Rail transport in North Korea is provided by

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 ...

(조선 민주주의 인민 공화국 철도성, ''Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk Ch'ŏldosŏng'') which is the only rail operator 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 Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

. 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 A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsHambuk 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 ...

: Ch'ŏngjin Ch'ŏngnyŏn - Rajin, 331.1 km, * Kangwŏn Line: Kowŏn - P'yŏnggang, 145.8 km, *

Manp'o Line The Manp'o Line is an electrified standard-gauge trunk line of the North Korean State Railway running from Sunch'ŏn on the P'yŏngra Line to Manp'o on the Pukpu Line. The line continues on from Manp'o to Ji'an, China.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍� ...

: Sunch'ŏn - Manp'o, 299.9 km, *

Paektusan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line The Paektusan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line is an electrified standard-gauge secondary mainline of the Korean State Railway running from Kilju on the P'yŏngra Line to Hyesan on the Pukbunaeryuk Line; it connects to the narrow gauge Paengmu Line at Paeg'a ...

: Kilchu Ch'ŏngnyŏn - Hyesan Ch'ŏngnyŏn, 141.7 km, * P'yŏngbu Line: P'yŏngyang -

Kaesŏng 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 ...

(->

Dorasan Dorasan or Mount Dora is a 156-metre hill on the north bank of the Imjin River in northernmost Paju, South Korea. It lies very near the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The hill gives its name to several nearby landmarks, including Dorasan Station an ...

, ROK), 187.3 km, * P'yŏngdŏk Line: P'yŏngyang - Kusang Ch'ŏngnyŏn, 192.3 km, * P'yŏngnam Line: P'yŏngyang -

Namp'o Nampo (North Korean official spelling: Nampho; ), also spelled Namp'o, is the second largest city by population and an important seaport in North Korea, which lies on the northern shore of the Taedong River, 15 km east of the river's mouth. ...

, 55.2 km, * P'yŏngra Line: P'yŏngyang - Rajin (and on to Khasan,

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-eig ...

), 819.0 km, * P'yŏngŭi Line: P'yŏngyang - Sinŭiju (and on to Dandong, China), 225.1 km,

Stations

Pyongyang Metro

The

Pyongyang Metro The Pyongyang Metro () is the rapid transit system in the North Korean capital Pyongyang. It consists of two lines: the Chollima Line, which runs north from Puhŭng Station on the banks of the Taedong River to Pulgŭnbyŏl Station, and the Hyŏksi ...

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 ro ...

from Dandong, China to

Sinuiju 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 ...

, North Korea. Passenger trains are taken as far as Dandong by the China Railway 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.

Russia

Rajin has a rail link to the

Russian Railways Russian Railways (russian: link=no, ОАО «Российские железные дороги» (ОАО «РЖД»), OAO Rossiyskie zheleznye dorogi (OAO RZhD)) is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company, both manag ...

system over the Friendship Bridge across the

Tumen River The Tumen River, also known as the Tuman River or Duman River (), is a long river that serves as part of the boundary between China, North Korea and Russia, rising on the slopes of Mount Paektu and flowing into the Sea of Japan. The river ha ...

in the

North Korea–Russia border The North Korea–Russia border, according to the official Russian definition, consists of of "terrestrial border" and 22.1 km (12 nautical miles) of "maritime border". It is the shortest of the international borders of Russia. Description ...

. 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 Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: * Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...

), and eventually attached to a

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, c ...

-Moscow train. Since 2013 the line over the Tumen River to Rajin is rebuilt with dual gauge track, so that standard gauge and Russian broad gauge 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 South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

and the industrial park at Kaesong; however, usage has been very low and most trains carry no freight.

Rolling stock

Presidential trains

Future plans

Trans-Korean Main Line The Trans-Korean Main Line is a project to build railway infrastructure in North Korea, and allow rail freight to travel between South Korea and Russia; it is hoped to halve the time taken to transport freight from eastern Asia to Europe and ear ...

is planned, spanning North Korea and allowing South Korean rail freight access to

Gallery

File:DPRK train.JPG, Locomotive in North Korea File:Pyongyang Metro (21560297299).jpg,

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 Sinanju is the name of a region (신안주) in Anju city, South Pyongan Province, North Korea. The name literally means "Comfortable New Village." When Anju County was raised to the status of a city in August 1987, Sinanju Workers' District was ...

station building File:Pyongyang central station.JPG, Pyongyang station at night

History

Much of the rail network in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

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 , 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 ...

References

{{Asia topic, Rail transport in