korea. Metro services are also supplemented with above-ground tram services in both Pyongyang and a number of secondary cities.

International services

China

The primary rail gateway to North Korea is via the

Sino–Korean Friendship Bridge The Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, or China–North Korea Friendship Bridge, is a bridge across the Yalu or Amnok River on the China–North Korea border. It connects the cities of Dandong in China and Sinuiju of North Korea, by railway and r ...

from

to Sinuiju, North Korea. Passenger trains are taken as far as Dandong by the

China Railway China State Railway Group Company, Ltd., doing business as China Railway (CR), is the national passenger and freight railroad corporation of the People's Republic of China. China Railway operates passenger and freight transport throughout Ch ...

at which point the domestic Chinese carriages are uncoupled and North Korean carriages and locomotive are attached. There are several other active border crossings with China, including at Manp'o and at

Namyang * Hwaseong, formerly named Namyang (남양 / 南陽) * Namyang clan, of the Hong family of Korea * Namyang Workers' District Namyang Workers' District (남양로동자구) is a town in Onsong, North Hamgyong, North Korea. It lies on the Tumen R ...

Russia

Rajin has a rail link to the Russian Railways system over the Friendship Bridge across the Tumen River in the North Korea–Russia border. There is transborder passenger service from Pyongyang to Moscow, with a Korean rail car taken across the border (with bogies changed to the Russian gauge), and eventually attached to a Vladivostok-Moscow train. Since 2013 the line over the Tumen River to Rajin is rebuilt with dual gauge track, so that

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

and Russian

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

trains from the Russian Khasan can access the port of Rajin. Railway and port are operated in a joint venture with the Russian RasonKonTrans.

South Korea

In 2000, a freight service was inaugurated, between South Korea and the industrial park at

Kaesong Kaesong (, ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close t ...

; however, usage has been very low and most trains carry no freight.

Rolling stock

Presidential trains

Future plans

A Trans-Korean Main Line is planned, spanning North Korea and allowing South Korean rail freight access to Russian Railways.

Gallery

File:DPRK train.JPG, Locomotive in North Korea File:Pyongyang Metro (21560297299).jpg, Pyongyang Metro File:Train-Crossing-North-Korea-China-2014.jpg, Crossing into North Korea on the Sino–Korean Friendship Bridge File:Dandong, Liaoning Province.jpg, Sino–Korean Friendship Bridge File:DPRK rail electrification.jpg, Railway electrification File:DPRK railway works.jpg, Maintenance works File:Sinanju Chongnyon Station.jpg, Sinanju station building File:Pyongyang central station.JPG, Pyongyang station at night

History

Much of the rail network in Korea was built during the period of Japanese rule, which ended in 1945. There were of railway in 1925.Everyman's Encyclopaedia, 1931, volume 8, pp 217-218 Much was damaged or destroyed during the Korean War.

References

{{Asia topic, Rail transport in