Paechon Line

The Paech'ŏn Line is a partially electrified standard-gauge secondary railway line of the Korean State Railway in South Hwanghae Province, North Korea, running from Changbang on the Hwanghae Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line to Ŭnbit.[1]

Paech'ŏn Line
Overview
Other name(s)	Tohae Line
Native name	배천선(白川線)
Type	Heavy rail, Passenger/Freight Regional rail
Status	Operational
Locale	South Hwanghae
Termini	Changbang Ŭnbit
Stations	11
Operation
Opened	Stages between 1931-1971
Owner	Chosen Railway (1931–1944) Chosen Government Railway (1944–1945) Korean National Railroad (1945–1950) Korean State Railway (since 1953)
Technical
Line length	64.4 km (40.0 mi)
Number of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Old gauge	762 mm (2 ft 6 in)
Electrification	3000 V DC Overhead line (Changbang - Ch'ŏngdan)
Route map -1.1 Haeju Ch'ŏngnyŏn Hwanghae Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line Ongjin Line 0.0 East Haeju 7.8 Changbang Hwanghae Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line Ŭpch'ŏn (bridge appx 110 m (360 ft)) (bridge appx 25 m (82 ft)) 11.5 Kalsan 16.4 Naesŏng Closed Taegwandanch'ŏn (bridge appx 70 m (230 ft)) Tŏktal Line 20.5 Ch'ŏngdan Hwayangch'ŏn (bridge appx 175 m (574 ft)) 4.3 Hwayang Closed (tunnel appx 180 m (590 ft)) 24.1 Simgye Closed 12.7 Tŏktal (former mine) Closed (bridge appx 35 m (115 ft)) 28.7 Ch'ŏnt'ae 33.7 P'ungch'ŏn P'ungch'ŏn (bridge appx 70 m (230 ft)) old alignment 39.4 Ohyŏn 45.1 Yŏn'an Yŏnbaek Canal (bridge appx 35 m (115 ft)) Rajinp'och'ŏn (bridge appx 90 m (300 ft)) 50.6 Onjŏng 54.8 Mugu Closed 58.2 Honghyŏn Han'gyoch'ŏn (bridge appx 85 m (279 ft)) 62.5 Paech'ŏn (former wye) 64.4 Ŭnbit 67.5 Sŏngho Closed 67.7 Ŭnbit freight station Ryesŏng River (bridge appx 625 m (2,051 ft)) 72.8 Ryesŏnggang Closed (tunnel appx 100 m (330 ft)) (bridge appx 625 m (2,051 ft)) P'yŏngbu Line 79.7 Kaep'ung P'yŏngbu Line

Paechon Line
Chosŏn'gŭl	배천선
Hancha	白川線
Revised Romanization	Baecheon-seon
McCune–Reischauer	Paech'ŏn-sŏn

History

By the end of 1930, the Chosen Railway (abbreviated Chōtetsu), the largest privately owned railway in colonial Korea, had extended its Hwanghae Line network to run from Sariwŏn to Sugyo in the west and to Haeju in the south, completing the latter line in December of that year.[2] Chōtetsu then began building eastwards from Haeju to create a southern connection to the Kyŏngŭi Line, the state-owned Chosen Government Railway's (abbreviated Sentetsu) mainline from Kyŏngsŏng to Sinŭiju and Andong, Manchuria, opening the first section of a new 762 mm (30.0 in) narrow-gauge line, from East Haeju to Yŏn'an, on 21 December 1931.[3] The second section was opened on 1 September 1932, running from Yŏn'an across the Ryesong River to connect to the Kyŏngŭi Line at Tosŏng (later renamed Kaep'ung). A 2.3 km (1.4 mi) extension west from East Haeju to Haeju was opened on 1 July 1933.[4]

Chōtetsu sold the Hwanghae Line network to Sentetsu on 1 April 1944, which absorbed the split the network into separate lines, with the Haeju—Tosŏng line becoming known as the Tohae Line.[5]

Following the end of the Pacific War and the subsequent partition of Korea, most of the Tohae Line was located in the US zone of occupation that later became South Korea, with the line being divided along the 38th Parallel between Changbang and Kalsan, and the Korean National Railroad operated passenger trains on the line between Tosŏng and Ch'ŏngdan until 1950.[6] The line was heavily damaged during the Korean War, and the destruction of the Ryesong River bridge left the line truncated at Paech'ŏn.[7] The truncated line ended up in North Korea after the Korean Armistice, becoming part of the Korean State Railway which gave the line its current name of Paech'ŏn Line.[6] The Korean State Railway completed the conversion of the Haeju—Paech'ŏn line to standard gauge in 1971, at the same time adding an extension from Paech'ŏn to the current terminus, Ŭnbit.[7]

Electrification of the section from Changbang to Ch'ŏngdan was completed by April 1982.[8]

Date	Section	Length	Original Builder
21 December 1931	East Haeju–Yŏn'an	45.1 km (28.0 mi)	Chosen Railway
1 September 1932	Yŏn'an–Tosŏng (Kaep'ung)	34.1 km (21.2 mi)	Chosen Railway
1 July 1933	Haeju–East Haeju	2.3 km (1.4 mi)	Chosen Railway
1971	Haeju–Paech'ŏn (converted to standard gauge)	62.5 km (38.8 mi)	Korean State Railway
1971	Paech'ŏn–Ŭnbit (standard gauge)	1.9 km (1.2 mi)	Korean State Railway

Route

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
-1.1	0.0	Haeju Ch'ŏngnyŏn	해주청년 (海州青年)			Hwanghae Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line Ongjin Line
Although part of the Hwanghae Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line and not the Paech'ŏn Line, all Paech'ŏn Line trains travel to/from Haeju Ch'ŏngnyŏn.
0.0	0.0	East Haeju (Tonghaeju)	동해주 (東海州)			Hwanghae Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line
7.8	7.8	Changbang	장방 (長芳)			Hwanghae Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line
11.5	3.7	Kalsan	갈산 (葛山)	Ch'ŏngyŏl	천결 (泉決)
16.4	4.9	Naesŏng	내성 (来城)		Closed
20.5	4.1	Ch'ŏngdan	청단 (青丹)			Tŏktal Line
24.1	3.6	Simgye	심계 (深桂)			Closed
28.7	4.6	Ch'ŏnt'ae	천태 (天台)
33.7	5.0	P'ungch'ŏn	풍천 (豊川)	P'ungch'ŏn	풍천 (楓川)
39.4	5.7	Ohyŏn	오현 (悟峴)	Pongsŏ	봉서 (鳳西)
45.1	5.7	Yŏn'an	연안 (延安)
50.6	5.5	Onjŏng	온정 (温井)	Yŏn'an Onch'ŏn	연안온천 (延安温泉)
54.8	4.2	Mugu	무구 (無仇)			Closed
58.2	3.4	Honghyŏn	홍현 (紅峴)
62.5	4.3	Paech'ŏn	배천 (白川)	Paech'ŏn Onch'ŏn	배천온천 (白川温泉)
64.4	1.9	Ŭnbit	은빛 (銀빛)
67.7	3.3	Ŭnbit freight yard	은빛 (銀빛)
↓↓ Former line destroyed in Korean War ↓↓
67.5	5.0	Sŏngho	은빛 (銀빛)			Closed
72.8	5.3	Ryesŏnggang	례성강 (禮成江)	Yesŏnggang	예성강 (禮成江)	Closed
79.7	6.9	Kaep'ung	개풍 (開豐)	T'osŏng	토성 (土城)	P'yŏngbu Line

Tŏktal Line

Opened in 1931 by Chōtetsu. Not electrified; closed.

Distance (km)		Station Name		Former Name
Total	S2S	Transcribed	Chosŏn'gŭl (Hanja)	Transcribed	Chosŏn'gŭl (Hanja)	Connections
0.0	0.0	Ch'ŏngdan	청단 (青丹)			Paech'ŏn Line
4.3	4.3	Hwayang	화양 (花陽)			Closed
12.7	8.4	Tŏktal	덕달 (徳達)			Closed

References

1. Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), ISBN 978-4-10-303731-6
2. 朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa Nr. 1187, 16 December 1930
3. 朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa Nr. 1492, 26 December 1931
4. Japanese Government Railways (1937), 鉄道停車場一覧. 昭和12年10月1日現在(The List of the Stations as of 1 October 1937), pp. 509~510
5. 朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa Nr. 5143, 29 March 1944
6. "100 Years of Rail Travel - The 38th Parallel (in Japanese)". Archived from the original on 2015-07-24. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
7. North Korea Geographic Information: Transportation Geography - Paech'ŏn Line (in Korean)
8. North Korea Geographic Information: Transportation Geography - Hwanghae Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line (in Korean)