Gyeongwon Line

Gyeongwon Line
Overview
Native name	경원선 (京元線)
Type	Heavy rail, Passenger/Freight Regional rail, Commuter rail
Status	Operarional
Locale	Seoul Gyeonggi Gangwon
Termini	Yongsan Baengmagoji
Stations	37
Operation
Opened	Stages between 1911–1914
Owner	Korea Rail Network Authority
Operator(s)	Korail
Technical
Line length	94.4 km (58.7 mi)
Number of tracks	Double track (Yongsan–Dongducheon) Single track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV/60 Hz AC Catenary (Yongsan–Soyosan)
Route map Gyeongbu Line, Yongsan Line,  Gyeongui–​Jungang  0.0 Yongsan Gyeongbu Line 1.9 Ichon 3.6 Seobinggo 5.5 Hannam 7.1 Oksu 7.7 Sucheolli Closed in 1944 8.9 Eungbong  Bundang  10.3 Wangsimni  Bundang  Cheongnyangni Rail Yard 12.7 Cheongnyangni 14.1 Hoegi Jungang Line 14.9 Hankuk Univ. of Foreign Studies 15.7 Sinimun Mangu Line,  Gyeongchun  Imun Rail Yard The former Gyeongchun Line 17.1 Seokgye 18.2 Kwangwoon Univ. The former Gyeongchun Line 19.3 Wolgye 20.7 Nokcheon 21.7 Changdong 23.4 Banghak 24.7 Dobong 25.9 Dobongsan ↑Seoul/Uijeongbu↓ Seoul Ring Expressway 28.2 Mangwolsa 29.6 Hoeryong U Line 31.2 Uijeongbu U Line 32.4 Gareung Gyooe Line 33.7 Nogyang ↑Uijeongbu/Yangju↓ 35.3 Yangju Jungnang Stream 37.5 Majeon Signal Box 40.9 Deokkye 43.5 Deokjeong ↑Yangju/Dongducheon↓ 49.1 Jihaeng 50.1 Dongducheon Central Station 51.5 Bosan 53.1 Dongducheon 55.6 Soyosan ↑Dongducheon/Yeoncheon↓ 59.7 Choseongni Hantan River 62.7 Hantangang 65.2 Jeongok 73.8 Yeoncheon 77.4 Sinmangri 84.4 Daegwangri 88.8 Sintalli ↑Yeoncheon/Cheorwon↓ 94.4 Baengmagoji Geumgangsan Line 98.1 Cheorwon closed 103.1 Woljeongni closed ROK–DPRK border 113.1 Gagok closed 119.9 P'yŏnggang Kangwon Line : Yongsan, Cheonnyangni – Soyosan      Gyeongui–Jungang Line: Yongsan – Hoegi

The Gyeongwon Line is a railway line serving northeastern Gyeonggi Province in South Korea. The line is operated by Korail. The name of the line came from Gyeongseong (Seoul) and Wonsan, the original terminus of the line in what is now North Korea.

History

The Gyeongwon line was opened along its full length between Yongsan Station in Seoul and Wonsan by the Chosen Government Railway on August 16, 1914.^[1] This line was extended as follows:

The Gyeongwon Line was the first in Korea to be electrified, as part of a plan to create an electrified line all the way from Busan to Xinjing, Manchukuo.^[2] The first stage of this plan was the electrification of the Gyeongwon, Gyeonggyeong and Gyeongin lines,^[2] and in March 1940, the Imperial Diet budgeted 3.6 million Yen for electrification equipment for this plan,^[3] Electrification of the Pokkye-Kosan section of the Gyeongwon line began in December 1940; it was completed and commissioned on 27 March 1944,^[4] and commercial electric operations commenced on 1 April 1944.^[5]

The division of Korea cut the line in half in 1945. The South Korean part of the line is 88.8 km (55.2 mi) long between Yongsan and Sintan-ri.^[1] The North Korean section is now part of the Kangwŏn Line.^[6]

Following the 1961 coup, the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction started South Korea's first five-year plan, which included a construction program to complete the railway network, to foster economic growth.^[7] As part of the program, in the outskirts of Seoul, a 4.9 km (3.0 mi) long avoiding line was built from Kwangwoon University to Mangu on the Jungang Line, called the Mangu Line, which opened on December 30, 1963.^[7]

Upgrade

The section of the Gyeongwon Line in the Seoul metropolitan area was among the first to be electrified with the 25 kV/60 Hz AC catenary system in South Korea when it was integrated into Seoul Subway Line 1. Further sections were electrified and Line 1 services was extended in the 1980s and then in the 2000s:^[8]

Altogether 55.6 km (34.5 mi) of the line was electrified, and 53.1 km (33.0 mi) was double-tracked.^[1]

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. As part of the plan, the Gyeongwon Line is to be further upgraded until Uijeongbu for 230 km/h and may see KTX service.^[9]

In 2012 restoration of the line was completed between Sintan-ri Station and Cheorwon Station.^[10]

Major stations

• Yongsan the line's southern terminus south of downtown Seoul, where there is a junction with the Gyeongbu Line;
• Cheongnyangni in eastern Seoul, terminus of the Jungang Line;
• Kwangwoon University in eastern Seoul, terminus of the Gyeongchun Line until December 2010;
• Uijeongbu, terminus of the Gyowae Line; and
• Sintan-ri, the line's northern terminus and the northernmost railhead in South Korea.

North Korean section

The North Korean section, between P'yŏnggang and Wonsan has been extended northwards to Kowon^[11] and now forms the Kangwon Line.

See also

• Korail
• Transportation in South Korea
• List of Korea-related topics

References

• 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, pp 495-496

External links

Media related to Gyeongwon Line at Wikimedia Commons