The Pyongyang Metro () is the

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

system in the

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 ...

n capital

Pyongyang 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 populat ...

. It consists of two lines: the

Chollima Line The ''qianlima'' (; also ''chollima'', ''cheollima'', and ''senrima''; ) is a mythical horse that originates from the Chinese classics and is commonly portrayed in East Asian mythology. The winged horse is said to be too swift and elegant to be m ...

, which runs north from Puhŭng Station on the banks of the

Taedong River The Taedong River (Chosŏn'gŭl: ) is a large river in North Korea. The river rises in the Rangrim Mountains of the country's north where it then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Namp'o.Suh, Dae-Sook (1987) "North Korea in 1986: Strengthenin ...

to Pulgŭnbyŏl Station, and the Hyŏksin Line, which runs from Kwangbok Station in the southwest to Ragwŏn Station in the northeast. The two lines intersect at Chŏnu Station. Daily ridership is estimated to be between 300,000 and 700,000.

Structural engineering Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and muscles' that create the form and shape of man-made structures. Structural engineers also must understand and cal ...

of the Metro was completed by North Korea, with

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles ca ...

and related electronic equipment imported from China. This was later replaced with rolling stock acquired from

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

. The Pyongyang Metro has a museum devoted to its construction and history.

Construction

Construction of the metro network started in 1965, and stations were opened between 1969 and 1972 by president

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

. Most of the 16 public stations were built in the 1970s, except for the two most grandiose stations—Puhŭng and Yŏnggwang, which were constructed in 1987. According to

NK News NK News is an American subscription-based news website that provides stories and analysis about North Korea. Established in 2011, it is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea with reporters in Washington, D.C. and London. Reporting is based on inf ...

sources, construction accidents in the 1970s are alleged to have potentially killed dozens of workers. China had provided technical aid for the metro's construction, sending experts to install equipment made in China, including

electrical equipment Electric(al) devices are devices that functionally rely on electric energy ( AC or DC) to drive their core parts (electric motors, transformers, lighting, rechargeable batteries, control electronics). They can be contrasted with traditional m ...

made in

Xiangtan Xiangtan () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Hunan province, south-central China. The hometowns of several founding leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, including Chairman Mao Zedong, President Liu Shaoqi, and Marshal Peng Dehuai, a ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangx ...

and the escalator with vertical height of 64 m made by Shanghai Seleva. Pyongyang Metro is among the deepest metros in the world, with the track at over deep underground; the metro does not have any above-ground track segments or stations. Due to the depth of the metro and the lack of outside segments, its stations can double as

bomb shelter A bomb shelter is a structure designed to provide protection against the effects of a bomb. Types of shelter Different kinds of bomb shelters are configured to protect against different kinds of attack and strengths of hostile explosives. Air ...

s, with blast doors in place at hallways. It takes three and a half minutes from the ground to the platform by escalator. The metro is so deep that the temperature of the platform maintains a constant all year. The

Saint Petersburg Metro The Saint Petersburg Metro (russian: links=no, Петербургский метрополитен, Peterburgskiy metropoliten) is a rapid transit system in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Construction began in early 1941, but was put on hold due to Wor ...

also claims to be the deepest, based on the average depth of all its stations. The Arsenalna station on Kyiv Metro's Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska Line is currently the deepest station in the world at . The deepest heavy rail station in the world is the

Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon railway station Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon Railway Station ( he, תחנת הרכבת ירושלים – יצחק נבון, ''Tahanat HaRakevet Yerushalaim–Yitzhak Navon''; ar, محطة أورشليم – يتسحاق ناڤون), originally named Jerusalem–H ...

, located underground. The

Porta Alpina (from Romansh: Alpine Gate) was a proposed railway station to be located in the middle of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, serving the Alpine village of Sedrun in Switzerland. It was intended to promote tourism and the economy in the region of Grau ...

railway station, located above the

Gotthard Base Tunnel , rm, Tunnel da basa dal Sogn Gottard , image = 20141120 gotthard-basistunnel02-wikipedia-hannes-ortlieb.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Turnout at Faido multifunction station , line = Gotthard Line , location = Switzerland ( Uri, Grisons and ...

in Switzerland, was supposed to be underground, but the project was indefinitely shelved in 2012. The system was initially electrified at 825 volts, but lowered down to 750 volts to support operation of the Class GI sets. However, this conflicts with the documentation on the DK4 sets, which uses 750 volts with a +20% and a -38% tolerance. A 1999 KBS news broadcast stated that two lines were under construction, with line 3 to run from Kwangbok station to Mangyongdae, while the location of line 4 was unknown. The two lines were to open for the 55th

Party Foundation Day The Party Foundation Day ( ko, 조선로동당 창건일) is an annual public holiday in North Korea marking the 10 October 1945 foundation of the "Central Organizing Committee of the Communist Party of North Korea", known as the " North Korea Bu ...

. In 2012,

Korean Central Television Korean Central Television (KCTV; ) is a television service operated by the Korean Central Broadcasting Committee, a state-owned broadcaster in North Korea. It is broadcast terrestrially via the Pyongyang TV Tower in Moranbong-guyok, Pyongy ...

released renders of a new station bearing the name

Mangyongdae Mangyongdae () is a neighborhood in Mangyongdae-guyok, Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korean propaganda claims Mangyongdae is the birthplace of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung, although in his memoirs he wrote that he had been born in the nearby ...

displayed at the Pyongyang Architectural Festival. In 2018, NK News claimed that there would be possible extensions to the metro system, with anonymous sources claiming activity to the west of Kwangbok Station. Commercial satellite imagery revealed only one structure under construction, and it speculated an absence of announcements from state media was due to funding issues, as well as due to the 1970s tunneling accidents. In 2019,

Kaeson station Kaeson Station is a station on Chŏllima Line of the Pyongyang Metro. It is located near the Arch of Triumph and Kaeson Youth Park The Kaeson Youth Park ( ko, 개선청년공원) is an amusement park located in Pyongyang, North Korea. The par ...

and Tongil Station were modernised, adding TVs that show the next service and brighter lighting. This was followed by Jonu station and Chonsung station in 2020. The TVs can also display a digital version of the

Rodong Sinmun ''Rodong Sinmun'' (; ) is a North Korean newspaper that serves as the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. It was first published on November 1, 1945, as ''Chŏngro'' (), serving as a communication channel ...

. At the

8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea The 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea was held at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang from 5 to 12 January 2021. A total of 7,000 people participated in the congress including 5,000 delegates. The Party Congress took place in th ...

, it was announced to push forward on the updating and renovation of the Pyongyang Metro, along with the production of new-type subway trains.

Operation

The Pyongyang Metro was designed to operate every few minutes. During rush hour, the trains can operate at a minimum interval of two minutes. The trains have the ability to play music and other recordings. In actual service, they run at every 3 minutes in rush hour and every 5 minutes throughout the day. The Pyongyang Metro is the cheapest in the world to ride, at only five

North Korean won The Korean People's won, sometimes known as the North Korean won (Symbol: ₩; Code: KPW; Korean: ) or Democratic People's Republic of Korea won ( Korean: ), is the official currency of North Korea. It is subdivided into 100 ''chon''. The cur ...

(worth half of a US cent) per ticket. Instead of paper tickets, the Metro previously used an aluminium token, with the emblem of the Metro minted on it and the Korean "". It has used a paper ticket system, with "" printed with blue ink on it. Tickets are bought at station booths. Nowadays, the network uses contactless cards that feature the logo of the network and a train set on the front, with the terms and conditions on the other side. Gates display the number of trips remaining on the card, with a trip being a tap on entry and exit. Smoking and eating inside the Metro system is prohibited and is punishable by a large fine. Pyongyang Metro Administration Bureau, the operator of the system, is ranked at the dead-last place in the world when it comes to the metro's inaccessibility to disabled people with

wheelchairs A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries (paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebral pa ...

. This is due to the North Korean government excluding persons with disabilities in the society, which is a violation of human rights, generating criticism from the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

. This makes Pyongyang's public transport accessibility to the disabled the worst in the world after

Moscow Metro The Moscow Metro) is a metro system serving the Russian capital of Moscow as well as the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first ...

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 ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

and the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Network

The Pyongyang Metro network consists of two lines: *

, named after a winged horse from ancient Korean mythology. It spans about . Construction started in 1968, and the line opened on September 6, 1973. The total route contains the Puhung, Yonggwang, Ponghwa, Sŭngni, Tongil, Kaeson, Jonu, and Pulgunbyol stations. * Hyŏksin Line, which literally means ''renewal'', spans about . Regular service started on October 9, 1975. The route contains the Kwangbok, Konguk, Hwanggumbol, Konsol, Hyoksin, Jonsung, Samhung, and Rakwon stations. The closed Kwangmyong station is located between the Samhung and Rakwon stations. The two lines have a linking track, located somewhere near Jonsung station. Most metro stations bear reference to nearby features, with Kaesŏn Station ("Triumph station") being located at the Arch of Triumph, Yonggwang station located near Yonggwang street, Sungni station at Sungni street. The network runs entirely underground. The design of the network was based on metro networks in other communist countries, in particular the

. Both networks share many characteristics, such as the great depth of the lines (over ) and the large distances between stations. Another common feature is the

Socialist realist Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ...

art on display in the stations - such as murals and statues. Staff of the Metro have a military-style uniform that is specific to these workers. Each Metro station has a free toilet for use by patrons. Stations also play state radio-broadcasts and have a display of the ''

'' newspaper. In times of war, the metro stations can serve as

s. For this purpose the stations are fitted with large steel doors. Some sources claim that large military installations are connected to the stations, and also that there exist secret lines solely for government use. One station, Kwangmyŏng, has been closed since 1995 due to the mausoleum of Kim Il-sung being located at that station. Trains do not stop at that station. The map of the Hyŏksin line shows two additional stations after Kwangbok: Yŏngung () and Ch'ilgol (), both of them reportedly under development. The map of the Chollima Line, on the other hand, shows four additional stations, two at each end of the line— Ryŏnmot (), Sŏp'o (), Ch'ŏngch'un () and

Man'gyŏngdae Mangyongdae () is a neighborhood in Mangyongdae-guyok, Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korean propaganda claims Mangyongdae is the birthplace of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung, although in his memoirs he wrote that he had been born in the nearby ...

()—also planned or under development. However, the most recent maps omit these stations. The Chollima line is already connected to the

State Railway State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Sopo station on the way to the metro depot, and plans of the metro seem to suggest that the non-commercial segment of this line would be eventually part of the metro system. However, the current tunnel exit does not allow for this, as this segment does not have third rail electrification, and is locomotive hauled by the GKD5B shunters and would require negotiating a switchback. In addition to the main system for passenger use, there is allegedly an extra system for government use, similar to

's Metro-2. The secret Pyongyang system supposedly connects important government locations. There is also reportedly a massive underground plaza for mobilization, as well as an underground road connecting two metro stations.

Rolling stock

When operations on the Metro started in the 1970s, newly built DK4 passenger cars were used, made for North Korea by the Chinese firm

Changchun Railway Vehicles CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd. () is a Chinese rolling stock manufacturer and a division of the CRRC. While the CRV emerged in 2002, the company's roots date back to the establishment of the Changchun Car Company in 1954. The company be ...

. Some of the Chinese-made rolling stock have been observed operating near the Sinuiju area and northern regions. People in Pyongyang Metro 01

Since 1997, the Pyongyang Metro has mainly used former German rolling stock from the

Berlin U-Bahn The Berlin U-Bahn (; short for , "underground railway") is a rapid transit system in Berlin, the capital and largest city of Germany, and a major part of the city's public transport system. Together with the S-Bahn, a network of suburban tra ...

. The former Berlin trainsets were given a new red and cream livery in Pyongyang. All advertising was removed and replaced by portraits of leaders,

and

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Ki ...

. In 2000, a BBC reporter saw "old East German trains complete with their original German graffiti".

Koryo Tours Koryo Tours is an independent Western travel company based in Beijing, specializing in group and independent tourism to North Korea. Their tours run throughout the year covering budget to exclusive trips. There are packages for staying in the ca ...

in another article write about and show the old West-Berlin D-trains, suggesting that the BBC article could have mixing them up with the Class GI of East Berlin. After about 2006, Type D cars were mainly used. The Class GI rolling stock has been banned from underground tunnel operations due to frequent control stand fires and was withdrawn from Metro service in 2001, and those cars are now operating on the railway network around Pyongyang and northern regions as commuter trains. One Type D metro car appears to have been converted into a

departmental vehicle Departmental vehicles, also called departmental wagons or engineering vehicles, are special railway vehicles used to support the engineering functions of the railway.Ellis, Iain (2006). ''Ellis' British Railway Engineering Encyclopaedia''. Lulu, p. ...

, with a subsequently installed second driver's cab at the car's back next to the inter carriage door. The metro car is painted in yellow with red warning trims. In 2015,

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...

rode a newly manufactured four car train set which was reported to have been developed and built at

Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works The Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works () in P'yŏngyang is North Korea's largest manufacturer of railway equipment. Established in November 1945 in Sŏsŏng-guyŏk, P'yŏngyang near the P'yŏngyang Railway University and the Korean Stat ...

in North Korea, although the cars appeared to be significantly renovated D-class cars. This set is named 'Underground Electric Vehicle No. 1'. It features a

VVVF A variable-frequency drive (VFD) is a type of motor drive used in electro-mechanical drive systems to control AC motor speed and torque by varying motor input frequency and, depending on topology, to control associated voltage or current vari ...

control and initially fitted with an

asynchronous motor An induction motor or asynchronous motor is an AC electric motor in which the electric current in the rotor needed to produce torque is obtained by electromagnetic induction from the magnetic field of the stator winding. An induction motor c ...

but later replaced with a

permanent magnet synchronous motor A synchronous electric motor is an AC electric motor in which, at steady state, the rotation of the shaft is synchronized with the frequency of the supply current; the rotation period is exactly equal to an integral number of AC cycles. Sync ...

developed by the Kim Chaek University of Technology. It usually runs on the

but has also ran on the Hyoksin Line. As a gift to the

, it is reported that the

are working to complete new metro cars, promoted by the 80 day campaign. However, in the

Korean Central News Agency The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946 and now features onli ...

article summarising the eighty day campaign, there was no mention of any new vehicles being produced. Previously, it was reported that a 4 door set was to be manufactured to mainly run on the Hyoksin line, to be named Underground Electric Vehicle No. 2. Another news report stated that Kim Chong-tae Locomotive Works was organising the serial production of the Underground Electric Vehicle Type 1 for the 80 day campaign and mentioned the construction of the car body. However, although this was a goal of the 80 day campaign, a new set has yet to be built.

Tourism

In general,

tourism in North Korea Tourism in North Korea is tightly controlled by the North Korean government. All tourism is organized by one of several state-owned tourism bureaus, including Korea International Travel Company (KITC), Korean International Sports Travel Company (K ...

is allowed only in guided groups with no diversion allowed from pre-planned itineraries. Foreign tourists used to be allowed to travel only between Puhŭng Station and Yŏnggwang Station. However, foreign students were allowed to freely use the entire metro system. Since 2010, tourists have been allowed to ride the metro at six stations, and in 2014, all of the metro stations were opened to foreigners. University students traveling with the Pyongyang Project have also reported visiting every station. , it is possible for tourists on special Public Transport Tours to take metro rides through both lines, including visits to all stations. In April 2014, the first tourist group visited stations on both metro lines, and it is expected that such extended visits to both metro lines will remain possible for future tourist groups. The previously limited tourist access gave rise to a

conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

that the metro was purely for show. It was claimed that it only consisted of two stops and that the passengers were actors.

Museum

Pyongyang Metro has its own museum. A large portion of the collection is related to President

providing "

on-the-spot guidance "On-the-spot guidance" (also "guidance tours" or "field guidance") is a term used in the North Korean mass media to describe appearances by the supreme leader of North Korea, often at sites related to the military or to industry, at which the lea ...

" to the workers constructing the system. Among the exhibits are a special

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite ...

-like vehicle which the president used to descend to a station under construction (it rode down the inclined tunnels that would eventually be used by the escalators), and a railbus in which he rode around the system. The museum also has a map of the planned lines; it shows the Chollima and Hyoksin line terminating at a common station near Chilgol, the third line that would cross the Taedong River, eventually terminating near Rakrang and the locations of the depots, one far past the western terminus of the Hyoksin line and the depot in Sopo for the Chollima line.

Gallery

File:Pyongyang Metro September 2015 04.jpg, Mural at Puhŭng Station entrance File:Laika ac Pyongyang Metro (7953414514).jpg, Staff in a military-style uniform File:Public newspaper reading stand in Pyongyang metro 3.jpg, A public newspaper display on a platform File:Pyongyang Metro (11360664053).jpg, A statue of

at Kaesŏn Station File:Ponghwa Station. Pyongyang Metro, North Korea..jpg,

mural at Ponghwa Station File:Pyongyang Metro September 2015 05.jpg, 9 September 2015 newspaper at Puhŭng Station File:Pyongyang Metro September 2015 02.jpg, Escalators at Puhŭng Station File:Pyongyang Metro September 2015 09.jpg, at File:Pyongyang Metro September 2015 06.jpg, Mural at Puhŭng Station File:Pyongyang Metro September 2015 11.jpg, Pyongyang Metro map at Kaesŏn Station File:Subway ticket (33139722795).jpg, Pyongyang Metro ticket

Network Map

References

Notes

Bibliography

*''Pyongyang Metro'', Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1980 *Пхеньянский метрополитен. Путеводитель. — КНДР: Издательство «Корея», 1988.

External links

TOURS BY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATIONS - DPR Korea Tour

TRAFFIC FANS TOUR - DPR Korea Tour

평양지하철 비공식 홈페이지

평양 지하철도 - 나무위키

Pyongyang Metro - Steve Gong • Photo , Video

Photos of all Metro stations

Video of all Metro stations
{{Rapid transit in Asia Metro Rapid transit in North Korea Underground rapid transit in North Korea Standard gauge railways in North Korea 1973 establishments in North Korea Railway lines opened in 1973 Articles containing video clips