Chosen Railway


The Chosen Railway Company, was a privately owned railway company in Japanese-occupied Korea.

History

The Chosen Railway was established on 1 September 1923 through the merger of six companies:
It was the largest privately owned company on the Korean Peninsula at the time, with a capital of 54.5 million yen. To distinguish it from the Chosen Government Railway, which was abbreviated 鮮鉄, the Chosen Railway was abbreviated 朝鉄.
In addition to extensively investing in busses and in the development of Hwanghae Province, in 1927, Chōtetsu established a subsidiary company, the North Chōsen Colonial Railway, to build and operate a line in the northeastern part of Korea.

Routes

In terms of rail network and regional extent, it was the largest private railway in Korea at the time. The Gyeongdong and Gyeongbuk Lines were eventually nationalised by the Chosen Government Railway, while other lines were sold to other private railways.
The Chosen Railway absorbed the Sinheung Railway, a subsidiary established on 1 February 1930, on 22 April 1938, thus acquiring the narrow-gauge Hamnam Line, Songheung Line, Namheung Line and Jangjin Line.
The narrow-gauge Suryeo Line and Suin Line, originally opened by the Chosen Gyeongdong Railway, was bought by the Chosen Railway on 16 October 1942.
At the end of the Second World War, all lines still owned by the Chosen Railway were nationalised; the lines in South Korea became part of the Korean National Railroad on 17 May 1946, and those in North Korea became part of the Korean State Railway.

Standard gauge

Passenger services on Chōtetsu's network were extensive, with the following services listed in the last timetable issued prior to the start of the Pacific War:
The Chōsen Railway used a wide variety of locomotives, mostly steam, and most built by Kisha Seizō of Japan. Chōtetsu was also one of the first railways to use diesel locomotives in Korea.