The Gyeongdong Line (慶東線, Keitō-sen) was a 762 mm (2 ft 6.0 in) narrow gauge railway line of the Chōsen Railway (Chōtetsu) of colonial-era Korea, in North Gyeongsang Province.[1]

Gyeongdong Line
Overview
Native name경동선 (慶東線)
StatusDivided (see text)
OwnerChōsen Light Railway (1917–1919)
Chōsen Central Railway (1919–1923)
Chōsen Railway (1923–1928)
LocaleNorth Gyeongsang
Termini
Stations27
Service
TypeHeavy rail, Regional rail
Passenger/Freight
Operator(s)Chōsen Light Railway;
Chōsen Central Railway;
Chōsen Railway
History
Opened1917–1921
Technical
Line length152.4 km (94.7 mi)
Number of tracksSingle track
Track gauge762 mm (2 ft 6 in)
Route map

0.0
Daegu
(Taikyū)
5.4
Dongchon
(Tōson)
10.6
Ban'yawol
(Han'yagetsu)
16.7
Cheongcheon
(Seisen)
23.0
Hayang
(Kayō)
28.5
Geumho
(Kinko)
34.1
Yeongcheon
(Eisen)
43.4
Impo
(Rinpo)
49.0
Ahwa
(Akuwa)
55.5
Geoncheon
(Kansen)
60.3
Gwangmyeong
(Kōmyō)
67.2
Seoak
(Seigaku)
69.0
0.0
Gyeongju
(Keishū)
6.2
Dongbang
(Tōhō)
75.7
Geumjang
(Kinjō)
11.5
Bulguksa
(Bukkokuji)
84.1
Sabang
(Shihō)
19.9
Ipsil
(Nyūshitsu)
90.4
Angang
(Ankō)
23.7
Mohwa
(Mōka)
96.8
Bujo
(Fujo)
30.9
Hogye
(Kokei)
101.4
Hyoja
(Kōshi)
38.0
Byeongyeong
(Heiei)
105.4
Pohang
(Hokō)
41.4
Ulsan
(Urusan)
107.4
Haksan
(Kakuzan)
45.0
Jangsaengpo
(Chōseiho)

History

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In January 1916, the privately owned Chōsen Light Railway began work on a new rail line from Daegu on the Chōsen Government Railway's Gyeongbu Line towards Pohang. The first section, 23.0 km (14.3 mi) from Daegu to Hayang, was opened on 1 November 1917. Over the following year, three new sections were opened, with Pohang being reached 364 days after the opening of the first section. On 20 May 1918, a 5.5 km (3.4 mi) extension from Hayang to Geumho was opened, followed by the 38.7 km (24.0 mi) segment from Geumho to Seoak on 1 September, and the final 38.2 km (23.7 mi) stretch to Pohang was opened on 31 October.

Work on a second line began around the same time that the main line was completed, and the first 11.5 km (7.1 mi) section, from Gyeongju to Bulguksa, was opened on 14 January 1919. Five months later, on 25 June 1919, a 2.0 km (1.2 mi) extension of the main line from Pohang to Haksan was opened, and on 27 September of the same year, the Chōsen Light Railway was renamed Chōsen Central Railway Co. Ltd.

Nothing changed until two years later, when the 29.9 km (18.6 mi) line from Bulguksa to Ulsan was completed on 25 October 1921; on 1 November, the Daegu–Haksan line was given the name Gupo Line, and the Gyeongju–Ulsan line was named Ulsan Line. On 1 September 1923, the Chōsen Central Railway merged with five other privately owned railway companies to form the Chōsen Railway,[2] and at the same time, the Gupo Line and the Ulsan Line were merged, collectively being named the Gyeongdong Line.

On 1 July 1928, the Chōsen Government Railway purchased the Gyeongdong Line and renamed it Donghae Jungbu Line.[3]

Services

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Initially, only mixed trains, with both passenger and freight cars, operated on the line; in 1922, there was one daily round trip between Daegu and Yeongcheon, four daily round trips between Yeongcheon and Pohang, four between Pohang and Haksan, eight between Seoak and Gyeongju, and three between Gyeongju and Ulsan. Dedicated passenger trains were introduced after the creation of the Chōsen Railway, with a single Daegu–Pohang return service being added to the schedule in 1923, followed by four return services between Daegu and Ulsan in 1926.

Route

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邱浦線 - 구포선 - Kyūho Line - Gupo Line
Distance Station name
Total; km S2S; km Transcribed, Korean Transcribed, Japanese Hunminjeongeum Hanja/Kanji Connections
0.0 0.0 Daegu Taikyū 대구 大邱 Sentetsu Gyeongbu Line
5.4 5.4 Dongchon Tōson 동촌 東村
10.6 5.2 Ban'yawol Han'yagetsu 반야월 半夜月
16.7 6.1 Cheongcheon Seisen 청천 淸泉
23.0 6.3 Hayang Kayō 하양 河陽
28.5 5.5 Geumho Kinko 금호 琴湖
34.1 5.6 Yeongcheon Eisen 영천 永川
43.4 9.3 Impo Rinpo 임포 林浦
49.0 5.6 Ahwa Akuwa 아화 阿火
55.5 6.5 Geoncheon Kansen 건천 乾川
60.3 4.8 Gwangmyeong Kōmyō 광명 光明
67.2 6.9 Seoak Seigaku 서악 西岳
69.0 1.8 Gyeongju Keishū 경주 慶州 Ulsan Line
75.7 6.7 Geumjang Kinjō 금장 金丈
84.1 8.4 Sabang Shihō 사방 士方
90.4 6.3 An'gang Ankō 안강 安康
96.8 6.4 Bujo Fujo 부조 扶助
101.4 4.6 Hyoja Kōshi 효자 孝子
105.4 4.0 Pohang Hokō 포항 浦項
107.4 2.0 Haksan Kakuzan 학산 鶴山
蔚山線 - 울산선 - Urusan Line - Ulsan Line
Distance Station name
Total; km S2S; km Transcribed, Korean Transcribed, Japanese Hunminjeongeum Hanja/Kanji Connections
0.0 0.0 Gyeongju Keishū 경주 慶州 Gupo Line
6.2 6.2 Dongbang Tōhō 동방 東方
11.5 5.3 Bulguksa Bukkokuji 불국사 佛國寺
19.9 8.4 Ipsil Nyūshitsu 입실 入室
23.7 3.8 Mohwa Mōka 모화 毛火
30.9 7.2 Hogye Kokei 호계 虎溪
38.0 7.1 Byeongyeong Heiei 병영 兵營
41.4 3.4 Ulsan Urusan 울산 蔚山
45.0 3.6 Jangsaengpo Chōseiho 장생포 長生浦

References

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  1. ^ South Manchuria Railway, 朝鮮の私設鐵道 (Chōsen no Shisetsutetsudō), 1925
  2. ^ Establishment of the Chosen Railway, Dong-A Ilbo, 3 September 1923 (in Korean)
  3. ^ 朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 224, 3 May 1938