DMZ Train (aka Peace Train, ) is a South Korean

excursion train An excursion train is a chartered train run for a special event or purpose. Examples are trains to major sporting event, trains run for railfans or tourists, and special trains operated by the railway company for employees and prominent custo ...

operated by

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, ...

. The train began operations in 2014 and transports tourists from

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

to train terminals closest to the

Korean Demilitarized Zone The Korean Demilitarized Zone () is a heavily militarized strip of land running across the Korea, Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in half. It wa ...

. The service was suspended in 2019 and has not yet resumed operation. Due to the aging issue of the trains, the DMZ Train ended its operation on 28 December 2023.

Overview

The first train opened on May 4, 2014, and travels on the

Gyeongui Line The Gyeongui Line is a railway line between Seoul Station and Dorasan Station in Paju. Korail operates the Seoul Metropolitan Subway service between Seoul Station and Dorasan Station. History ''For the original line's history and other in ...

, in South Korea's northwest, running from

Seoul Station Seoul Station () is a major railway station in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. The station is served by the Korail Intercity Lines and the commuter trains of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway. Services KTX Seoul Station is the terminus of m ...

to Dorasan station. The train crosses the Imjingang Railroad Bridge on the

Imjin River The Imjin River (; South Korean spelling) or Rimjin (; North Korean spelling) is the 7th largest river in Korea. It flows from north to south, crossing the Demilitarized Zone and joining the Han River downstream of Seoul, near the Yellow Sea. ...

and arrives in

Paju Paju (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Paju was made a city in 1997; it had previously been a county (''gun''). The city area of Paju is ,"Paju (Gyeonggi-do Province)." ''Naver Encyclopedi ...

Gyeonggi Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

close to the DMZ. The North Korean city of

Kaesong 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 cl ...

, where the defunct Kaesong industrial park is located, is away. At the

Imjingang station Imjingang station () is a railway station on the Gyeongui–Jungang Line. Service history Since its initial opening on September 30, 2001, the station was originally served by the Commuter Train that ran between Seoul and Dorasan. However, the C ...

passengers must debark for an identification check and head count because Dorasan is the only train station located within the civilian-restricted area. The DMZ train ended a four-year break of passenger service to Dorasan station, started in April 2002 under the

Sunshine Policy The Reconciliation and Cooperation Policy Towards the North (), colloquially referred to as Sunshine Policy () is one of the approaches for South Korea's foreign policy towards North Korea, lasting from 1998 to 2008 and again from 2017 to 2020. ...

, and suspended by the

Ministry of National Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divide ...

in 2010 after a person attempted crossing the DMZ into North Korea. The station is from

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 ...

and from Seoul and a sign there reads, "This is not the last station from the South, but the first station toward the North". Some tourist activities at the final stop are bus and walking tours to the Dorasan Peace Park, the Third Tunnel, and the

Dora Observatory Dora Observatory () is on the South Korean side of the 38th parallel. Situated on top of Dorasan (Mount Dora) in Paju, the observatory provides scenic views across the Demilitarized Zone. Visitors can see the North Korean territory through bino ...

. The second route opened on August 1, 2014, and travels on the

Gyeongwon Line The Gyeongwon Line is a railway line serving northeastern Gyeonggi Province in South Korea. The line is operated by Korail. The name of the line came from ''Gyeongseong'' (Seoul) and ''Wonsan'', the original terminus of the line, in what is ...

northeast from Seoul Station to Baengmagoji station, in

Cheorwon County Cheorwon County (''Cheorwon-gun'' ), also spelled Chorwon, is a county in Gangwon Province, South Korea. It is located right next to the North Korean border. History *Goguryeo – first named ''Moeuldongbi''. *Silla dynasty – name changed to ...

, Gangwon Province. It is the last station currently open on that line, followed by the now closed

Woljeong-ri station Woljeong-ri station is a closed railway station on the Gyeongwon Line in South Korea. It was closed by the Korean War. It is a noted place in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. History ''Woljeong-ri station'' is a historical building in the Demili ...

in the DMZ, where visitors may tour, and

Wonsan station Wŏnsan station () is a railway station located in Yangji-dong, Wŏnsan city, Kangwŏn province, North Korea. It is on the Kangwŏn Line of the Korean State Railway.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), p. 90 Locomotiv ...

, now located in North Korea, where trains used to arrive from Seoul in the early 20th century, but stopped after Korea's division. Some other off-train tour visits are

White Horse Hill Whitehorse Hill is a hill in the Berkshire Downs in Oxfordshire, England, west of Wantage. At , it is the highest point in Oxfordshire. Uffington Castle lies on the summit of the hill, and the Uffington White Horse is on the hill's northern ...

and Cheorwon Peace Observatory. The train has three themed cars: "Peace Car" with a rusty steam train motif symbolizing the separation of the Korean peninsula, "Harmony Car", with paintings of red and blue figurines holding hands, and "Love Car" with paintings of adults and children from across the globe, also, holding hands. Inside the cars, ceilings are covered with pinwheels, and walls display photographs of the DMZ, with themes of war, trains, and ecology.

Reception

Soon after the opening of the first route to Dorasan station, on June 11, 2014, Song In-geol of

The Hankyoreh ''The Hankyoreh'' () is a centre-left liberal daily newspaper in South Korea. It was established in 1988 after widespread purges forced out dissident journalists, and was envisioned as an alternative to existing newspapers, which were regarde ...

reported ridership of around 10,000 for the first month, and the trip's significance, "...for South Koreans who moved here from the North, it is the road home, as well as memory lane; for young people and families, it is a way to experience the separation of the peninsula; for visitors from overseas, it is a journey motivated by curiosity". In July 2017,

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

journalist Steve Evans called it "one of the most bizarre train journeys in the world", and said, "It is a political journey, it is designed to make the point that the train goes and can go no further".

Operations

Western -

*Started running: May 4, 2014 *Stations:

Munsan station Munsan station () is a railway station on the Gyeongui–Jungang Line. It is notable for being the closest station on the Seoul Metropolitan Subway to the border with North Korea that is open for passenger service, only a few kilometers away. ...

Uncheon station Uncheon station is a railway station on the Gyeongui–Jungang Line in South Korea. It is currently served by the Gyeongui–Jungang Line Munsan-Imjingang shuttle service. The station lacks ticket vending machines. The station was planned to b ...

- Dorasan station. *Approximate one-way travel time: 1 hour, 20 minutes. Eastern -

*Started running: August 1, 2014 *Stations:

- Cheongnyangni station -

Uijeongbu station Uijeongbu station is a station on the Gyeongwon Line 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 a ...

Dongducheon station Dongducheon Station (; formerly Dongan station) is a metro station located in Dongducheon, South Korea. Seoul Subway Line 1 serves this station, and it is the terminus station for Gyeongwon Line express trains. Camp Casey, a U.S. Army military ba ...

Soyosan station Soyosan station () is a ground-level metro station on Seoul Subway Line 1, Line 1 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway, Seoul Subway in Sangbongam Dong, Dongducheon, South Korea. It is named after the nearby ''Soyosan'' (587 m), a mountain besi ...

- Yeoncheon station -

Sintan-ri station Sintan-ri station is a railway station on the Gyeongwon Line 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 K ...

- Baengmagoji station. *Approximate one-way travel time: 2 hours.

Suspension

On April 1, 2019, the eastern service was suspended due to construction of the new double tracked & electrified alignment of the Gyeongwon Line between Dongducheon station and Yeoncheon station. The eastern service is expected to resume when construction on the line is completed. On October 2, 2019, the western service was suspended due to concerns about an outbreak of

African swine fever African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a large, double-stranded DNA virus in the '' Asfarviridae'' family. It is the causative agent of African swine fever (ASF). The virus causes a hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic pigs; ...

, as requested by Paju. It is unknown when the western service will resume.

References

External links

DMZ Train at Korail
{{Korail Tourist train Services Passenger trains of the Korail Tourist trains in South Korea