The Sŏhae Kammun Line, or West Sea Barrage Line is a non-electrified standard-gauge secondary line of the Korean State Railway located entirely within Namp'o Special City, North Korea, and running from Ch'ŏlgwang on the Ŭnnyul Line to Sillyŏngri on the P'yŏngnam Line.[1]

Sŏhae Kammun Line
The Sŏhae Kammun Line crossing the West Sea Barrage;
the swing bridge over the locks is visible.
Overview
Native name서해갑문선(西海閘門線)
StatusOperational
OwnerKorean State Railway
LocaleNamp'o-tŭkpyŏlsi
Termini
Stations4
Service
TypeHeavy rail, Passenger & freight rail
Regional rail
Operator(s)Korean State Railway
History
Opened24 June 1986
Technical
Line length26.7 km (16.6 mi)
Number of tracksSingle track
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Route map

P'yŏngnam Line to P'yŏngnam Onch'ŏn
26.7
Sillyŏngri
P'yŏngnam Line to P'yŏngyang
19.5
Sŏhae Kammun
swing bridge over lock
9.1
Songgwan
(causeway appx 370 m (1,210 ft))
(bridge appx 130 m (430 ft))
0.0
Ch'ŏlgwang
Sohae Kammun Line
Chosŏn'gŭl
서해갑문선
Hancha
Revised RomanizationSeohaegammun-seon
McCune–ReischauerSŏhaegammun-sŏn

Description

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View of the swing bridge across the locks in open position.

The Sŏhae Kammun Line runs over the West Sea Barrage; of the 26.7 km (16.6 mi) total length of the line, over 6 km (3.7 mi) runs over the dam itself. There is a swing bridge of approximately 100 m (328 ft 1 in), built by the Namp'o Shipyard, over the locks.

History

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The line was opened on 24 June 1986, after the completion of the West Sea Barrage.[1][2]

Services

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A local passenger train, 361/362, operating between Namp'o and Ch'ŏlgwang, runs on the entirety of this line between Sillyŏngri and Ch'ŏlgwang, stopping only at Namp'o, Sŏhae Kammun, and Ch'ŏlgwang; scheduled travel time in the 2002 timetable was 2 hours 20 minutes each way.[3]

Route

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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
0.0 0.0 Ch'ŏlgwang 철광 (鉄鑛) Ŭnnyul Line,
Sŏhaeri Line
9.1 9.1 Songgwan 송관 (松串)
19.5 10.4 Sŏhae Kammun
(West Sea Barrage)
서해갑문 (西海閘門)
26.7 7.2 Sillyŏngri 신령리 (新寧里) P'yŏngnam Sindŏk 평남신덕 (平南新德) P'yŏngnam Line

References

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  1. ^ a b Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), ISBN 978-4-10-303731-6
  2. ^ Kristof, Nicholas D. (5 July 1989). "In North Korea, Dam Reflects 'Great Leader's' State of Mind". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), p. 127, ISBN 978-4-10-303731-6