- Donghae Bukbu Line
-
Donghae Bukbu Line Chosŏn'gŭl 동해북부선 Hancha 東海北部線 McCune–Reischauer Tonghae Pukpusǒn Revised Romanization Donghae Bukbuseon The Donghae Bukbu Line is a former railway line that connected the present-day city of Anbyon in Kangwon Province, North Korea, with Yangyang, Gangwon Province, South Korea. It has not carried trains since the division of Korea.[citation needed] The line originally connected to the Gyeongwon Line running from Gyeongseong (present-day Seoul) to Wonsan. It began running in 1929 between Anbyon and Hupgok, and was extended to Yangyang in 1937. Plans had called for it to be extended south to Pohang, where it would have connected with the Donghae Nambu Line. However, this extension was not completed before the fall of the Japanese regime in 1945, and since then the tracks have been idle.
Contents
Reconstruction
Cross-border section
With increasing talk of peaceful Korean reunification beginning in the 1990s, there have been various efforts to reopen the Donghae Bukbu Line, together with the Gyeongui Line in the west.[1] An opened Donghae Bukbu Line would provide ready land access to the Kumgangsan resort area, which is open to South Korean tourists. After the completion of reconstruction on the 11.1 km cross-border section between Jejil in South Korea and Gamho in North Korea, the initial test run was set for May 25, 2006, but North Korean military authorities cancelled the plans a day ahead of the scheduled event.[1] On the South Korean side, Korail opened Jejil Station in 2006 and has maintained some rolling stock for a trial run.
At a meeting held in Pyongyang, North Korea, on April 22, 2007, North and South Korea agreed to re-start the project. On May 17, 2007, the first train to cross the border between North and South Korea in over 50 years entered South Korea from the North.[1] More than one million civilian visitors crossed the DMZ until the route was closed following the shooting dead of a 53-year-old South Korean tourist in July 2008. [2] After a joint investigation was rebuffed by the North, the Republic of Korean government suspended tours to the resort. Since then the resort, and the Donghae Bukbu Line, have effectively been closed by the North.[3][4]
East coast railway
During the efforts to re-open the cross-border section, the South Korean government has taken up the idea of a railway all along the east coast from Pohang to the North Korean border, with a primary aim to serve freight traffic that could eventually access the Transsiberian Railway.[1][5] As part of the project, plans foresaw to connect the end of the Yeongdong Line in Gangneung with Jejil by 110.2 km long, single-track, non-electrified line for 150 km/h,[6] effectively re-building the Donghae Bukbu Line on a new alignment.
Three years later, the project re-surfaced as a domestic project. On September 1, 2010, the South Korean government announced a strategic plan to reduce travel times from Seoul to 95% of the country to under 2 hours by 2020. The section from Gangneung to Sokcho forms a part of the plan as a line for 230 km/h, and may see KTX service.[7]
Gallery
-
View of Donghae Bukbu line from Reunification Observatory.
-
External view of Jejin station.
-
Jejin station platform with a Korail DEL 4400 streamline Saemaul-ho train.
North Korean section
According to a 2010 map,[8] the section from Anbyon to Kosong still exists as the Kumgangsan Line.
Notes
- ^ a b c d "Trans-Korean Railway". Korean Rail Technology (English) 9: 09–11. September 2007. http://www.irail.net/webzine/krt/20071008/15356_cf_171_KRT_9.pdf. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ "ROK woman tourist shot dead at DPRK resort". China Daily. July 12, 2008. http://www2.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-07/12/content_6839889.htm.
- ^ "N Korea steps up row with South". BBC. August 3, 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7539368.stm.
- ^ "North Korea 'to seize property at Kumgang resort'". BBC. April 23, 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8639065.stm.
- ^ "South Korea's growing network". Railway Gazette International. 2008-09-08. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/south-koreas-growing-network.html. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ "Korea's railways face a bright future". International Railway Journal. 2008-07-01. Archived from the original on 2008-07-02. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQQ/is_7_48/ai_n27948208?tag=untagged. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ "Bullet trains coming to a town near you by 2020". JoongAng Daily. 2010-09-02. http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2925474. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
- ^ Road map of Korea, North and South, published December 2010 by Freytag and Berndt, Vienna, Austria, ISBN 9783707909746
See also
- Transportation in North Korea
- Transportation in South Korea
- Korea under Japanese rule
Categories:- International railway lines
- Railway lines in North Korea
- Railway lines in South Korea
- Rail transport in North Korea
- Rail transport in South Korea
- Railway lines opened in 1929
- Standard gauge railways in North Korea
-
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
