The Chŏngdo 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 ...

South Hwanghae Province South Hwanghae Province (Hwanghaenamdo; , lit. "south Yellow Sea province") is a province in western North Korea. The province was formed in 1954 when the former Hwanghae Province was split into North and South Hwanghae. The provincial capital ...

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 ...

, running from Wangsin station on the

Ongjin Line The Ongjin Line is a partially electrified standard-gauge secondary line of the Korean State Railway in South Hwanghae Province, North Korea, running from Haeju on the Hwanghae Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line to Ongjin.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Sh� ...

to Chŏngdo station.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō),

History

Established in 1923 through the merger of six smaller railways, by the mid 1930s the

Chosen Railway The Chosen Railway Company (Japanese: 朝鮮鉄道株式会社, ''Chōsen Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha''; Korean: 조선철도주식회사, ''Joseon Cheoldo Jusikhoesa''), was a privately owned railway company in Japanese-occupied Korea. History The ...

(''Chōtetsu'') had become the largest privately owned railway in

colonial Korea Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business offici ...

, and had built an extensive network of narrow gauge rail lines in the Hwanghae region. By the end of 1935, this Hwanghae Line network ran

Sariwŏn Sariwŏn () is the capital of North Hwanghae Province, North Korea. Population The city's population as of 2008 is 307,764. Administrative divisions Sariwŏn is divided into 31 '' tong'' (neighbourhoods) and 9 '' ri'' (villages): Healthcar ...

—Samgang— Sugyo, Samgang—East Haeju—

Haeju Port Haeju () is a city located in South Hwanghae Province near Haeju Bay in North Korea. It is the administrative centre of South Hwanghae Province. As of 2008, the population of the city is estimated to be 273,300. At the beginning of the 20th century ...

,朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa Nr. 1492, 26 December 1931 and Haeju—East Haeju— Tosŏng.百年の鉄道旅行海州市 (100 Years of Rail Travel - Haeju City (in Japanese)
/ref> On 10 May 1937, Chōtetsu opened a short () line from Tongp'o, located on the Haeju— Ch'wiya section (extended to Ongjin on 19 May) of the Hwanghae Line network, to Chŏngdo to serve the Haeju Port.朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa Nr. 3096, 14 May 1937 After Chōtetsu sold the Hwanghae Line network to the Chosen Government Railway (''Sentetsu'') on 1 April 1944, Sentetsu split the network into several different lines; the Haeju—Ongjin section became the

, and the Tongp'o—Chŏngdo section became the Chŏngdo Line;朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa Nr. 5143, 29 March 1944 this line was eventually extended to the port facilities at T'ŏlsŏm. After the end of the Pacific War and the subsequent

partition of Korea The division of Korea began with the defeat of Japan in World War II. During the war, the Allied leaders considered the question of Korea's future after Japan's surrender in the war. The leaders reached an understanding that Korea would be l ...

, the Chŏngdo Line was located within the territory of the DPRK. After the conversion of the Sariwŏn—Haeju

Hwanghae Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line The Hwanghae Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line is an electrified standard-gauge secondary line of the Korean State Railway in the North and South Hwanghae provinces of North Korea, running from Sariwŏn to Haeju.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sam ...

to standard gauge in 1958,North Korea Geographic Information: Transportation Geography - Hwanghae Chongnyon Line (in Korean)
/ref> the Chŏngdo Line was likewise regauged.
/ref> Electrification of the Chŏngdo Line was completed in April 1982.

Route

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chongdo Line Railway lines in North Korea Standard gauge railways in North Korea Railway lines opened in 1937