The Pyongyang

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

system () forms part of the

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

network of

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

, the capital city of

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 Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, and extends to some of its suburbs.

History

The first plans for a trolleybus network were proposed in 1957, though construction only began in 1960, after Kim Il Sung ordered it. The network begun operation on 30 April 1962, with an opening ceremony at Pyongyang Railway station to commemorate the opening of the line from the Three Revolutions Exhibition at Ryonmot-dong to the railway station. The network began without a depot; trolleybuses were parked in the open. In September 1963, the Pyongyang station to Arch of Triumph. In the second half of 1964, a line from

Moranbong Moranbong () or Moran Hill forms a park located in central Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. Its summit is the location of the Pyongyang TV Tower. There are multiple monumental structures located on Moran Hill. They include the Arc ...

to Palgol opened. By the end of 1964, the fleet consisted 130 Chollima-9.11 and 24 Chollima 9.25 articulated trolleybuses. Two lines opened in 1965: from Pyongyang station to West Pyongyang on 6 April and from Department Store No. 1 to Taedonggang station on 25 August. During that time, there were also alleged plans for the construction of an intercity line to

Pyongsong Pyongsong (, , officially Phyongsong) is a city in North Korea, the capital city of South Pyongan province in western North Korea. The city is located about 32 kilometres northeast of Pyongyang, and was formally established in December 1969. It ha ...

. Since then, a number of routes have been abolished, replaced by the

tram system A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include seg ...

, though with the closure of tram line 1 from Songsin to Songyo, this section was rebuilt as a trolleybus line. The system is continuously developed, with a new depot serving line 1 and 10 vehicles built in 2016. The first closures occurred in the 1970s, due to the opening of the

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

. This was followed by a resurgence in the 1980s, when four new routes opened. Closures occurred again in the 1990s due to the opening of the tram network in Pyongyang.^page:77 Between 1996 and 2005, part of the trolleybus line in

was cut off from the rest of the line, with the area where the line belonged to being transferred to

Unjong-guyok Ŭnjŏng-guyŏk, or Ŭnjŏng District is one of the 18 guyŏk that constitute Pyongyang, North Korea, known for its scientific facilities. The district was named as such to honor the "benevolent affection (Korean word is Unjong)" and love of the ...

of Pyongyang. In 2020, the total route length was about and comprised 11 routes. During the 2022

Day of the Sun The Day of the Sun () is an annual public holiday in North Korea on 15 April, the birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung, founder and Eternal President of North Korea. It is the most important national holiday in the country, and is considered to ...

celebrations, a new line from Songyo to Songhwa was opened, while the line from West Pyongyang to Thermal Power was rerouted, both to serve the new Songhwa and Kyongru-dong residentials districts that they respectively pass through, providing convenient transport to the residents of the new districts.

Services

There are a total of 10 lines in operation. Some former lines were replaced by the

that opened in 1989. The numbers indicated on the dashboard are not route numbers – they are the stopping pattern of that service. This was implemented in July 1972, when

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 led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

sought to reduce traffic jams of trolleybuses, after trolleybus headways were decreased in 1 minute in April 1972.^page:75

Fleet

Most of the vehicles used on the system are North Korean made; some of them based on the Czech

Karosa Karosa (, ) was a bus manufacturer in Vysoké Mýto in the Czech Republic. It was the biggest manufacturer of buses in Czechoslovakia. In 2007, its name was changed to Iveco, Iveco Czech Republic, and now the company produces buses under the name ...

buses. The fleet also includes Hungarian Ikarus trolleybuses, imported as diesel buses and later reconstructed into trolleybuses. For the full list including vehicles in use in other cities, see Trolleybuses in North Korea. The only trolleybus operated in Pyongyang that was not manufactured by

Pyongyang Trolleybus Factory The Pyongyang Trolleybus Factory (PTBF) is an Automotive industry in North Korea, automotive industry company in North Korea and is the largest trolleybus manufacturer in the DPRK. During its existence, it has also manufactured vans, refrigerate ...

was a single Jipsan-85 articulated trolleybus. File:1964-built Pyongyang articulated trolleybus 903 in 2014.jpg, A Chollima 9.25 built in 1964 File:In front of Pyongyang Station DPRK.jpg, Chollima-70 #801 outside the

Pyongyang Station Pyongyang station () is the central railway station of Pyongyang, North Korea. It is located in Yŏkchŏn-dong, Chung-guyŏk. Main information The station is the start of the Pyongbu and Pyongŭi lines, which were adjusted from the Kyongbu ...

File:North Korea-Pyongyang-Blue bus-01.jpg, A Chollima 973 trolleybus converted from a Karosa C734 diesel bus File:Trolleybus in Pyongyang.jpg, A Chollima 973 trolleybus, #590 also converted from Karosa C734 File:Chollima-091-193.jpg, A domestically produced Chollima-091, 2014 File:Laika ac Pyongyang (7975527162).jpg, Chollima-862 produced since 1986

New rolling stock

New trolleybuses are also produced in other provinces and cities, such as in

Chongjin Chŏngjin (; ) is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyong Province (함경북도) and the country's List of cities in North Korea, third-largest city. Sometimes called the City of Iron, it is located in the northeast of the country. History ...

. Despite the new technology incorporated with the new trolleybuses such as a dual power supply using a battery as a backup and LED displays, they do not have air conditioning. The new trolleybuses were subject to news coverage in the

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

, receiving multiple front-page headlines subjecting the tests.

Kim Jong Un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

also made visits to the Pyongyang Trolley Bus Factory, with the intention to turn the factory 'into a world-class trolley bus producer'. The first visit in February featured the Chollima-316 trolleybus, while the August visit featured the Chollima-321 trolleybus. In total, about 200 Chollima-091 were manufactured, about twenty Chollima-316 and at least 40 Chollima-321 were produced.

References

External links