The Gyeongbuk Line () is a railway line serving

North Gyeongsang North Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in eastern South Korea, and with an area of , it is the largest province in the Korean peninsula. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remaine ...

Province 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 line runs from

Gimcheon Gimcheon (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is situated on the major land transportation routes between Seoul and Busan, namely the Gyeongbu Expressway and Gyeongbu Line railway. ...

on the

Gyeongbu Line The Gyeongbu line (''Gyeongbuseon'') is a railway line in South Korea and is considered to be the most important and one of the oldest in the country. It was constructed in 1905, connecting Seoul with Busan via Suwon, Daejeon, and Daegu. It is ...

via

Sangju Sangju (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Although Sangju is rather rural, it is very old and was once a key city. Along with Gyeongju, it gives rise to half of the name of the Gye ...

, Jeomchon (junction with the Mungyeong Line), and Yecheon to

Yeongju Yeongju (; ) is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It has an area of 668.84 km2 and a population of 113,930 people according to the 2008 census. The city borders Bonghwa county to the east, Danyang County of North Chungcheong Pr ...

on the Jungang Line.

History

Construction of the line was begun by the privately owned Chosen Industrial Railway; however, before the line was finished, that company merged with five others to create the Chosen Railway (''Chōtetsu'') in 1923, and it was the new company which completed the first section of the line, opening the

–

section on 1 October 1924, followed by the Sangju– Jeomchon section on 25 December. Chōtetsu then extended the line in several stages, first reaching Yecheon on 1 November 1928, then reaching Gyeongbuk Andong on 16 October 1931; however, the latter section was dismantled in 1944 to use the material elsewhere as Japan's military faced material shortages during the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

. After the

Liberation of Korea Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

, the Chosen Railway was nationalised along with all other railways in the country. Following the 1961 coup, the

Supreme Council for National Reconstruction The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction () was the ruling military junta of South Korea from May 1961 to December 1963. The Supreme Council overthrew the Second Republic of Korea in the May 16 coup in May 1961 and established a provi ...

started South Korea's first five-year plan, which included a construction program to complete the railway network, to foster economic growth. Under the program, the Gyeongbuk Line was extended to Yeongju, to create a connection both with the Jungang Line and the Yeongdong Line, allowing the transport of coal from the latter. Work began in May 1962, the from Jeomchon to Yecheon was opened in January 1966, the from Yecheon to Yeongju was opened on 10 October 1966. The complete line is long, and remains single-tracked and unelectrified. A long branch from Jeomchon to Mungyeong, the Mungyeong Line, was opened on 10 May 1969.

Operation

As of 2010, the line is served by both passenger and freight trains along its entire length, as is the Mungyeong branch. As of November 2010, the line is served by Mugunghwa cross-country trains from

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

and Dongdaegu, which travel in 2 hours 12 minutes from Gimcheon to Yeongju.

Route

References

External links

Korail
{{Gyeongbuk Line Transport in North Gyeongsang Province Railway lines in South Korea Railway lines opened in 1924

History

Operation

Route

See also

References

External links