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Namheung Line
Overview
Native name	남흥선 (南興線)
Status	Operational (see text)
Owner	Sinheung Railway (1934–1938) Chōsen Railway (1938–1945)
Locale	South Hamgyeong
Termini	West Hamhung Seohojin
Stations	10
Service
Type	Heavy rail, Regional rail Passenger/Freight
Operator(s)	Sinheung Railway; Chōsen Railway
Depot(s)	Singuryong
History
Opened	1934–1936
Technical
Line length	18.5 km (11.5 mi)
Number of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	762 mm (2 ft 6 in)
Route map Legend km Hamnam Line West Hamheung 00.0 (Nishi-Kankō) Hamheung 01.1 (Kankō) Sentetsu Hamgyeong Line Sapo 01.2 (Shaho) Sangsu 03.5 (Jōsui) Seongcheongang 05.9 (Jōsenkō) Heungdeok 07.6 (Kōtoku) Unjung 09.0 (Unchū) Singuryong 10.8 (Shinkyūryū) Cheongiri 13.9 (Tenkiri) Naeho 15.6 (Naiko) Seohojin 17.5 (Seikoshin) Sentetsu Hamgyeong Line Key: narrow gauge standard gauge This diagram: view talk edit

The Namheung Line (南興線, Nankō-sen) was a 762 mm (30.0 in) narrow gauge railway line of the Chōsen Railway (Chōtetsu) of colonial-era Korea, located in South Hamgyeong Province, serving an industrial area south of the city of Hamheung.

History

The Chōsen Forestry Railway extended its Hamnam Line from Oro to Jangpung on 25 August 1923, and at the same time opened West Hamheung Station between Hamheung and Heungsang, 1.1 km (0.68 mi) from Hamheung.; later that year, it merged with five other companies to form the Chōsen Railway. Eleven years later, this new station would become the starting point for a new line to serve factories being opened to the south of the city. The first section, running 14.9 km (9.3 mi) from West Hamheung to Cheongiri, was opened on 11 May 1934. Two years later the line was extended, first with a 1.7 km (1.1 mi) section from Cheongiri to Naeho on 5 March, followed by another 1.7 km (1.1 mi) section from Naeho to Seohojin on the Chōsen Government Railway's Hamgyeong Line opened on 15 December. The Sinheung Railway was absorbed by Chōtetsu on 22 April 1938, which continued to operate the line until the end of the Pacific War.

After the establishment of North Korea and the nationalisation of its railways, the Namheung Line was renamed Sŏho Line by the Korean State Railway, which subsequently rebuilt the section between Unjung and Seohojin on a new, shorter alignment.

Services

In the November 1942 timetable, the last issued prior to the start of the Pacific War, Chōtetsu operated the following schedule of commuter services:

Route

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), Taishō No. 3320, 4 September 1923
3. Establishment of the Chosen Railway, Dong-A Ilbo, 3 September 1923 (in Korean)
4. 朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 3385, 3 May 1938
5. Tōa Travel Co. (東亜旅行社), Ministry of Railways Combined Timetable 1 November 1942 (鐵道省編纂時刻表昭和１７年１１月１日)

v t e Railway lines of the Chōsen Railway
Standard gauge	Chungbuk Line Gwangnyeo Line Gyeongbuk Line Gyeongnam Line Jeonnam Line Yeongchun Line
Narrow gauge	Jangjin Line Gyeongdong Line Hamnam Line Hwanghae Line Namheung Line Songheung Line Suin Line Suryeo Line
Subsidiaries	North Chōsen Colonial Railway

• Rail transport in North Korea
• Railway lines in Korea under Japanese rule
• Defunct railway companies of Japan
• Defunct railway companies of Korea
• Chōsen Railway