The Kaech'ŏn Line is an electrified standard-gauge secondary 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 P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun Song. History 1945–195 ...

running from Sinanju on the P'yŏngŭi Line to Kaech'ŏn on the Manp'o Line. The ruling grade on the line is 14‰, the minimum curve radius is ; there are 14 bridges with a total length of , and there are four tunnels with a total length of .North Korea Geographic Information: Transportation Geography - Kaech'ŏn Line (in Korean)
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History

The line was originally opened on 13 May 1916 by the Mitsui Mining Railway as a narrow-gauge line running from Sinanju to Kaech'ŏn. It was subsequently extended from Kaech'ŏn to Ch'ŏndong, with the new section being opened on 1 December 1918. In 1927, the company was renamed Kaech'ŏn Light Railway, and then was leased to the Chosen Government Railway (''Sentetsu'') on 1 November 1932. Sentetsu began converting the Kaech'ŏn–Ch'ŏndong section to standard gauge, completing this work on 15 July 1933,朝鮮総督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 1947, 7 July 1933 (in Japanese) and on 1 September 1933 the entirety of the line was officially absorbed into Sentetsu, with the Kaech'ŏn–Ch'ŏndong section becoming part of the Manp'o Line. After the partition of Korea the line was located 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 ...

and became part of the Korean State Railway, which converted the remaining narrow-gauge section (Sinanju–Kaech'ŏn) to standard gauge in 1949; the regauging work began in March 1949 and was completed in eight months. Electrification of the line was completed in February 1979,Choe, Un-sik, 한국의 전통 사회 운송 기구, , pp. 115 and semi-automatic train control was installed on the entirety of the line at the same time.

Services

Anthracite Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the hig ...

and cement are the primary commodities shipped on the line. The following passenger trains are known to operate on this line: * Express trains 19/20, operating between

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 ...

and Hŭich'ŏn Ch'ŏngnyŏn, run on this line between Sinanju Ch'ŏngnyŏn and Kaech'ŏn; * Semi-express trains 124-125/126-127, operating between Sinŭiju Ch'ŏngnyŏn and Ch'ŏngjin Ch'ŏngnyŏn, run on this line between Sinanju Ch'ŏngnyŏn and Kaech'ŏn; * Local trains 250-251/252-253, operating between Sinŭiju Ch'ŏngnyŏn and Hŭich'ŏn Ch'ŏngnyŏn, run on this line between Sinanju Ch'ŏngnyŏn and Kaech'ŏn. There are also commuter trains running along the line between Sinanju Ch'ŏngnyŏn and Kaech'ŏn.

Route

A yellow background in the "Distance" box indicates that section of the line is not electrified

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaechon Line Railway lines in North Korea Standard gauge railways in North Korea