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Soho Line

Railway line in North Korea

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Soho Line
Hangul서호선
Hanja西湖線
RRSeohoseon
MRSŏhosŏn

The Sŏho Line is an electrified 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge railway line of the Korean State Railway in Hamhŭng-si, North Korea, running from Hamhŭng to Hŭngnam and Sŏho.

01History

During the Japanese colonial era, the privately owned Sinhŭng Railway built a network of 762 mm (2 ft 6.0 in) narrow-gauge railways around Hamhŭng. These were the Hamnam Line, the Jangjin Line, and the Songheung Line opened between 1923 and 1933, and the Namhŭng Line, which was opened in three sections between 1934 and 1936.

Section Opening date Length
West Hamhŭng - Ch'ŏngiri (Hadŏk) 11 May 1934 14.9 km (9.3 mi)
Ch'ŏngiri - Naeho (closed) 5 March 1936 1.7 km (1.1 mi)
Naeho - Sŏhojin 15 December 1936 1.7 km (1.1 mi)

The Sinhŭng Railway was bought by the Chosen Railway on 22 April 1938.

After the defeat of Japan in the Pacific War and the subsequent partition of Korea, the entirety of the line, being north of the 38th parallel, was located in the Soviet zone of occupation; on 10 August 1946, the Provisional People's Committee for North Korea nationalised all railways within its jurisdiction, including the Namhŭng Line, and it has since been operated by the Korean State Railway.

Originally built entirely as a narrow gauge line, frequent accidents on the line led the Korean State Railway to convert the Hamhŭng, Sinhŭng section of the Sinhŭng Line to standard gauge for greater safety and increased transportation capacity; after the regauging of this section was completed, West Hamhŭng station was disconnected from the Sinhŭng line. When Naeho Station was closed, the line between Hadŏk and Sŏho was realigned to the current, shorter alignment.

In 2017, the line was reconstructed with the participation of the Hamhung Narrow Gauge Railroad office, Yonggwang Yonju plant and organised by the South Hamgyong provincial party office. Stations, sleepers and concrete poles were all replaced. Hungdok station was rebuilt as a model station.

The entrance to the February 8 Vinylon Complex at Pinallon Station.
The entrance to the February 8 Vinylon Complex at Pinallon Station.

02Services

The Sŏho Line is used exclusively for passenger trains for commuters.

03Route

The pink background indicates that that section is electrified 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge.

Distance (km)
OriginalCurrentStation NameFormer Name
TotalS2STotalS2STranscribedChosŏn'gŭl (Hanja)TranscribedChosŏn'gŭl (Hanja)Connections
(former)
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Sŏhamhŭng
(West Hamhŭng)
서함흥 (西咸興) Sinhŭng Line
1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 Sap'o 사포 (沙浦)
3.5 2.3 3.5 2.3 Sangsu 상수 (上水)
5.9 2.4 5.9 2.4 Sŏngch'ŏn 성천 (城川) Pinallon Line
7.6 1.7 7.6 1.7 Hŭngdŏk 흥덕 (興德) Pinallon 비날론 (-) Pinallon Line
10.0 2.4 10.0 2.4 Unsong 운성 (雲城) Pinallon Line
12.0 2.0 12.0 2.0 Ryongsŏng 룡성 (龍城) Pinallon Line;
branch to Hŭngnam
-- -- 13.6 1.6 Hadŏk 하덕 (荷德) Ch'ŏngiri 천기리 (天機里)
15.6 3.6 -- -- Hŭngnam 흥남 (興南) P'yŏngra Line
-- -- 15.3 1.7 Naeho 내호 (內湖) Closed.
-- -- 17.6 2.3 Sŏho 서호 (西湖) Sŏhojin 서호진 (西湖津) P'yŏngra Line

04Rolling stock

The line uses Charyokkaengsang-class locomotives (자력갱생) originally built by Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works. They have 551 kW motors and haul a number of passenger cars. These locomotives underwent complete body replacement by the 8 February Vinylon Factory and the Hamhung Narrow Gauge Office in 2017 and received a blue and white exterior along with the reconstruction of the line. Previously, the locomotives were yellow and red. A total of 8 locomotives and 22 passenger cars which were overhauled.

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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Soho Line, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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