The Sŏhaeri Line or Ryongjŏng Line is a closed non-electrified narrow-gauge

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

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 ...

South Hwanghae Province South Hwanghae Province (Hwanghaenamdo; , lit. "south Yellow Sea province") is a province in western North Korea. The province was formed in 1954 when the former Hwanghae Province was split into North and South Hwanghae. The provincial capital ...

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 Ch'ŏlgwang at the junction of the Ŭnnyul and Sŏhae Kammun lines to Ryongjŏng.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), p 85

History

After the end of the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

the Railway Ministry of the DPRK began to expand and improve its network, including in South Hwanghae, leading to the opening of a new narrow-gauge line from Sugyo to Ch'ŏlgwang in 1963.North Korea Geographic Information: Transportation Geography - Ŭnnyul Line (in Korean)
/ref> With the opening of the new line, the

Sariwŏn Sariwŏn () is the capital of North Hwanghae Province, North Korea. Population The city's population as of 2008 is 307,764. Administrative divisions Sariwŏn is divided into 31 '' tong'' (neighbourhoods) and 9 '' ri'' (villages): Healthcar ...

—Sugyo—Ch'ŏlgwang line was named Ŭnnyul Line, leaving the

Changyŏn Line The Changyŏn Line is a non-electrified standard-gauge secondary line of the Korean State Railway running from Sugyo on the Ŭnnyul Line to Changyŏn, South Hwanghae Province, North Korea.Kokubu, Hayato (2007), , Shinchosha, Tokyo, History ...

as just the short branch from Sugyo to Changyŏn. In 1964, another new narrow-gauge line was opened from Ch'ŏlgwang, to serve the iron ore mines around Sŏhaeri and the port at Ryongjŏng. This line was the Sŏhaeri Line.http://www.farrail.net/pages/trip-reports-engl/report_nk-oct-2004.html In 1971, a new standard gauge line was opened from Ŭnp'a on the former Sahae Line to Chaeryŏng, and at the same time, the Chaeryŏng— Sinch'ŏn—Sugyo section was converted to standard gauge. The opening of the new standard gauge line from Ŭnp'a to Chaeryŏng led to the closure of the narrow gauge Sariwŏn—Chaeryŏng line.100 Years of Rail Travel - Sariwŏn
/ref> The regauging of the rest of the line from Sugyo to Ch'ŏlgwang was completed in 1973, but the Sŏhaeri Line was left as a narrow-gauge line.

Services

At its peak the line carried 6,000 tonnes of ore daily. Besides the frequent trains to stations, there were 12 daily round trips to the port, each train consisting of 21 self-unloading hoppers. The line has been out of use since 2002.

Route

The orange background in the "Distance" box indicates that section of the line is not electrified narrow-gauge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sohaeri Line Railway lines in North Korea 2 ft 6 in gauge railways in North Korea