The Paengmu Line is a partially electrified narrow gauge line of the
Korean State Railway
The Korean State Railway is the operating arm of the Ministry of Railways of North Korea (), commonly called the State Rail () and has its headquarters at Pyongyang, P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun-song.
History
19 ...
running from
Paeg'am on the
Paektusan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line to
Musan on the
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 ...
, in the
Ryanggang
Ryanggang Province (Ryanggangdo; , ) is a province in North Korea. The province is bordered by China (Jilin) to the north, North Hamgyong to the east, South Hamgyong to the south, and Chagang to the west. Ryanggang was formed in 1954, when it w ...
and
North Hamgyŏng
North Hamgyong Province (Hamgyŏngbukdo, ) is the northernmost province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Hamgyong Province.
Geography
The province is bordered by China (Jilin) to the north, So ...
provinces of
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 Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
.
[Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), ]
The electrified section originally ran from Paeg'am Ch'ŏngnyŏn station to Yugok, whence the remaining to the terminus at Musan remained unelectrified. Since the closure of part of the line due to the construction of a reservoir, the line has been split into two disconnected sections, the electrified Paeg'am—
Kulsong and the non-electrified
Ch'ŏnsu—Musan sections. A new standard gauge section from Paeg'am to
Taet'aek, roughly paralleling the narrow-gauge line, was built in 2013.
History
In 1927, the
Government-General of Korea
Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
formulated a "12-Year Plan for Railways in Chosen", under which the railway network of the Korean Peninsula was to be greatly expanded. Although not part of that 12-year plan, it was decided to build the Paengmu Line for the transport of forest products and to aid in the development of the area. Construction was started at Paeg'am' by the
Chosen Government Railway
Chosen or The Chosen may refer to:
Books
* ''The Chosen'' (Potok novel), a 1967 novel by Chaim Potok
* ''The Chosen'', a 1997 novel by L. J. Smith
* ''The Chosen'' (Pinto novel), a 1999 novel by Ricardo Pinto
* ''The Chosen'' (Karabel book), a b ...
on 16 November 1932, and the first section, from Paeg'am to
San'yangdae, was opened in September 1934. The line was extended to
Yŏn'am in September of the following year and to
Yup'yŏngdong in October 1936.
Service on the Yup'yŏngdong—
Yŏnsa section began in October 1939, but the final section to Musan, connecting the line to the
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 ...
, was completed only in December 1944.
The names of several stations were changed over the years following the establishment of the DPRK, with Paeg'am Station becoming Paeg'am Ch'ŏngnyŏn Station, Hambuk Sinjang Station becoming Sinjang Station (this station was subsequently closed), Hambuk Mun'am Station becoming
Tuam Station, and Sinyang Station becoming
Samyu Station. Electrification of the section from Paeg'am to
Yugok was completed in August 1991.
In August 1980,
Kim Il Sung
Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...
ordered the construction of a new, northern east–west transversal line to run from
Manp'o on the
Manp'o Line
The Manp'o Line is an electrified standard-gauge trunk line of the North Korean State Railway running from Sunch'ŏn on the P'yŏngra Line to Manp'o on the Pukpu Line. The line continues on from Manp'o to Ji'an, China.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍� ...
to
Hoeryŏng on the
Hambuk Line
The Hambuk Line is an electrified standard-gauge trunk line of the Korean State Railway in North Korea, running from Ch'ŏngjin on the P'yŏngra Line to Rajin, likewise on the P'yŏngra line.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no ...
.
[북한 북부철길 개건사업 마감단계.. ‘제2의 마식령속도’ 창조](_blank)
/ref> The Pukpu Line, as the planned line was called (북부, ''pukpu'', means "northern"), was to have been built in three stages: Manp'o to Hyesan
Hyesan () is a city in the northern part of Ryanggang province of North Korea. It is a hub of river transportation as well as a product distribution centre. It is also the administrative centre of Ryanggang Province. As of 2008, the population o ...
, Hyesan to Musan, and Musan to Hoeryŏng;[북부 철길 건설](_blank)
/ref> to save on labour and expenditures, the new line was to make use of existing rail lines where possible – the Hŭngam–Musan section of the Paengmu Line was to have been regauged. However, this plan was only partially realised before it was abandoned in the 1990s. The plans were revived again in the mid-2000s, and work began on the second stage, in the form of the shortening and regauging of the Samjiyŏn Line from Hyesan to Motka. Work stopped and started several times, until finally work on the Hyesan–Motka section was completed in April 2017,[북, ‘혜산-삼지연’간 철도공사 완공](_blank)
/ref> but the plans to continue construction of the line to Musan are not currently being pursued.
《자유아시아방송》, 2015.06.10.
Construction of the reservoir of the Paektusan Sŏngun Youth Power Station led to the flooding of part of the line,[https://www.nknews.org/2013/10/three-new-north-korean-railway-updates/ Three New North Korean Railway Updates, Curtis Melvin, 8 October 2013] resulting in the closure of the section between Ch'ŏnsu and Kulsong; since the closure, the line is electrified only between Paeg'am and Kulsong.
Construction of the line took place as follows:
Route
An orange background in the "Distance" box indicates that section of the line is not electrified narrow-gauge; a pink background indicates that section is electrified narrow gauge. The Paegam—Taet'aek section is duplicated by an incomplete electrified standard gauge.
References
* Japanese Government Railways
The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national rail transport, railway system directly operated by the until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Railways Group.
Name
The English name "Japanese ...
(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), Kawaguchi Printing Company, Tokyo, pp 502–503
{{coord missing, North Korea
Railway lines in North Korea
Standard-gauge railways in North Korea
2 ft 6 in gauge railways in North Korea