Musan Line

The Musan Line is an electrified standard-gauge secondary trunk line of the Korean State Railway in Musan and Puryŏng counties, North Hamgyŏng Province, North Korea, running from Komusan on the Hambuk Line to Musan, where it connects to the narrow-gauge Paengmu Line.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), The section from Komusan to Sinch'am is double tracked.The traffic and geography in North Korea
Hambuk Line
(in Korean)

The line starts at Komusan on the Hambuk Line, following the Susŏngch'ŏn stream through the Hamgyŏng Mountains of Puryŏng and Musan Counties to Musan. The line is 57.9 km in length, with 13 stations.

There is a sorting yard at Musan Station and locomotive facilities at Ch'ŏlsong.

History

In order to exploit the rich iron deposits of the Musan region, the North Chosen Colonial Railway began construction of this line, calling it the Hambuk Line (not to be confused with the current Hambuk Line, which at that time was part of the Hamgyŏng Line). The line was opened in two parts - the Komusan- Sinch'am section opening on 20 August 1927, and the Sinch'am-Musan segment being opened on 15 November 1929. On 1 February 1937, Musan Ch'ŏlsan station was opened.Japanese Government Railways (1937), 鉄道停車場一覧. 昭和12年10月1日現在(The List of the Stations as of 1 October 1937), pp. 511

Originally built as a narrow-gauge line, the conversion to standard gauge was completed on 1 May 1940,朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa Nr. 3984, 6 May 1940 and the extension to Musan Kangan station was completed then as well. By 1942, the North Chosen Colonial Railway was operating four daily return trips between Komusan and Musan, timed to connect with local and express services on the Chosen Government Railway's (''Sentetsu'') Hamgyŏng Line.Tōa Travel Co. (東亜旅行社), Ministry of Railways Combined Timetable 1 November 1942 (鐵道省編纂時刻表昭和１７年１１月１日) On 1 April 1944, the line was absorbed into Sentetsu;朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa Nr. 5143, 29 March 1944 at the same time, the line was given its current name, Musan Line, and the extension to Musan Kangan station was closed.

In order to facilitate the transport of ironstone from the Musan Mining Complex, the 33.6 km section between Sinch'am and Komusan was double-tracked, and electrification of the line was completed in 1977.

Services

Freight

Freight traffic on the Musan Line is 7.5 times greater in the eastbound (Musan-Komusan) direction than the reverse. 94.2% of the freight moved towards Komusan is magnetite ore from the Musan Mining Complex; timber accounts for 4.3%. From Komusan to Musan coal forms the majority of freight, along with other necessities - grain, fertiliser, cement etc. A large portion of westbound trains consist of empty cars bound for the mines at Musan.

Most freight traffic on the line is from the Musan Mining Complex via the Musan Mining Line to the Kim Chaek Steel Complex, the Ch'ŏngjin Steel Works, the Sŏngjin Steel Complex and export goods to Namyang Station for forwarding to China.

Passenger

There are two passenger trains known to operate on this line:

* Express trains 9/10, operating between P'yŏngyang and Musan, run along the entirety of this line between Komusan and Musan;
* Two daily pairs of local trains, 662/663 and 668/669, operate between Musan and Chuch'o.

There are also local trains running between Musan and Ch'ŏngjin at the southern junction of the Hambuk and P'yŏngra Lines. Further, there are several daily commuter trains for workers between Musan and Ch'ŏlsong and for students between Musan and Komusan.

Route

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

Mainline

References

{{coord missing, North Korea

Railway lines in North Korea
Standard gauge railways in North Korea