Type Heavy rail Opened 1948 | Status Operational Stations 12 Closed 1994 No. of tracks Single-track railway | |
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Terminis Motka Station, Wiyon Station | ||
The Samjiyŏn Line is a former electrified narrow gauge line of the Korean State Railway in North Korea running from Wiyŏn on the Paektusan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line to Motka.
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History
The Samjiyŏn Line was built in 1948 by the Korean State Railway to replace the Hyesan to Rimyŏngsu road, which had been built by the Japanese colonial authorities and which by the time of the Liberation of Korea had fallen into a poor state of repair. Extensive flooding in 1994 led to the closure of the line.
New Standard-Gauge Line
In August 2007, work began on a new standard gauge replacement for the existing narrow gauge line, but due to financial difficulties work stopped after only four months; work resumed in November 2008. A ceremony was held on 15 November 2009,, but due to a shortage of materials construction was again suspended in August of the same year. Work on the new line, which follows a shorter alignment than the original line, resumed once again on 25 May 2015. Heavy rains in July of that year caused difficulties, and following new sanctions against the DPRK in 2016 work has once again come to a standstill. Original plans envisaged the extension of the line from Motka to Musan, but this is not currently being pursued.
Route
A yellow background in the "Distance" box indicates that section of the line is not electrified; a pink background indicates that section is 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge; an orange background indicates that section is non-electrified narrow gauge.