The Kangan Line, also spelled Kang'an Line, is a non-electrified standard-gauge freight-only 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 ...

located entirely within Sinŭiju-si, North P'yŏngan Province,

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 Sinŭiju on the

P'yŏngŭi Line The P'yŏngŭi Line is an electrified main trunk line of the Korean State Railway of North Korea, running from P'yŏngyang to Sinŭiju on the border with China.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), It is the main co ...

to Kang'an.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō);

History

''For the original line's history and other information prior to 1945, see

Gyeongui Line (1904–1945) The Gyeongui Line was a railway line of the Chosen Government Railway running from Gyeongseong to Sinuiju in Korea. After the partition of Korea in 1945, the line was divided between North and South Korea.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Sh ...

.'' In 1911, the Yalu River Railway Bridge was completed across the Yalu River between Sinŭiju and Andong (now Dandong), China, connecting the Kyŏngŭi Line to the Anfeng Line of the

South Manchuria Railway The South Manchuria Railway ( ja, 南満州鉄道, translit=Minamimanshū Tetsudō; ), officially , Mantetsu ( ja, 満鉄, translit=Mantetsu) or Mantie () for short, was a large of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operatio ...

. Work to convert the Anfeng Line from

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller struc ...

to standard gauge was completed at the same time, thus connecting the capitals of

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

and China with a continuous railway line via and

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym "Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East ( Outer ...

. As a result, Sentetsu opened a new station in Sinŭiju (on the site of today's Sinŭiju Ch'ŏngnyŏn Station), with the original station, located northwest of the new station, being renamed Lower Sinŭiju Station. On 1 November 1935, Sentetsu opened Pinjŏng Station between Sinŭiju and Lower Sinŭiju stations, but closed it again on 15 November 1941. On 1 June 1936, Lower Sinŭiju station was renamed Sinŭiju Kang'an Station, and the line from Sinŭiju Station to Sinŭiju Kang'an Station was detached from the Kyŏngŭi Line to become the Kang'an Line. Passenger service on the Kang'an Line was discontinued on 31 March 1943, with general (public) freight traffic being relocated from Sinŭiju Kang'an to Sinŭiju station on 20 December of that year.

Services

The Kang'an Line is used to serve the various industries in Sinŭiju, such as the Sinŭiju Streptomycin Factory and the Sinŭiju Chemical Fibre Complex (called the "Chōsen Paper Mills, Ltd." prior to 1945Official Guide to Eastern Asia vol. 1 Chōsen & Manchuria, Siberia, p. 138, Department of Railways, Tokyo, 1920). There is also a large workshop for maintenance of passenger cars at Kang'an Station.

Route

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

References

{{coord missing, North Korea Railway lines in North Korea Standard gauge railways in North Korea Railway lines opened in 1911