Pyongyang Tram is a public

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

system in

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 ...

, the capital 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 ...

. The first line of the current system opened in 1989. There are four lines in operation.

Overview

Before the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

from 1950 to 1953, there were three tramway systems in the Korean Peninsula: one each in

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 ...

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 Pyongyang. During the

North Korean famine The North Korean famine (), dubbed by the government as the Arduous March (), was a period of mass starvation together with a general economic crisis from 1995 to 2000 in North Korea. During this time there was an increase in defection from N ...

, the service of tram lines became sparse, and often trams would not run due to lack of drivers and shortage of electricity. Unlike South Korea, personal ownership of automobiles in North Korea is very rare. North Koreans, especially those living in Pyongyang and other major cities, rely mainly on

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

. In Pyongyang, there are

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

es ( the Pyongyang trolleybus system) and subways (the

Pyongyang Metro The Pyongyang Metro () is the rapid transit system in Pyongyang, the capital and largest city of North Korea. It consists of two lines: the Chollima Line, which runs north from Puhŭng Station on the banks of the Taedong River to Pulgŭnbyŏl ...

), with these two serving as its main forms of public transport. However, as trolleybus lines became gradually overcrowded, the city decided to re-open tram-lines. The first line was opened on 15 April 1991. A number of

Tatra T4 T4 is a tram produced by ČKD Tatra. It is the narrower variant of the Tatra T3 model. A large number of cars was supplied to the GDR, the USSR, Romania and the former Yugoslavia using names T4D, T4SU, T4R and T4YU, respectively. The T4 was or ...

trams and its trailer B4 were bought from Dresden, Magdeburg and Leipzig in 1997–1998. From 14 October 2002, the section of Line 1 between P'yŏngyang-yŏk and Songyo was closed, as the bridge over

Taedong River The Taedong River () is a large river in North Korea. The river rises in the Rangrim Mountains of the country's north where it then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Namp'o.Suh, Dae-Sook (1987) "North Korea in 1986: Strengthening the Soviet ...

started to deteriorate, splitting Line 1 into two parts divided by the Taedong River. The section from Songyo to Songsin was eventually replaced by a trolleybus in 2014. The part crossing the bridge was replaced by a bus service. Demolition of the tracks between Songyo and Pyongyang Station was completed by 9 September 2003. In 2008, the City Transportation Company of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

sold 20 used T3s to Pyongyang Public Transportation Enterprise together with a shipment of tram-rails. These trams were built ranging from 1967 for the

Tatra T3 The T3 is a type of Czech tramcar produced by ČKD Tatra. A late-2000s study conducted on the Prague tram system has shown 98.9% reliability, the best of the Prague tram system fleet. During its period of production between 1960 and 1999, 13 ...

in original modification, to 1987 for the T3SUCS modification. After the closure of Songsin depot, an extension was added to Rangnang depot to house the trams transferred from that depot. Foreign tourists were previously not permitted to ride the tram lines, but some recent tours have started to include tramway rides (though rides are not shared with locals and are instead chartered, unlike the Pyongyang Metro). Due to the need for transport, tram drivers may be assigned shifts even on holidays.

Lines

There are three lines in operation plus a meter gauge line operated by the military. As of 2006, the fare is ₩5 for any section. There are also coupon tickets (; ''sinae ch'ap'yo'') issued in the form of tickets inserted into the fare box.

Rolling stock

For the full list, see

Trams and trolleybuses in North Korea Trams and trolleybuses in North Korea are forms of public transportation for North Koreans to travel around in urban centres given the shortages on fuel and access to cars for average citizens. Very few details are known about these trolleybu ...

Prior to 2018, the rolling stock used were the

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

n ČKD Praha Tatra T6B5K, Tatra T3/SUCS, Tatra T4D and B4D and KT8D5K in either red/white livery or blue/white. The Kŭmsusan line uses VBZ Be 4/4 Type Ib rolling stock on a different gauge of 1,000 mm, rather than 1,435 mm for lines 1–3. The Shenyang ST4 had been retired in 1999 due to their failing articulation joint and subsequently converted into Chollima-961/971 trolleybuses while it is possible others were sent to the Chongjin tram system where they received a new body at the Chongjin Bus Factory. According to a Czech reporter, 42 out of the original 45 KT8D5 trams still run. Despite sanctions limiting the supply of spare parts, trams operate with below average maintenance, though the more recent development of locally built electrical equipment and continued maintenance without a foreign supply of spare parts have raised suspicions in Czech media. In August 2018, following the introduction of new trolleybuses and metro cars, new partially domestically-produced tram cars were introduced in Pyongyang for the first time in about twenty years. The bodies were manufactured by Pyongyang Bus Repair Factory and named Thongil-181, on the chassis of the Tatra KT8D5K. Tram_North_Korea_PY

References

External links

Pyongyang Tram 360 degree Virtual Tour
{{Portal bar, North Korea, Transport Transport in Pyongyang Tram transport in North Korea Metre-gauge railways in North Korea

Overview

Lines

Rolling stock

See also

References

Further reading

External links