Native name 백무선(白茂線) Termini Paegam
Musan Stations 28 | Status Operational Owner Korean State Railway | |
Type Heavy rail, Regional rail Locale Ryanggang,
North Hamgyŏng Opened Stages between 1934-1944 | ||
A large rough train running on paengmu line dprk north korea
The Paengmu Line is a partially electrified narrow gauge line of the Korean State Railway running from Paegam on the Paektusan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line to Musan on the Musan Line, in the Ryanggang and North Hamgyŏng provinces of North Korea. The electrified section originally ran 111 km (69 mi) from Paegam Ch'ŏngnyŏn station to Yugok, whence the remaining 80.7 km (50.1 mi) to the terminus at Musan remained unelectrified. Since the closure of part of the line due to the construction of a reservoir, the line has been split into two disconnected sections, the electrified Paegam—Kulsong and the non-electrified Ch'ŏnsu—Musan sections. The section from Paegam to Taet'aek was converted to standard gauge in 2013.
Contents
History
In 1927, the Government-General of Korea formulated a "12-Year Plan for Chosen Railways", under which the railway network of the Korean Peninsula was to be greatly expanded. Although not part of that 12-year plan, it was decided to build the Paengmu Line for the transport of forest products and to aid in the development of the area. Construction was started at Paegam station by the Chosen Government Railway on 16 November 1932, and the first section, from Paegam to San'yangdae, was opened in September 1934. The line was extended to Yŏn'am in September of the following year and to Yup'yŏngdong in October 1936. Service on the Yup'yŏngdong—Yŏnsa section began in October 1939, but the final section to Musan, connecting the line to the Musan Line, was completed only in December 1944.
The names of several stations were changed following the establishment of the DPRK, with Paegam Station becoming Paegam Ch'ŏngnyŏn Station, Hambuk Sinjang Station becoming Sinjang Station (this station was subsequently closed), Hambuk Mun'am Station becoming Tuam Station, and Sinyang Station becoming Samyu Station. Electrification of the section from Paegam to Yugok was completed in August 1991.
Construction of the reservoir of the Paektusan Sŏngun Youth Power Station led to the flooding of part of the line, resulting in the closure of the section between Ch'ŏnsu and Kulsong; since the closure, the line is electrified only between Paegam and Kulsong. The Paegam—Taet'aek section was converted to standard gauge in 2013.
Construction of the line took place as follows:
List of Stations
An orange background in the "Distance" box indicates that section of the line is not electrified narrow-gauge; a pink background indicates that section is electrified narrow gauge. The Paegam—Taet'aek section is electrified standard gauge.