The Paengma Line is a non-electrified standard-gauge secondary line of the Korean State Railway in North P'yŏngan Province, North Korea, running from Yŏmju on the P'yŏngŭi Line to South Sinŭiju, likewise on the P'yŏngui Line.[1]

Paengma Line
Overview
Native name백마선(白馬線)
StatusOperational
OwnerTemporary Military Railway (1905–1906)
National Railway (1906–1909)
Korea Railway (1909–1910)
Chosen Government Railway (1910–1917)
South Manchuria Railway (1917–1925)
Chosen Government Railway (1925–1945)
Korean State Railway (since 1945)
LocaleNorth P'yŏngan
Termini
Stations7
Service
TypeHeavy rail, Regional rail
History
Opened28 April 1905
1 April 1908 (Passenger service)
Technical
Line length39.6 km (24.6 mi)
Number of tracksSingle track
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Minimum radius400 m (1,300 ft)
Maximum incline13‰
Route map

0.0
Yŏmju
(bridge appx 40 m (130 ft))
8.7
Ryangch'aek
Ryangch'aek Bearing Factory
(bridge appx 35 m (115 ft))
16.5
P'ihyŏn
(bridge appx 35 m (115 ft))
(tunnel appx 255 m (837 ft))
23.0
Ryonggyeri
2.6
P'ihyŏn Brick Factory
(bridge appx 450 m (1,480 ft))
Ponghwa Chemical Complex
25.8
Paengma
(bridge appx 30 m (98 ft))
tank car loading
Ponghwa Chemical Complex
3.8
underground facility
(bridge appx 75 m (246 ft))
(tunnel appx 230 m (750 ft))
3.1
Songhwa Residence
(tunnel appx 545 m (1,788 ft))
37.0
Sŏkha
(bridge appx 70 m (230 ft))
39.6
South Sinŭiju
Paengma Line
Chosŏn'gŭl
백마선
Hancha
Revised RomanizationBaegma-seon
McCune–ReischauerPaengma-sŏn

Description

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The ruling grade of the line is 13‰, and the minimum curve radius is 400 m (1,300 ft). There are 26 bridges with a total length of 1,363 m (4,472 ft), and two tunnels with a total length of 803 m (2,635 ft).[2]

History

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For the original line's history and other information prior to 1945, see Gyeongui Line (1904–1945).

The Namsi (now Yŏmju)–South Sinŭiju stretch of railway via Paengma was opened on 28 April 1905 by the Temporary Military Railway as part of the mainline of the Kyŏngŭi Line from Kyŏngsŏng (Seoul) to Sinŭiju. On 16 October 1943, South Sinŭiju Station became a connecting station with the Sinŭiju–YangsiNamsi Yangsi Line, which the Chosen Government Railway had taken over from the privately owned Tasado Railway on 1 April of that year.[3]

After the establishment of the DPRK and the nationalisation of its railways to create the Korean State Railway, the line from Ryongch'ŏn (formerly Yangsi) to Yŏmju (formerly Namsi) remained separate as the Yangsi Line. In 1964 the Korean State Railway decided to make the shorter Yangsi Line the mainline of the P'yŏngui Line, and the former mainline between Yŏmju and South Sinŭiju was separated, becoming the current Paengma Line.

Services

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There is extensive freight traffic on the line, serving the large Ponghwa Chemical Complex at Paengma and several other factories.[2]

A pair of local trains, numbered 418/419, operate between Sinŭiju Ch'ŏngnyŏn and Yŏmju, running along this line instead of the P'yŏngŭi line.[1] There is also a short branch from Paengma to the private Songhwa Residence.[4]

Route

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

Distance (km) Station Name Former Name
Total S2S Transcribed Chosŏn'gŭl (Hanja) Transcribed Chosŏn'gŭl (Hanja) Connections
0.0 0.0 Yŏmju 염주 (鹽州) Namsi 남시 (南市) P'yŏngŭi Line
8.7 8.7 Ryangch'aek 량책 (良策) Yangch'aek 양책 (良策)
16.5 7.8 P'ihyŏn 피현 (枇峴)
23.0 6.5 Ryonggyeri 룡계리 (龍溪里) Yonggyeri 용계리 (龍溪里)
25.8 2.8 Paengma 백마 (白馬)
37.0 11.2 Sŏkha 석하 (石下)
39.6 2.6 South Sinŭiju (Namsinŭiju) 남신의주 (南新義州) P'yŏngŭi Line, Tŏkhyŏn Line

References

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  • Ministry of Railways (1937), 鉄道停車場一覧. 昭和12年10月1日現在(The List of the Stations), p485
  1. ^ a b Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), ISBN 978-4-10-303731-6
  2. ^ a b North Korea Geographic Information: Transportation Geography - Paengma Line (in Korean)
  3. ^ 朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa Nr. 4837, 19 March 1943
  4. ^ "A bird's eye view of the prisons and palaces of Kim Jong-il's North Korea".