Gyeongdong Line

Gyeongdong Line
Gyeongdong Line
Overview
Native name	경동선 (慶東線)
Status	Divided (see text)
Owner	Chōsen Light Railway (1917–1919); Chōsen Central Railway (1919–1923); Chōsen Railway (1923–1928)
Locale	North Gyeongsang
Termini	Daegu; Haksan; Jangsaengpo;
Stations	27
Service
Type	Heavy rail, Regional rail; Passenger/Freight
Operator(s)	Chōsen Light Railway;; Chōsen Central Railway;; Chōsen Railway
History
Opened	1917–1921
Technical
Line length	152.4 km (94.7 mi)
Number of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	762 mm (2 ft 6 in)
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	69.0
	0.0

The Gyeongdong Line (慶東線, Keitō-sen) was a 762 mm (2 ft 6.0 in) narrow gauge railway line of the Chōsen Railway (Chōtetsu) of colonial-era Korea, in North Gyeongsang Province.^[1]

History

In January 1916, the privately owned Chōsen Light Railway began work on a new rail line from Daegu on the Chōsen Government Railway's Gyeongbu Line towards Pohang. The first section, 23.0 km (14.3 mi) from Daegu to Hayang, was opened on 1 November 1917. Over the following year, three new sections were opened, with Pohang being reached 364 days after the opening of the first section. On 20 May 1918, a 5.5 km (3.4 mi) extension from Hayang to Geumho was opened, followed by the 38.7 km (24.0 mi) segment from Geumho to Seoak on 1 September, and the final 38.2 km (23.7 mi) stretch to Pohang was opened on 31 October.

Work on a second line began around the same time that the main line was completed, and the first 11.5 km (7.1 mi) section, from Gyeongju to Bulguksa, was opened on 14 January 1919. Five months later, on 25 June 1919, a 2.0 km (1.2 mi) extension of the main line from Pohang to Haksan was opened, and on 27 September of the same year, the Chōsen Light Railway was renamed Chōsen Central Railway Co. Ltd.

Nothing changed until two years later, when the 29.9 km (18.6 mi) line from Bulguksa to Ulsan was completed on 25 October 1921; on 1 November, the Daegu–Haksan line was given the name Gupo Line, and the Gyeongju–Ulsan line was named Ulsan Line. On 1 September 1923, the Chōsen Central Railway merged with five other privately owned railway companies to form the Chōsen Railway,^[2] and at the same time, the Gupo Line and the Ulsan Line were merged, collectively being named the Gyeongdong Line.

On 1 July 1928, the Chōsen Government Railway purchased the Gyeongdong Line and renamed it Donghae Jungbu Line.^[3]

Services

Initially, only mixed trains, with both passenger and freight cars, operated on the line; in 1922, there was one daily round trip between Daegu and Yeongcheon, four daily round trips between Yeongcheon and Pohang, four between Pohang and Haksan, eight between Seoak and Gyeongju, and three between Gyeongju and Ulsan. Dedicated passenger trains were introduced after the creation of the Chōsen Railway, with a single Daegu–Pohang return service being added to the schedule in 1923, followed by four return services between Daegu and Ulsan in 1926.

Route

邱浦線 - 구포선 - Kyūho Line - Gupo Line
Distance		Station name
Total; km	S2S; km	Transcribed, Korean	Transcribed, Japanese	Hunminjeongeum	Hanja/Kanji	Connections
0.0	0.0	Daegu	Taikyū	대구	大邱	Sentetsu Gyeongbu Line
5.4	5.4	Dongchon	Tōson	동촌	東村
10.6	5.2	Ban'yawol	Han'yagetsu	반야월	半夜月
16.7	6.1	Cheongcheon	Seisen	청천	淸泉
23.0	6.3	Hayang	Kayō	하양	河陽
28.5	5.5	Geumho	Kinko	금호	琴湖
34.1	5.6	Yeongcheon	Eisen	영천	永川
43.4	9.3	Impo	Rinpo	임포	林浦
49.0	5.6	Ahwa	Akuwa	아화	阿火
55.5	6.5	Geoncheon	Kansen	건천	乾川
60.3	4.8	Gwangmyeong	Kōmyō	광명	光明
67.2	6.9	Seoak	Seigaku	서악	西岳
69.0	1.8	Gyeongju	Keishū	경주	慶州	Ulsan Line
75.7	6.7	Geumjang	Kinjō	금장	金丈
84.1	8.4	Sabang	Shihō	사방	士方
90.4	6.3	An'gang	Ankō	안강	安康
96.8	6.4	Bujo	Fujo	부조	扶助
101.4	4.6	Hyoja	Kōshi	효자	孝子
105.4	4.0	Pohang	Hokō	포항	浦項
107.4	2.0	Haksan	Kakuzan	학산	鶴山

蔚山線 - 울산선 - Urusan Line - Ulsan Line
Distance		Station name
Total; km	S2S; km	Transcribed, Korean	Transcribed, Japanese	Hunminjeongeum	Hanja/Kanji	Connections
0.0	0.0	Gyeongju	Keishū	경주	慶州	Gupo Line
6.2	6.2	Dongbang	Tōhō	동방	東方
11.5	5.3	Bulguksa	Bukkokuji	불국사	佛國寺
19.9	8.4	Ipsil	Nyūshitsu	입실	入室
23.7	3.8	Mohwa	Mōka	모화	毛火
30.9	7.2	Hogye	Kokei	호계	虎溪
38.0	7.1	Byeongyeong	Heiei	병영	兵營
41.4	3.4	Ulsan	Urusan	울산	蔚山
45.0	3.6	Jangsaengpo	Chōseiho	장생포	長生浦

References

^ South Manchuria Railway, 朝鮮の私設鐵道 (Chōsen no Shisetsutetsudō), 1925
^ Establishment of the Chosen Railway, Dong-A Ilbo, 3 September 1923 (in Korean)
^ 朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 224, 3 May 1938

[1] South Manchuria Railway, 朝鮮の私設鐵道 (Chōsen no Shisetsutetsudō), 1925

[2] Establishment of the Chosen Railway, Dong-A Ilbo, 3 September 1923 (in Korean)

[3] 朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 224, 3 May 1938

[1]

[2]

[3]