The Donghae Line () is a railway line connecting
Busanjin station to
Samcheok station in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
. The literal meaning of its name, the "East Sea Line," reflects its position along the nation's East coast. It merged with the
Donghae Nambu Line on December 30, 2016, and will merge with the
Donghae Bukbu Line.
In January 26, 2018, the East Sea Line was partially extended to Yeongdeok Station, and on January 1, 2025, the line between Yeongdeok Station and Samcheok Station was opened.
Stations
Major stations along the line include (in order):
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Bujeon station, terminal station of the line and terminus of the
Bujeon Line
*
BEXCO station, where the G-Star gaming event is held
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Sinhaeundae station, a popular resort beach in eastern Busan
*
Gijang station
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Taehwagang station (formerly Ulsan), major industrial city and terminus of the Jangsaengpo and Ulsanhang Lines
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Gyeongju station (Singyeongju), historic city
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Pohang station, seaport and industrial city
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Samcheok station
Services
KTX
Plans foresee direct
KTX high-speed train service from Seoul to Pohang and Ulsan after the completion of the upgrades. From 2015, direct KTX trains are to reach Pohang from Seoul in 1 hour 50 minutes, cutting 33 minutes from the travel time with transfer at Gyeongju. Under the government's 2010 strategic plan for 2020, the entire line may see KTX service.
Busan–Ulsan commuter trains
In the Busan–Ulsan section, higher frequency commuter rail service between
Bujeon and
Ilgwang began on December 30, 2016. Service operates approximately every 15 minutes during the peak periods and 30 minutes during the off-peak. The line is integrated into the
Busan Metro network and accepts the
Hanaro Card and
Digital Busan Card, as well as the
T-Money card from Seoul.
Rolling stock
*
Korail Class 381000 4-car EMU
Upgrade
Pohang–Samcheok extension
At the time of thawing relations between South and North Korea, when the cross-border section of the
Donghae Bukbu Line was reopened in 2007, the South Korean government considered the construction of a railway for freight traffic all along the east coast to the North Korean border.
As part of the corridor, a new single-track, non-electrified line for would connect Pohang and Samcheok, the end of a branch of the
Yeongdong Line
The Yeongdong Line is a line of Korail. It connects Yeongju in North Gyeongsang Province with Gangneung in Gangwon Province. From Yeongju, it crosses the Taebaek Mountains and reaches the Sea of Japan (East Sea) at Donghae, thence proceedin ...
.
new line is to connect to the existing railhead at Samcheok. Work started on the Pohang-Yeongdeok section on March 20, 2008, with a foreseen budget of 2,949.5 billion won for the entire line until Samcheok.
As of 2009, progress reached 5.9% of a planned budget reduced to 2,831.749 billion won, and completion of the long project was planned for 2016.
Under the government's 2010 strategic plan for 2020, the Pohang–Samcheok extension is to be further upgraded for .
On January 1, 2025, when the
Yeongdeok Station to
Samcheok Station opened, 12 stations were newly established as intermediate stations, including Yeonghae, Goraebul, Hupo, Pyeonghae, Giseong, Maehwa, Uljin, Jukbyeon, Heungbu, Okwon, Imwon, and Geundeok.
See also
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Korail
The Korea Railroad Corporation () is the national railway operator in South Korea. It is branded as KORAIL () and changed its official Korean name () in November 2019. Currently, KORAIL is a public corporation, managed by Ministry of Land, ...
: South Korea's national railroad operator
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Transportation in South Korea
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Donghae Nambu Line
*
Donghae Bukbu Line
References
External links
Korail
{{Donghae Line
Korail lines
Railway lines in South Korea
Standard-gauge railways in South Korea
Railway lines opened in 2015
Donghae Line