Pyongbuk Line

Pyongbuk Line
Overview
Native name	평북선(平北線)
Type	Heavy rail, Regional rail
Locale	North Pyŏngan
Termini	Chŏngju Ch'ŏngnyŏn Ch'ŏngsu
Stations	13
Operation
Opened	27 September 1939
Owner	Korean State Railway
Operator(s)	Korean State Railway
Technical
Line length	120.5 km (74.9 mi)
Number of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	3000 V DC Catenary
Route map Legend P'yŏngŭi Line 0.0 Chŏngju Ch'ŏngnyŏn P'yŏngŭi Line 10.4 Koan Closed 16.5 Pongmyŏng ↑Chŏngju-si/Kusŏng-si↓ 28.4 Panghyŏn 7th Industry Bureau Aircraft Parts Factory April 3 Factory Ch'ŏngnyŏn P'arwŏn Line 41.2 Kusŏng 49.0 Paegun switchback underground facility factory 4-track yard switchback ↑Kusŏng-si/Taegwan-gun↓ 63.9 P'alyŏng 70.5 Taeryŏnggang Taeryong River Taeryong River Taegwalli Branch 78.2 Sinon Taegwalli(private elite station) underground facility ↑Taegwan-gun/Sakchu↓ 91.2 P'ungnyŏn Onp'ung Closed 100.0 Sŏbu 105.9 P'anmak Kugŏkch'ŏn Kugŏkch'ŏn 113.7 Pup'ung 4.1 Amrokkang(riverine port) Kugŏkch'ŏn Amrokkang Branch Sup'ung Branch 2.5 Sup'ung Sup'ung Dam 120.5 Ch'ŏngsu ←China - Yalu River - DPRK→ Shanghekou (China) China Railways Fengshang Line Namsalli

The P'yŏngbuk Line is an electrified standard-gauge secondary line of the Korean State Railway in North Pyŏngan Province, North Korea, running from Chŏngju on the P'yŏngŭi Line to Ch'ŏngsu; it meets the Ch'ŏngnyŏn P'arwŏn Line at Kusŏng.^[1]

History

The line was opened by the P'yŏngbuk Railway Company (평북철도주식회사, P'yŏngbuk Ch'ŏldo Chusikhoesa; 平北鐵道株式會社, Heihoku Tetsudō Kabushiki Kaisha) on 27 September 1939 as an industrial railway to serve the Sup'ung Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Yalu River.^[2] The Emperor of Manchukuo, Puyi, travelled along this line when he visited the Sup'ung Dam.^[1]

Following the partition of Korea the line was located within the Soviet zone of occupation, and was nationalised along with all the other railways in the zone by the Provisional People’s Committee for North Korea on 10 August 1946,^[1] becoming part of the Korean State Railway. Electrification of the entire line was completed in 1980, and at the same time, semi-automatic train control was installed on the 41.3 km (25.7 mi) section between Chŏngju and Kusŏng.^[3]

Services

The line serves a variety of industries, including a textile factory in Kusŏng, a chemical factory in Ch'ŏngsu, and North Korea's largest lignite mine near P'ungnyŏn, as well as shipping large amounts of wood south from Amrokkang Station on the Yalu River. Other important commodities shipped on the line are limestone and anthracite.^[3]

There are two long-distance passenger trains that operate on the line - semi-express trains 115/116 between P'yŏngyang and Ch'ŏngsu, and local trains 200/201 between West P'yŏngyang and Ch'ŏngsu.^[1] There are also commuter trains along the Ch'ongsu—Sup'ung—P'ungnyŏn (6 pairs), Kusŏng—Paegun (5 pairs) and Chŏngju—Kusŏng (2 pairs) sections of the line.^[3]

Route

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

Taegwalli Branch

Electrified. This branchline leads to a private station for Korean Workers Party officials.

Sup'ung Branch

Electrified. This branchline leads to the important Sup'ung hydroelectric power station.^[1] A commuter train running between Ch'ŏngsu and P'ungnyŏn also operates along this branch to and from Sup'ung.^[3]

Amrokkang Branch

Electrified. This is a freight-only branch used primarily for loading logs from booms floated down the river.^[3]

References