Paektusan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line
Overview
Other name(s)Kilhye Line
Native name백두산청년선(白頭山靑年線)
StatusOperational
OwnerChosen Government Railway (1933–1945)
Korean State Railway (since 1945)
LocaleNorth Hamgyŏng
Ryanggang
Termini
  • Kilju Ch'ŏngnyŏn
  • Hyesan Ch'ŏngnyŏn
Stations22
Service
TypeHeavy rail, Regional rail
Depot(s)Hyesan
History
OpenedStages between 1933-1937
Technical
Line length141.7 km (88.0 mi)
Number of tracksSingle track
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Minimum radius250 m (820 ft)
Electrification3000 V DC Catenary
Route map
P'yŏngra Line
0.0
 Kilju Ch'ŏngnyŏn
P'yŏngra Line
3.9
 Pongam
Closed
(tunnel appx 140 m (460 ft))
(bridge appx 30 m (98 ft))
10.3
 Namsŏk
(tunnel appx 90 m (300 ft))
(bridge appx 30 m (98 ft))
18.4
 Sŏnghu
Namdaech'ŏn
(bridge appx 120 m (390 ft))
(tunnel appx 200 m (660 ft))
(tunnel appx 190 m (620 ft))
Namdaech'ŏn
(bridge appx 95 m (312 ft))
switchback
22.8
 P'unggye
underground facility
Namdaech'ŏn
(bridge appx 105 m (344 ft))
26.2
 Chaedŏk
(tunnel appx 145 m (476 ft))
Namdaech'ŏn
(bridge appx 100 m (330 ft))
(tunnel appx 130 m (430 ft))
Namdaech'ŏn
(bridge appx 85 m (279 ft))
Namdaech'ŏn
(bridge appx 60 m (200 ft))
Namdaech'ŏn
(bridge appx 60 m (200 ft))
35.2
 Sŏngdŏk
Namdaech'ŏn
(bridge appx 75 m (246 ft))
Namdaech'ŏn
(bridge appx 80 m (260 ft))
(tunnel appx 120 m (390 ft))
Namdaech'ŏn
(bridge appx 90 m (300 ft))
Namdaech'ŏn
(bridge appx 65 m (213 ft))
(tunnel appx 155 m (509 ft))
Namdaech'ŏn
(bridge appx 75 m (246 ft))
43.0
 Sado
47.4
 Yanggok
Namdaech'ŏn
(bridge appx 85 m (279 ft))
(tunnel appx 185 m (607 ft))
Namdaech'ŏn
(bridge appx 55 m (180 ft))
57.2
 Hapsu
Hapsu freight yard
(tunnel appx 815 m (2,674 ft))
(tunnel appx 745 m (2,444 ft))
Namgye freight yard
63.0
 Namgye
(tunnel appx 160 m (520 ft))
(tunnel appx 90 m (300 ft))
(tunnel appx 220 m (720 ft))
70.0
 Paeg'am Ch'ŏngnyŏn
sawmill
Paengmu Line
(tunnel appx 2,205 m (7,234 ft))
81.0
 Ryŏngha
85.9
 Ryŏngnam
90.5
 Namjung
Unch'ong River
(bridge appx 60 m (200 ft))
 Ryong'am
Closed
Ryongp'och'ŏn
 Ryongp'o
Closed
Ryongp'och'ŏn
(bridge appx 45 m (148 ft))
95.6
 Saengjang
Unch'ong River
(bridge appx 55 m (180 ft))
99.7
 Unhŭng
Unch'ong River
(bridge appx 60 m (200 ft))
(tunnel appx 270 m (890 ft))
Unch'ong River
(bridge appx 70 m (230 ft))
108.7
 Poan
(tunnel appx 290 m (950 ft))
Unch'ong River
(bridge appx 50 m (160 ft))
116.1
 Simp'ori
Unch'ong River
(bridge appx 95 m (312 ft))
 Ilgŏn
mine
(tunnel appx 1,690 m (5,540 ft))
124.6
 Taeoch'ŏn
(bridge appx 55 m (180 ft))
Osich'ŏn Line
Hyesan No. 1 Station private
132.6
 Kŏmsalli
Samjiyŏn Line
137.1
 Wiyŏn
Hyesan Steel Mill
(tunnel appx 410 m (1,350 ft))
141.7
 Hyesan Ch'ŏngnyŏn
Hyesan Textile Factory
Pukbunaeryuk Line
Paektusan Chongnyon Line
Chosŏn'gŭl
백두산청년선
Hancha
Revised RomanizationBaekdusancheongnyeon-seon
McCune–ReischauerPaektusanch'ŏngnyŏn-sŏn

The Paektusan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line is an electrified standard-gauge secondary mainline of the Korean State Railway running from Kilju on the P'yŏngra Line to Hyesan on the Pukbunaeryuk Line; it connects to the narrow gauge Paengmu Line at Paeg'am Ch'ŏngnyŏn Station, and to the Samjiyŏn Line at Wiyŏn Ch'ŏngnyŏn Station.[1]

Description

This line traverses a very mountainous area; it has a ruling grade of 33‰ and a minimum curve radius of 250 metres. There are 74 bridges totalling 2,175 m (7,136 ft) and 24 tunnels with a total length of 8,398 m (27,552 ft). The average distance between stations is 7.1 km (4.4 mi). Service facilities on the line are at Hyesan for locomotives and at Wiyŏn and Paeg'am for rolling stock.[2]

History

In order to exploit the Paektusan region's abundant forest and mineral resources, the Yanggang Forest Development Railway planned construction of a line, dubbed Hambuk Line, running from Kilju to Hyesanjin (now Hyesan Ch'ŏngnyŏn) via Hapsu, along with a branch from Hapsu to Komusan, already at the beginning of the 1920s. The Yanggang Forest Development Railway was one of six privately owned railway companies that merged to create the Chosen Railway on 1 September 1923,[3] but work on the planned line was not started before the Chosen Government Railway (Sentetsu) took over the project. Sentetsu finally began construction of the line in May 1931, with the first section, 57.2 km (35.5 mi) from Kilju to Hapsu, being opened on 1 November 1933.[4] The line was then extended several times over the following four years: 12.8 km (8.0 mi) from Hapsu to Paegam was opened on 1 August 1934[5] and 29.7 km (18.5 mi) from Paegam to Pongduri (now Unhŭng) on 1 September 1935, and the final 42.0 km (26.1 mi) from Pongduri to Hyesanjin was completed on 1 November 1937.[6][7]

Originally called the Kilhye Line (from the names of the two termini, Kilju and Hyesan), the line received its present name in 1978,[8] when electrification of the line was completed in September of that year.[2]

The planned Komusan–Musan section, using the Hambuk Line name, was finally opened in 1937 by the North Chosen Colonial Railway (a subsidiary of the Chosen Railway),[9] whilst the section between Musan and the Kilhye Line (at Paegam instead of Hapsu as had been planned and named Paengmu Line) was finally completed as a narrow gauge railway by Sentetsu on 1 December 1944.[10]

When the Pukbunaeryuk Line was completed to Hyesan in 1988, a northern east-west connection was finally established connecting the Manp'o Line at Manp'o Ch'ŏngnyŏn to the Paektusan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line.

On 9 October 2006 an underground nuclear test was conducted at Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site in Kilju County, causing the closure of the line for 3-4 months after the Paegam tunnel, near Paegam Ch'ŏngnyŏn station, collapsed.[11]

Services

Freight

Ore and forest products account for almost 93% of freight traffic in the direction towards Kilju, while almost half of the freight in the direction towards Hyesan is coal.

Ore is shipped from Namgye, talc, kaolin and magnesite from Simp'o-ri, and iron sulphide from Unhŭng. Logs are brought from the Paengmu Line to Paegam and forwarded to a large sawmill at Wiyŏn; raw logs are also shipped to the pulp mill and plywood factory in Kilju. The majority of freight moved on the line in the direction towards Hyesan is coal from Sinmyŏngch'ŏn on the P'yŏngra Line destined for use by residents and power plants in the region, along with grains, anthracite, fertiliser, cement etc. for local use.[2]

Passenger

Passenger traffic on the Paektusan Ch'ŏngnyŏn line is significant, with much of that traffic being for visitors to the various "historic sites of the Revolution" in the region. There are also trains for local travellers, including connection to trains on the Samjiyŏn Line.[2]

The following passenger trains are known to operate on this line:[1]

  • Express trains 1/2, operating between P'yŏngyang and Hyesan Ch'ŏngnyŏn, run along this line along its entirety between Kilju and Hyesan;
  • Express trains 3/4, operating between West P'yŏngyang and Hyesan Ch'ŏngnyŏn, run along this line along its entirety between Kilju and Hyesan;
  • Semi-express trains 101/102 operate between Kilju Ch'ŏngnyŏn and Hyesan;
  • Semi-express trains 104-107/108-111, operating between Haeju Ch'ŏngnyŏn and Hyesan Ch'ŏngnyŏn, run along the entirety of this line between Kilju and Hyesan;
  • Local trains 652/653 operate between Hyesan Ch'ŏngnyon and Taeoch'ŏn.

Route

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

Mainline

Distance (km)Station NameFormer Name
TotalS2STranscribedChosŏn'gŭl (Hanja)TranscribedChosŏn'gŭl (Hanja)Connections
0.0 0.0 Kilju Ch'ŏngnyŏn 길주청년 (吉州靑年) Kilju 길주 (吉州) P'yŏngra Line
10.3 10.3 Namsŏk 남석 (南夕)
18.4 8.1 Sŏnghu 성후 (城後)
22.8 4.4 P'unggye 풍계 (豊溪)
26.2 3.4 Chaedŏk 재덕 (載德)
35.2 9.0 Sŏngdŏk 성덕 (城德)
43.0 7.8 Sado 사도 (蛇島)
47.4 4.4 Yanggok 양곡 (暘谷)
57.2 9.8 Hapsu 합수 (合水)
63.0 5.8 Namgye 남계 (南溪)
70.0 7.0 Paeg'am Ch'ŏngnyŏn 백암청년 (白岩靑年) Paeg'am 백암 (白岩) Paengmu Line
81.0 11.0 Ryŏngha 령하 (嶺下)
85.9 4.9 Ryŏngnam 령남 (嶺南)
90.5 4.6 Namjung 남중 (南中)
95.6 5.1 Saengjang 생장 (生長)
99.7 4.1 Unhŭng 운흥 (雲興) Pongduri 봉두리 (鳳頭里)
108.8 9.1 Poan 보안 (甫安) Flag stop.
116.1 7.3 Simp'ori 심포리 (深浦里)
124.6 8.5 Taeoch'ŏn 대오천 (大五川) Osich'ŏn Line
132.6 8.0 Kŏmsalli 검산리 (劍山里)
137.1 4.5 Wiyŏn Ch'ŏngnyŏn 위연 (渭淵靑年) Samjiyŏn Line
141.7 4.6 Hyesan Ch'ŏngnyŏn 혜산청년 (惠山靑年) Hyesan 혜산 (惠山) Pukbunaeryuk Line

References

  1. 1 2 Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), ISBN 978-4-10-303731-6
  2. 1 2 3 4 The traffic and geography in North Korea: Paektusan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line (in Korean)
  3. ↑ Establishment of the Chosen Railway, Dong-A Ilbo, 3 September 1923 (in Korean)
  4. ↑ 朝鮮総督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 2038, 24 October 1933 (in Japanese)
  5. ↑ 朝鮮総督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 2260, 23 July 1934 (in Japanese)
  6. ↑ 朝鮮総督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 3233, 23 October 1937 (in Japanese)
  7. ↑ 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), Kawaguchi Printing Company, Tokyo, p502
  8. ↑ Choe, Un-sik, 한국의 전통 사회 운송 기구, ISBN 978-89-7300-728-8, pp. 115
  9. ↑ 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
  10. ↑ 朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 5345, 28 November 1944
  11. ↑ Kilju-Hyesan line blocked 4 months after nuclear test
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