Rail transport in North Korea


Rail transport in North Korea is provided by Korean State Railway which is the only rail operator in North Korea. It has a network of over 6,000 km of track, of which the vast majority is standard gauge; there is, however, nearly 400 km of narrow-gauge lines in various locations around the country.

Routes

In many cases, the name of the line is a portmanteau of the original termini. However, because of the division of Korea, some lines now terminate short of their original destinations. The following lists the main standard-gauge trunk lines:

Pyongyang Metro

The Pyongyang Metro operates the only known underground mass transit in North Korea. Metro services are also supplemented with above-ground tram services in both Pyongyang and a number of secondary cities.

International services

China

The primary rail gateway to North Korea is via the Sino–Korean Friendship Bridge from Dandong, China to Sinuiju, North Korea. Passenger trains are taken as far as Dandong by the China Railway at which point the domestic Chinese carriages are uncoupled and North Korean carriages and locomotive are attached. There are several other active border crossings with China, including at Manp'o and at Namyang.

Russia

has a rail link to the Russian Railways system over a bridge across the Tumen River in the North Korea–Russia border. There is transborder passenger service from Pyongyang to Moscow, with a Korean rail car taken across the border, and eventually attached to a Vladivostok-Moscow train.
Since 2013 the line over the Tumen River to Rajin is rebuilt with dual gauge track, so that standard gauge and Russian broad gauge trains from the Russian Khasan can access the port of Rajin. Railway and port are operated in a joint venture with the Russian RasonKonTrans.

South Korea

In 2000, a freight service was inaugurated, between South Korea and the industrial park at Kaesong; however, usage has been very low and most trains carry no freight.
Plans for a north-south rail link were blocked by the US military in September 2018.

Rolling stock

Presidential trains

The nation's former leader Kim Jong-il had a chronic fear of flying, and was known to use the country's railway network extensively, travelling to his palaces and for out-of-town appointments in one of his presidential trains, as did his father Kim Il-sung. Both Kims took their trains on trips abroad as well.

Future plans

A Trans-Korean Main Line is planned, spanning North Korea and allowing South Korean rail freight access to Russian Railways.

Gallery

History

Much of the rail network in Korea was built during the period of Japanese rule, which ended in 1945. There were of railway in 1925. Much was damaged or destroyed during the Korean War.