Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Rolling stock of the Korean State Railway

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit

The Korean State Railway operates a wide variety of electric, diesel and steam locomotives, along with a variety of electric multiple unit passenger trains. The KSR's motive power has been obtained from various sources. Much, mostly steam and Japanese-made electric locomotives, was inherited from the Chosen Government Railway (commonly known as Sentetsu), the South Manchuria Railway (Mantetsu) and various privately-owned railways of the colonial era.

Contents

Most electric locomotives were made in North Korea by the Kim Chŏng-tae Electric Locomotive Works, as new construction of domestic designs or rebuilds of older units; however, many diesel locomotives have been converted to electric operation at the same factory. Apart from small diesel switchers and draisines, almost all diesel and steam locomotives were manufactured outside North Korea.

Due to ongoing economic difficulties in North Korea, maintenance levels are poor; locomotive serviceability is estimated at 50%. However, recently a major campaign to improve the operation and appearance of rolling stock and infrastructure, and a modernisation of the electric locomotive fleet has begun following an order issued by Kim Jong-un.

Classification system

The Korean State Railway's classification system uses a two-character type designator and a class number.

The type designator is 증기 (Chŭnggi, "steam") for steam locomotives and 내연 (Naeyŏn, "internal combustion") for diesel locomotives, and the class number is a three or four-digit serial number. The system behind the serial numbers is not clear.

For electric locomotives, a similar system is used. Prior to the introduction of the Red Flag 1-class locomotives, electric locomotives were given type designator 전기 (Chŏngi, "electric"). However, instead of a serial number as used on steam and diesel locomotives, a class number like those used by Sentetsu was assigned; however, instead of using Japanese numbers, this class number was based on Korean numbers. The four classes of electric locomotive that were inherited by the KSR were thus classified 전기하, Chŏngiha, "Electric 1" (from 하나, hana, "one"); 전기두, Chŏngidu, "Electric 2" (from 둘, tul, "two"); 전기서, Chŏngisŏ, "Electric 3" (from 셋, set, "three"); and 전기너, Chŏnginŏ, "Electric 4" (from 넷, net, "four"). Thus, as the Sentetsu designation デロイ "DeRoI" meant "first class of electric locomotive with six powered axles", Chŏngiha means "first class of electric locomotive". Therefore, 전기하3 means "third unit of the first class of electric locomotive". With the arrival of new electrics from Czechoslovakia, this system was continued with the Chŏngi-100 series (전기100).

However, after the introduction of the Red Flag 1 class locomotives (which were given their name by Kim Il-sung), the above system was replaced for newly-built electric locomotives by a system more like that used for steam and diesel locomotives. However, instead of using a standard type designator ("steam" or "internal combustion"), this system uses a class name, such as "Red Flag" (붉은기, Pulg'ŭn'gi), followed by a three or four-digit serial number. The exception to this is the Kanghaenggun-class (강행군, "Forced March") locomotives, which are numbered 1.5-01 through 1.5-11.

Electric multiple-unit trainsets are classified like steam and diesel locomotives, using 전기 (Chŏngi, "electric") as the type designator, followed by a three or four digit serial number, continuing the pattern set by the early electric locomotives. However, the actual application of this to the rolling stock is inconsistent.

Standard-gauge electric locomotives

When Korea was partitioned following Japan's defeat in the Pacific War, it was the North who benefitted from Sentetsu's first electrification project. The first stretch of electrified track in Korea was the Pokkye-Kosan section of the former Kyŏngwŏn Line, electrification of which had been completed on 27 March 1944, and which after the partition was in the Northern half. Although electrification of the Chech'ŏn-P'unggi section of the Kyŏnggyŏng Line had been started in 1941, by the end of the war it was only 90% complete; this stretch was in the South after the partition.

By the end of the war, of the 26 electric locomotives that had been ordered by Sentetsu, only nine had been delivered; of these, eight were in operation on the electrified section of the Kyŏngwŏn Line, and one was in Seoul for repairs; when Sentetsu's rolling stock was officially divided in 1947, this split of electric locomotives was formalised as well.

Electrification work resumed after the end of the war, and in 1948, the electrification of two further stretches was completed: the mountainous section from Yangdŏk to Ch'ŏnsŏng on the P'yŏngra Line, and Kaegu to Koin on the Manp'o Line.

After the partition, the Allied General Headquarters (GHQ) in Tokyo ordered the delivery of a further ten electric locomotives to Korea as war reparations from Japan. Seven were eventually delivered, all to the South, based on the expectation that reunification would come quickly, and that the implementation of Sentetsu's electrification plans would continue. However, after the outbreak of the Korean War, during the occupation of much of the Korean Peninsula by the Korean People's Army seven of the eight electric locomotives were captured and taken to the north - the one unit that had been in Seoul for repairs at the time of Japan's surrender in the Pacific war, along with six of the seven units that had been delivered to the South from Japan after the partition. Thus, of the 16 electric locomotives that had been delivered from Japan, 15 ended up in the North after the end of the Korean War.

The Korean War left all of the electrification in Korea destroyed, and for several years the 15 electric locomotives in the North sat unused. The Korean State Railway had not abandoned its plans to electrify, however, and along with the general reconstruction of its severely damaged infrastructure, re-electrification of previously electrified lines and new electrification of other lines was begun, and in 1956, the electrification of the Yangdŏk-Ch'ŏnsŏng section of the P'yŏngra Line was restored. At the same time, the 15 Japanese-built electric locomotives were refurbished at the engine shops at Yangdŏk.

Electrification continued apace, and by 1964, 371.5 km of the P'yŏngra Line, along with the entirety of the P'yŏngŭi Line, had been electrified. As part of the modernisation of the country's railways and the ever-expanding electrification of the network, new electric locomotives were ordered from Czechoslovakia. Later, a licence was obtained from Czechoslovakia, along with technology transfer, to manufacture electric locomotives at the Kim Chŏng-tae Electric Locomotive Works in P'yŏngyang, and all of North Korea's electric locomotives have been manufactured domestically since then.

The production of the domestically-designed and produced Red Flag 1-class locomotives began in 1961. Since the beginning of the 1980s, much of the production of "new" locomotives has involved the refurbishment and upgrade of previously-built units, sometimes retaining the existing body, sometimes building new bodywork for the locomotive; such is the case with the 5400-series Red Flag locomotives, which are built on older chassis, upgraded for higher performance, and enclosed in a newly-built body.

Electric locomotive classes

  • 100 series - Bo-Bo electric locomotives similar to Škoda 22E2 and Škoda 30E2 (the former having been operated in North Korea, while a licence to manufacture the latter was purchased to aid development of the Red Flag 1.) Several of the Type 30E2 were built in various forms, and at least one, 114, is still operational.
  • 150-series - medium electric shunting locomotives converted from Hungarian-made Ganz DVM-4 diesels by the Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works.
  • 170 series - medium-heavy offset-centre cab Bo-Bo electric shunting locomotives built by the Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works; at least nine built, at least one still in service. Overall green with yellow stripe.
  • 200 series - offset-centre cab Bo-Bo electric shunting locomotives built by the Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works, producing 330 kilowatts (440 hp). Some still in operation; two liveries have been seen - overall green with white stripe, and the standard light blue over dark green.
  • 300 series - small centre cab Bo-Bo electric shunting locomotives. At least 85 built by Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works; some still in service. Painted in the standard light blue over dark green livery.
  • 500 series - boxy true centre cab Bo-Bo electric shunting locomotives built by the Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works.
  • Chŏngiha-class - 1C-C1 electric locomotives built by Toshiba for the Chosen Government Railway.
  • Chŏngidu-class - 1C-C1 electric locomotives built by Hitachi for the Chosen Government Railway.
  • Chŏngisŏ-class - 1C-C1 electric locomotives built by Mitsubishi, originally for the Chosen Government Railway.
  • Kanghaenggun-class - Co-Co electric freight locomotives converted from M62-type diesel locomotives by the Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works.
  • Red Flag 1 & 2-classes - universal Co-Co electric locomotives built by the Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works.
  • Red Flag 6-class - heavy articulated Bo-Bo+Bo-Bo electric freight locomotives built by the Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works.
  • Red Flag 7-class - heavy articulated Bo-Bo+Bo-Bo electric freight locomotives built by the Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works.
  • Red Flag 2000-class - Bo-Bo electric locomotives built by Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works used primarily for passenger trains.
  • Ch'ŏngnyŏnjŏl Kinyom-class - Bo-Bo electric locomotives built by Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works, numbered in the 4000 and 90000 series.
  • Saebyŏl 1000-class - small centre cab Bo-Bo electric shunters made by Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works; at least 79 built. Some still in service for shunting in larger stations, including on the P'yŏngŭi line; noted painted overall dark blue with a white stripe.
  • Saebyŏl 3000-class - medium-duty electric shunting locomotives converted for electric operation by the Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works; retained original numbers after conversion.
  • Sŏngun Red Flag-class - new Bo-Bo electric locomotives with asynchronous motors built by the Kim Chong-t'ae Works, first prototype rolled out in 2011.
  • Škoda 22E2-type - Bo-Bo mainline electric locomotives imported from Czechoslovakia in the late 1950s; some still in service in modified form.
  • Diesel locomotives

    Due to North Korea's extensive coal deposits and hydroelectric power generation facilities, dieselisation hasn't been a priority for the Korean State Railway as it has been for many other railways. With ample coal supplies to fire steam locomotives, and electrification of the rail network being expanded rapidly after the Korean War, serious dieselisation didn't start until the 1960s, first with the arrival of 14 shunting locomotives from Hungary, followed by the first batch of the K62-class mainline diesels (the variant of the M62-type common throughout the former Communist bloc) from the Soviet Union in 1967. Though the Hungarian shunters are mostly gone, apart from a few that have been converted to electric operation, the K62s form the backbone of the North Korean diesel fleet to this day.

    Severe floods in the 1990s had taken their toll on North Korea's hydroelectric generation system, and even some mines had flooded - and due to electricity shortages caused by the silting of the dams, there was often little electricity available to run pumps needed to clear the water out of the mines. By the turn of the millennium, the Korean State Railway was having difficulties keeping electric trains running, and the fleet of K62s was insufficient to meet the transportation needs, even though they'd dropped significantly due to ongoing economic difficulties. To alleviate this problem, more M62s from several European countries, along with a sizeable number of second-hand locomotives from China, were imported.

    In recent years, extensive work has begun on refurbishing the rail network and power generation capabilities in the country, but diesels continue to play their significant role in hauling passenger and freight trains on the various mainlines.

    Diesel locomotive classes

  • 100-series - diesel-electric locomotives for freight trains and heavy shunting built by CNR Dalian and others in China, purchased second-hand.
  • 150-series - medium-duty diesel-electric shunting locomotives built by Ganz Works in Hungary.
  • 200-series - DF4 class mainline diesels bought second-hand from China Railways.
  • 300-series - Beijing-class diesel locomotives bought second-hand from China.
  • 400-series - diesel-electric locomotives for shunting and light freight trains built by ČKD in Czechoslovakia, bought second-hand from Slovakia in 2004.
  • 500-series - Various Soviet-built heavy diesel shunters, bought second-hand or new.
  • 600-700-800-series - heavy-duty diesel-electric locomotive for freight trains built by the Voroshilovgrad Locomotive Factory in the Soviet Union. Some have been converted to electric operation, called Kanghaenggun class.
  • 900-series - DFH3-class diesels bought second-hand from China.
  • Saebyŏl 3000-series - medium-duty diesel-hydraulic shunting locomotives built by Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works, commonly used at mainline stations. Some have been converted to electric operation.
  • Kŭmsŏng-class - North Korean-made copies of the Soviet M62-type heavy diesel locomotive.
  • Red Flag - North Korean-made diesel shunters.
  • CSE26-21 - Heavy mainline diesels imported from France in the 1980s, powered by American ALCO engines.
  • Electric multiple units

  • 100-series - DeRoHaNi-class electric railcars originally built by Nippon Sharyō for the colonial-era Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway.
  • 500-series - Former P'yŏngyang Metro trainsets, second-hand Type GI sets from Berlin, converted for operation as mainline EMUs by the Kim Chong-t'ae Works in 2001.
  • 1000-series - Former P'yŏngyang Metro trainsets, built new for North Korea by the Changchun Car Company of China in 1972, subsequently converted for operation as mainline EMUs by the Kim Chong-t'ae Works in 2007.
  • Juche - 4-section high-speed multisystem EMU built by Kim Chong-t'ae Works in 1976. One set built.
  • Red Flag 900-class - A unique combination electric locomotive with a section for carrying passengers built by the Kim Chong-t'ae Works.
  • Steam locomotives

  • 100 series - Chinese-built;
  • 150 series - Romanian 150.1-class 2-10-0 supplied as war aid.
  • 400 series - Czechoslovak-built 762mm 0-6-0T;
  • 424 class - Hungarian 424 4-8-0 supplied as war aid; kept MAV running numbers (424.006 through 424.020) in DPRK service;
  • 475 class - Czechoslovak 475.1 type 4-8-2 supplied as war aid; kept CSD running numbers (475.1148 through 475.1172) in DPRK service;
  • 500 series - DPRK-made 762mm 2-8-0;
  • 6000 series - Chinese JF class 2-8-2;
  • 8000 series - American USATC S160 2-8-0;
  • 8100 series - American-built, ex-Soviet Ye-class "Russian Decapod" 2-10-0;
  • FD20-class - Soviet-built FD20 class 2-10-2 supplied by China;
  • Ol49-class - Polish Ol49 class 2-6-2 supplied as war aid; kept PKP running numbers in DPRK service.
  • TKt48-class - Polish TKt48 class 2-8-2T supplied as war aid.
  • 24 0-6-0T switch engines were supplied new by the Resita works in Romania in the late 1950s or early 1960s.
  • References

    Rolling stock of the Korean State Railway Wikipedia