Trams and trolleybuses in North Korea are forms of public transportation for

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 ...

ns 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

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 and

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 ...

s due to the closed society of North Korea.

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 ...

Wonsan Wonsan (), previously known as Wonsanjin (), is a port city and naval base located in Kangwon Province (North Korea), Kangwon Province, North Korea, along the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, on the Sea of Japan and the provincial capital. ...

and

Chongjin Chŏngjin (; ) is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyong Province (함경북도) and the country's List of cities in North Korea, third-largest city. Sometimes called the City of Iron, it is located in the northeast of the country. History ...

are the only cities known to have tramways. For a full list of trolleybus systems in North Korea, see List of trolleybus systems in North Korea.

Trams

Trolleybuses

The Pyongyang trolleybus system has been operating since 1962, with a large fleet serving several routes. Due to the closed nature of North Korea, the existence of trolleybus networks in other North Korean cities was generally unknown outside the country for many years, but it is now known that around 12 to 15 other cities also possess trolleybus systems, among them

Sariwon Sariwŏn (; ) is a city in North Korea. It is the capital and largest city of North Hwanghae Province. Population The city's population as of 2008 is 307,764. Administrative divisions Sariwŏn is divided into 31 '' tong'' (neighbourhoods) and ...

and

Pyongsong Pyongsong (, , officially Phyongsong) is a city in North Korea, the capital city of South Pyongan province in western North Korea. The city is located about 32 kilometres northeast of Pyongyang, and was formally established in December 1969. It ha ...

.Tarkhov, Sergei; and Merzlov, Dmitriy. "North Korean Surprises". ''Trolleybus Magazine'' Nos. 244–6 (July, September and November 2002). A few other places have very small (in some cases only one or two vehicles) systems for transporting workers from a housing area to a nearby coal mine or other industrial site—or at least did at some time within recent years, such as the city of Sangnong. Trolleybuses include both imported and locally made vehicles but are mostly locally made, converted or rebuilt. There are a few local manufacturers of trolleybuses. In 2020,

NK News NK News is an American subscription-based news website that provides stories and analysis about North Korea. Established in 2011, it is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea with reporters in Washington, D.C., and London. Reporting is based on in ...

speculated that North Korea was likely to start a removal of its trolleybus systems; however, with the revival of the network in

during 2018–19,

Sinuiju Sinŭiju (; ) is a city in North Korea which faces Dandong, Liaoning, China, across the international border of the Yalu River. It is the capital of North Pyongan Province, North P'yŏngan province. Part of the city is included in the Sinuiju Spe ...

in 2020 and the opening of a new system in

Manpo Manpo () is a city of northwestern Chagang Province, North Korea. As of 2008, it had an estimated population of 116,760. It looks across the border to the city of Ji'an, Jilin province, China. History Manp'o was incorporated as a city in Octob ...

in 2019 directly contradicts this article, and most of currently not operating systems had its trolleybuses removed prior to 2011. It is also important to note, that according to ''

The Pyongyang Times ''The Pyongyang Times'' is a weekly state-controlled English and French-language newspaper published in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, by the Foreign Languages Publishing House. It is the foreign-language edition of the '' Pyongyang Sin ...

'', new trolleybuses are still being constructed.

Pyongyang Trolleybus Factory

Chongjin Bus Factory

Others

Notes

References

The Pyongyang Metro: Trams

External links

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Recording of KCTV 28 December 20:00 news showing new trolleybuses in ChongjinDiscussion on Chongnyonho
{{Tram systems in North Korea

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 ...

Korea, North