Gyeongui Line

Not to be confused with Pyongui Line.

Gyeongui Line
File:Korail Gyeongui Line.png
Overview
Native name	경의선(京義線)
Type	Heavy rail, Passenger/Freight Regional rail
Locale	Seoul Goyang Paju
Termini	Seoul Dorasan
Stations	23
Operation
Opened	1905 (The first opening) 1 April 1908 (Open for passengers)
Owner	Korea Rail Network Authority
Operator(s)	Korail
Technical
Line length	56.1 km (34.9 mi)
No. of tracks	Double track (Seoul - Munsan) Single track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV/60 Hz AC Catenary
Route map Legend Gyeongbu Line 0.0 Seoul x16px 0.7 Seosomun Closed in 1944 1.8 Ahyeonri Closed in 1944 3.1 Sinchon Sinchon Connection Line Yongsan Line 5.8 Gajwa 7.5 Digital Media City x16px 8.1 Suseak Susaek Rail Yard ↑Seoul/Goyang↓ 11.5 Hwajeon 14.0 Gangmae 14.9 Haengsin Goyang Rail Yard 16.4 Neunggok x20px x16px 18.2 Daegok Gyooe Line Seoul Ring Expressway 19.9 Goksan 21.5 Baengma 23.2 Pungsan 25.1 Ilsan 26.8 Tanhyeon ↑Goyang/Paju↓ 28.9 Yadang planned 30.4 Unjeong 33.5 Geumneung 35.6 Geumchon 39.7 Wollong 41.9 Paju Munsan Rail Yard 46.3 Munsan 50.0 Uncheon 52.3 Imjingang Imjin river 56.1 Dorasan 57.8 Jangdan Closed in 1950 ROK-DPRK border 63.4 Panmun Pyongbu Line

Gyeongui Line
Hangul	경의선
Hanja	京義線
Revised Romanization	Gyeonguiseon
McCune–Reischauer	Kyŏngŭisŏn

File:Dorasan2.jpg

Dorasan Station

The Gyeongui Line is a railway line between Seoul and Dorasan Station in Paju. Korail operates the Seoul Metropolitan Subway service between Seoul Station and Munsan Station.

History

Originally the line continued to P'yŏngyang and Sinŭiju, both of which are now in North Korea, or even to the South Manchuria Railway, linking the Korean railway system to the rest of Asia and Europe.

The Korean Empire intended to build the Gyeongui Line with its own resources at the end of the 19th century, but the project stalled due to lack of funds. Imperial Japan, which gained to concession to build the Gyeongbu Line from Busan to Seoul, also sought to gain control of the Gyeongui Line project as its continuation further north, recognising the trunk route as a means to keep Korea under its influence. The line was also advanced for military considerations in expectation of a confrontation with Russia, which came in 1904 as the Russo-Japanese War. At the start of the war, Japan ignored Korea's declaration of neutrality and transported troops to Incheon, and forced the Korean government to sign an agreement that gave Japan's military control of railway projects if deemed necessary for military operations. Japan's military began to build the Gyeongui Line, while troop bases were established in connection with the railway, the biggest of them next to the terminus of the line, Yongsan Station in Seoul.

The first section of the Gyeongui Line opened from Yongsan in Seoul to Munsan on April 3, 1906.

Inter-Korea border

After the division of Korea in 1945, trains stopped operating between the north and south halves of the country, meaning that southern trains probably terminated at Kaesŏng, which is now in North Korea but was at the time part of the US-administered southern zone. Northern trains would have terminated north of Kaesŏng.

After the end of the Korean War in 1953, southern trains were cut back to around Munsan (north of Seoul), with northern trains terminating at Kaesŏng. Around the same time, North Korea renamed the P'yŏngyang-Kaesŏng section of the line as the P'yŏngbu (P'yŏngyang + Busan) Line and the P'yŏngyang-Sinŭiju section as the P'yŏngŭi (P'yŏngyang + Sinŭiju) Line. The DPRK sector is now 100% electrifed, although the double track section spans only from Pyongyang to Sunan Airport.

Since the summit between the two Koreas in 2000, an effort has slowly been underway to reconnect the Gyeongui Line. Southern passenger service has been extended to Dorasan on the edge of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and tracks have been built across the DMZ itself. In October 2004, the Northern connection from the DMZ to Kaesŏng was finally completed. Simultaneous test runs along the rebuilt cross-border sections of both the Gyeongui Line and the Donghae Bukbu Line were set for May 25, 2006, but North Korean military authorities cancelled the plans a day ahead of the scheduled event. However, at a meeting held in Pyongyang, North Korea, on April 22, 2007, North and South Korea agreed to restart the project. On May 17, 2007, the first train, carrying North and South Korean delegations, travelled from Munsan Station in the South to Kaesong in the North. The first test run on the Donghae Bukbu Line took place at the same time. According to South Korean representatives, the North has agreed in principle to regular passenger and freight service along the two train lines.

Upgrade

Meanwhile, work began to upgrade the South Korean section for high-capacity commuter services. Between Seoul and Munsan, the line is converted into an electrified, double-tracked railway in a new, straighter, 48.6 km long alignment. Work began in November 1999, with a budget originally estimated at 1,970 billion won. The section from Digital Media City (DMC) to Munsan was finished on July 1, 2009. The remaining section will be mostly underground between Gajwa Station in northwestern Seoul to Yongsan Station in downtown Seoul. As of 2009, construction progress on the entire Seoul–Munsan section reached 74% of a total budget then estimated at 2,153.271 billion won. The section is to be finished by 2014 and the freed area on the surface is to be turned into a park.

The line is to be further upgraded for 230 kilometres per hour (140 mph), as part of a government strategic plan to reduce travel times for 95% of Korea to under 2 hours by 2020, which was announced on September 1, 2010.

Services

Seoul Metropolitan Subway

Main article: Gyeongui–Jungang Line

Seoul - Munsan section of Gyeongui Line became a part of Seoul Metropolitan Subway and the commuter trains of Korail started the train service. The line connects Seoul Station, DMC, Ilsan, Paju, and Munsan, and offers transfer with Line 2, Line 3, Seoul Subway Line 5, Line 6, AREX and (off-platform) Line 1 were created.

The mainstream service used Gongdeok Station and Gajwa Station, instead of to Seoul Station. On December 27, 2014, the service was merged with Jungang Line's service with extension to Yongsan Station from Gongdeok Station and renamed as "Gyeongui–Jungang Line".

Regular rail service

Before the integration with the subway system, the most common service on the line was a Tonggeun train service between Seoul and Imjingang, with one Saemaeul-ho train. Since the line was integrated with the Seoul Subway system, Tonggeun service had been restricted to a few stations in the north, from Munsan to Imjingang, with a few continuing on to Dorasan, near the North Korean border.

KTX

There is a depot for Korea Train Express (KTX) trains along the Gyeongui Line at Haengsin Station. Some KTX services thus continue beyond Seoul respective Yongsan Station and terminate at Haengsin Station.

The line may see more KTX service after the upgrade for 230 km/h considered in the government's strategic plan for 2020.

Stations

Gyeongui Railway stations

Station #	Station	Hangeul	Hanja	Connecting lines	Station type	Doors open
K310	Yongsan	용산	龍山	x16px  Gyeongui–​Jungang   Shinbundang  (2018) Honam Jeolla Saemaul-ho services Mugunghwa-ho services	Aboveground
K311	Hyochang (June, 2015)	효창	孝昌		Underground
K312	Gongdeok	공덕	孔德	x16px	Underground
K313	Sogang Univ.	서강대	西江大		Underground
K314	Hongik Univ.	홍대입구	弘大入口		Underground
via Gyeongui Line
K315	Gajwa	가좌	加佐		Underground/Aboveground	Left
K316	Digital Media City	디지털미디어시티		x16px	Aboveground	Left
K317	Susaek	수색	水色		Aboveground	Left
via Gyeongui Line, in Gyeonggi-do
K318	Hwajeon (Korea Aerospace Univ.)	화전 (한국항공대)	花田 (韓國航空大)		Aboveground	Left
K319	Gangmae	강매	江梅		Aboveground
K320	Haengsin	행신	幸信	Gyeongbu HSR Gyeongbu Honam Gyeongjeon Jeolla	Aboveground	Left
K321	Neunggok	능곡	陵谷		Aboveground	Left
K322	Daegok	대곡	大谷	x16px	Aboveground	Left
K323	Goksan	곡산	谷山		Aboveground	Left
K324	Baengma	백마	白馬		Aboveground	Left
K325	Pungsan	풍산	楓山		Aboveground	Left
K326	Ilsan	일산	一山		Aboveground	Right
K327	Tanhyeon	탄현	炭峴		Aboveground	Left
K328	Yadang (planned)	야당			Aboveground
K329	Unjeong	운정	雲井		Aboveground	Left
K330	Geumneung	금릉	金陵		Aboveground	Left
K331	Geumchon	금촌	金村		Aboveground	Left
K332	(planned)				Aboveground
K333	Wollong	월롱	月籠		Aboveground	Left
K334	Paju (Doowon Technical College)	파주 (두원대학)	坡州 (斗源大學)		Aboveground	Left
K335	Munsan	문산	汶山		Aboveground	Random

Seoul Station branch stations

Station #	Station	Hangeul	Hanja	Connecting lines	Station type	Doors open
P313	Seoul	서울	首爾	x16px Gyeongbu HSR Gyeongbu Saemaul-ho services Mugunghwa-ho services	Aboveground	Random
P314	Sinchon	신촌	新村		Aboveground	Right
K315	Gajwa	가좌	加佐		Aboveground	Left

Stations after Munsan

Station #	Station	Hangeul	Hanja	Connecting lines	Station type	Doors open
	Uncheon	운천	雲泉		Aboveground
	Imjingang	임진강	臨津江		Aboveground
	Dorasan	도라산	都羅山		Aboveground

See also

• Korail
• Gyeongui–Jungang Line
• Seoul Metropolitan Subway
• Pyongui Line
• Pyongbu Line
• Transportation in North Korea
• Transportation in South Korea

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons