The Juche-class (Korean: 《주체》호) are a pair of 4-car electric multiple units built by the Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works in 1978 and 1982, intended for service on the Korean State Railway.[2]
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 The Juche-class EMU at its unveiling after refurbishment. | |||||||||||
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Description
editElectric railcars had been used in Korea before the war by the Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway,[3] and these were used by Korean State Railway until the line was destroyed during the Korean War,[4] and no further electric railcars were used after that for many years. However, the opening of the P'yŏngyang Metro in 1973, along with worldwide attention on high-speed electric trainsets such as the Japanese Shinkansen put into service in 1964[5] and the ER200 class introduced by the Soviet Railways in 1974,[6] led the Railway Ministry to direct efforts towards the development of an electric multiple unit for North Korea, resulting in the unveiling of North Korea's first electric trainset, the Juche-class EMU, in 3 March 1978 at Kim Jong Thae as part of the 200 day campaign.[7] Externally, the four-car set was similar in appearance to the 181 series trainsets used by the Japanese National Railways on the Kodama limited express of the day; internally, despite all of North Korea's electrification being 3000 V DC, the Juche-class EMU was built for two-system operation - possibly with a view to future operation in South Korea, where 25 kV AC electrification was used.[8]
The trainset was named 'Juche' by Kim Il Sung, in appreciation of the labour the workers of Kim Chong-t'ae locomotive works put into manufacturing it.[9]
A second 4-car set was built in 1982, as part of the celebrations for Kim Il Sung's 70th birthday.[10]
Operation
editOne of the set was refurbished, repainted, and put into use on a daily commuter service for scientists between P'yŏngyang and Paesanjŏm on June 23rd, 1998,[11] timetabled to take one hour to cover the 38 km (24 mi) distance each way.[2]
Philately
editThe train was featured on a stamp issued on 30 April 1987.[12]
References
edit- ^ Export Directory of the DPRK. Pyongyang. p. 228.
- ^ a b Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), p. 95, ISBN 978-4-10-303731-6
- ^ "鉄道省革命事績館". www.2427junction.com.
- ^ 《기차시간표》(1950년 4월 1일 개정), 북한 교통성 운수국 렬차부 편
- ^ Semmens, Peter (1997). High Speed in Japan: Shinkansen - The World's Busiest High-speed Railway. Sheffield, UK: Platform 5 Publishing. ISBN 1-872524-88-5.
- ^ Dymant, Yu., Скоростной поезд ЭР200, Наука и жизнь, issue 6, 1974, pp. 42-44
- ^ "새형의 지상전동차<주체>호를 만들었다". Rodong Sinmun. March 7, 1978. p. 1.
- ^ Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), p. 77, ISBN 978-4-10-303731-6
- ^ "Electric train of new styled "Juche" turned out". Democratic People's Republic of Korea. July 1978.
- ^ 최, 기봉 (1982-05-29). "새형의 지상전동차". Minju Choson.
- ^ "과학자들을 위한 통근렬차운행 시작". Rodong Sinmun (in Korean). Korean Central News Agency. 1998-06-25.
- ^ "KoreanStamp | Stamp Catalogue". korstamp.com.kp. Retrieved 2022-01-29.