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Sinhŭng Line
Overview
Native name	신흥선(新興線)
Status	Operational
Locale	South Hamgyŏng Province
Termini	Hamhŭng Pujŏnhoban
Stations	16
Service
Type	Heavy rail, Passenger/Freight rail Regional rail
Operator(s)	Sinhŭng Railway (1923–1938) Chosen Railway (1938–1945) Korean State Railway (since 1945)
Depot(s)	Sinhŭng, Hamhŭng
History
Opened	10 June 1923 (Hamhŭng—Yŏnggwang) 25 August 1923 (Yŏnggwang—Changp'ung) 1 October 1926 (P'ungsang—Sinhŭng) 1 February 1928 (Sinhŭng—Songhŭng) 10 September 1932 (Songhŭng—Pujŏnhoban)
Technical
Line length	91.6 km (56.9 mi)
Number of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge (Hamhŭng – Sinhŭng) 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) (Sinhŭng – Pujŏnhoban)
Electrification	3000 V DC Overhead line Hamhŭng−Sinhŭng 1500 V DC Overhead line Sinhŭng−Pujŏnhoban
Route map Legend Sinhŭng Line (narrow gauge) Sinhŭng Line (standard gauge) Changjin Line P'yŏngra Line Sŏho Line Pinallon Line Pujŏn River 50.6 Pujŏnhoban 47.9 Toan 40.0 Pujŏn (bridge appx 45 m (148 ft)) 33.7 Hamjiwŏn 27.1 Pujŏllyŏng 25.4 Paegamsan top of cable-hauled section cable-hauled section, 550 m (1,800 ft) bottom of cable-hauled section Kŭmsilch'ŏn (bridge appx 35 m (115 ft)) 20.0 Songhŭng 19.0 Hasonghŭng Closed (bridge appx 30 m (98 ft)) 14.9 Songha underground facility 13.1 Kyŏnghŭng Sŏngch'ŏngang 6.9 Tonghŭng Tonghŭngch'ŏn (bridge appx 145 m (476 ft)) 2.8 Kilbong Closed 1.5 P'ungdŏk (bridge appx 280 m (920 ft)) Sŏgoch'ŏn (bridge appx 210 m (690 ft)) 41.0 0.0 Sinhŭng (bridge appx 95 m (312 ft)) Ch'ŏnbulsanch'ŏn (bridge appx 80 m (260 ft)) 33.5 Ch'ŏnbulsan 30.7 Chŏndong 28.2 Changpung Closed (bridge appx 65 m (213 ft)) 25.9 P'ungsang Sanch'angch'ŏn (bridge appx 80 m (260 ft)) 17.0 Yŏnggwang Changjin Line (bridge appx 415 m (1,362 ft)) 12.3 Changhŭng 9.3 Pumin 6.6 Kadam Chongsŏng Street 0.0 West Hamhŭng 0.0 Hamhŭng ←to P'yŏngyang -3.9 Hamhŭng Choch'ajang Sŏho Line to Sŏho Pinallon Line to Hŭngnam to Rajin

The Sinhŭng Line is an electrified 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge railway line of the Korean State Railway in South Hamgyŏng Province, North Korea, running from Hamhŭng (Hamhŭng-si) to Pujŏnhoban (Pujŏn-gun) on Lake Pujŏn via Sinhŭng (Sinhŭng-gun).

Between Hamhŭng and Sinhŭng, a distance of 40.9 km (25.4 mi), the line is standard gauge, but the remaining 50.6 km (31.4 mi) from Sinhŭng to the terminus at Pujŏnhoban is 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge; the narrow gauge section is also electrified.

Though primarily an industrial railway connecting to the Pujŏn River hydroelectric power plant, it also plays an important role in passenger transportation in the region. There is a 550 m (1,800 ft) section between Songhŭng and Pujŏllyŏng that is cable-hauled.

History

During the Japanese colonial era, the privately owned Sinhŭng Railway built a network of narrow-gauge lines north of Hamhŭng. These were the Hamnam Line (not to be confused with the line of the same name of the Chosen Magnesite Development Railway, nowadays called Kŭmgol Line), to assist in the construction of the Pujŏn River hydroelectric power plant and to exploit forestry and other resources in the area. When complete, the Hamnam Line ran from Hamhŭng to Hamnam Sinhŭng (nowadays called simply Sinhŭng) via Oro (nowadays Yŏnggwang), with a branch from Oro to Sang'tong. Later, the Sinhŭng Railway opened the Songhŭng Line from Sinhŭng to Pujŏnhoban. The Sinhŭng Railway was bought by the Chosen Railway on 22 April 1938.

Between 1934 and 1936, the Sinhŭng Railway opened a line south from Hamhŭng, the Namhŭng Line.

After the establishment of the DPRK and the nationalisation of its railways, the Hamnam Line was split up, with the Hamhŭng - Oro - Sinhŭng section becoming the Sinhŭng Line, and the Oro - Sangt'ong section becoming part of the Changjin Line. At the same time, the Songhŭng Line was merged into the Sinhŭng Line, extending it to its current length. Originally built entirely as a narrow gauge line, frequent accidents on the line led the Korean State Railway to convert the Hamhŭng—Sinhŭng to standard gauge for greater safety and increased transportation capacity. After the regauging of this section, West Hamhŭng station was disconnected from the Hamhŭng—Sinhŭng, leaving Hamhŭng as the only direct junction point with the Sŏho Line. Electrification of the line to Pujŏnhoban was completed in 1992.

Services

Freight

The primary outbound freight shipped on the Sinhŭng Line is wood; potatoes and metals are also shipped out. Goods arriving onto the line from elsewhere include coal (anthracite and bituminous), fertiliser, aquatic products, grains and cement.

Passenger

Though primarily an industrial railway connecting to the Pujŏn River hydroelectric power plant, it also plays an important role in passenger transportation in the region. A pair of local passenger trains, 880/881, operate on the standard gauge section of this line between Hamhŭng and Sinhŭng; there are also passenger trains on the narrow-gauge section north of Sinhŭng.

Route

A yellow background in the "Distance" box indicates that section of the line is not electrified; a pink background indicates that section is 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge; an orange background indicates that section is non-electrified narrow gauge.

References

1. ^ Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), ISBN 978-4-10-303731-6
2. ^ "신흥선". terms.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-05-12.
3. 朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 3385, 3 May 1938

• 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] (in Japanese). Tokyo: kawaguchi Printing Company. pp. 510–511, 516–517.

v t e Sinhŭng Line
Standard gauge	Hamhŭng Kadam Pumin Changhŭng Yŏnggwang P'ungsang Ch'ŏnbulsan Sinhŭng
Narrow gauge	Sinhŭng Tonghŭng Kyŏnghŭng Songha Songhŭng Pujŏllyŏng Hamjiwŏn Pujŏn Toan Pujŏnhoban

• Railway lines in North Korea
• Standard gauge railways in North Korea
• 2 ft 6 in gauge railways in North Korea