Kumgangsan Electric Railway

Kŭmgangsan Electric Line
Overhead lines
Route map Legend Kyŏngwŏn Line 0.0 Ch'ŏrwŏn Kyŏngwŏn Line 1.6 Sayo 3.2 East Ch'ŏrwŏn 6.0 Dongsong 10.3 Yangji 14.2 Igil 17.5 Chŏngyŏn 21.5 Yugok 24.5 Kŭmgok 28.8 Kimhwa 33.0 Kwangsam ↑Ch'ŏrwŏn-gun ROK–DPRK Border 36.3 Haso 40.1 Haengjŏng ↑P'yŏnggang/Kimhwa↓ 45.8 Paegyang 51.0 Kŭmsŏng 54.0 Kyŏngp'a 59.6 T'an'gam ↑Kimhwa/Changdo↓ 65.6 South Ch'angdo 67.6 Ch'angdo 75.3 Kisŏng Closed in 1944 82.7 Hyŏlli Closed in 1944 90.0 Top'a Closed in 1944 94.7 Hwagye Closed in 1944 99.3 Oryang Closed in 1944 ↑Changdo/Kŏmgang↓ 104.8 Tanballyŏng Closed in 1944 108.0 Malhwiri Closed in 1944 112.4 Pyŏngmu Closed in 1944 116.6 Naegŭmgang Closed in 1944

The Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway, later known as the Kŭmgangsan Line, was a railway line that formerly ran between

Kume then set out to gather others to support and promote the project.

With a group finally in place, on 25 March 1919, an application was submitted to the Government-General of Korea for permission to build the railway, along with an application for subsidies, and on 25 June applications for permission to build the necessary power plants were submitted. On 11 August 1919, all of these applications were approved, clearing the way for the realisation of the railway project.[4]

On 22 August 1919, a meeting was held for the organisation of the Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway Company, Ltd., and 100,000 shares were issued to raise funds for the project, of which 20,000 were allocated for the recruitment of general investors. The economic boom and the optimism of the post-First World War period played a major role in the great interest in these shares.^[4] Finally, on 16 December 1919 the general meeting to establish the Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway Company, Ltd. Taminosuke Kume was elected president, and the company was officially registered on 22 December.^[4]

In September 1920, construction of the tunnels necessary for the

As of March 1924, the Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway Company was the third largest of the 39 electric utilities in all Korea.[4]

Opening of the Railway and its Heyday (1924 to 1942)

The Government-General of Korea had a system of

Although the construction of the hydroelectric power stations and the railway itself proceeded smoothly despite the severe winter climate and the difficult terrain, two significant difficulties surfaced to present challenges to the Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway. The worldwide economic depression affected Japan and Korea along with the rest of the world, and though the company's shares were quickly bought up, the financial troubles of the investors led to about 7,000 shares being bought back by the company's president and executives; the directors went to great lengths to ensure the survival of the company, to the extent that president Taminosuke Kume sold his estate in Yoyogi for 2 million yen.^[4]

After the opening of the initial section from Ch'ŏrwŏn to Kimhwa, construction of the line proceeded in stages.

Construction of the Tanpallyŏng Tunnel began on 15 June 1928 and was completed on 15 September 1929.^[4]

The Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway's 116.6 km (72.5 mi) line finally reached Naegŭmgang on 1 July 1931, with trains over the entire length of the route beginning on that day. However, president Kume failed to see the realisation of his dream, having died on 24 May 1931.^[4] He was succeeded as president by Kyōhei Magoshi. A station was opened at South Changdo on 1 May 1936.^[9]

In addition to 140,000 additional shares being issued in November 1926, a further 240,000 shares of 50 yen per share value were issued in 1932. Besides the railway, the company was also engaged in business as an electric utility, supplying electricity from its power plants to the area. Total income for the first half of 1931 was ¥843,168.2 sen, of which ¥248,760.30 was profit, ¥125,116.19 was carryover, and ¥477,175.12 was government subsidies - and ¥160,000 of the profits went straight to repaying interest on bonds and loans. The depression affected all the private railways in Korea. A number of them ended up being nationalised by the Railway Bureau and absorbed into Sentetsu, and for a time the nationalisation of the Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway was considered, too.^[4]

By the mid-1930s, however, the economy turned around, and both passenger and freight transport along the line was booming. Tourists flocked to the railway, taking advantage of the available single and group tours, and in 1936 the line carried approximately 154,000 passengers.

Flooding was a major problem faced by the railway. Flood damage occurred in 1925, 1929, 1930, 1933, and 1936, and power generation facilities, power transmission facilities, and the railway were damaged on numerous occasions. In 1936, leakage occurred at the main power plant, Chungdae-ri Power Station which hindered the ability to generate power. Senior Managing Director Keijirō Okamoto ordered large-scale renovation work to be done. This was completed in 1937, restoring the power generation capabilities completely.[4]

Plans were drawn up to build a new line from Malhwiri on the mainline to Oegŭmgang on Sentetsu's Donghae Bukbu Line^[11] (today called Kŭmgangsan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Station on the Korean State Railway's Kŭmgangsan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line^[3]). However, due to the ruggedness of the eastern side of the mountains, as well as the political situation after the Sino-Japanese War and the outbreak of the Pacific War, these plans were never realised.^[4]

Wartime merger and the end of the war (1942 to 1945)

The "glory days" of the late 1930s and the early 1940s made the future of the Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway look bright. However, this was abruptly cut short by the outbreak of the Pacific War.

As early as 1931, there were plans to consolidate the various electric utilities of the central Chungbu region of Korea, in which the Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway was located, into a single company. However, President Ōhashi of the Kyŏngsŏng Electric Co. was strongly opposed to the merger due to the fact that the Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway was receiving government subsidies for railway projects, and he felt that this could bring about unnecessary interference from the Government-General.^[4]

However, the outbreak of the war changed circumstances, and wartime considerations led to the merger of all electric utilities on the Korean Peninsula into four regional companies, north, central, west, and south. The Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway was the most powerful of the companies to be merged in the central region, and so its merger with the Kyŏngsŏng Electric Company was the last to take place. The Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway Company was absorbed by the Kyŏngsŏng Electric Company on 1 January 1942, and from then on, the railway line was known as the Kŭmgangsan Electric Line of the Kyŏngsŏng Electric Company.^[4]

When Sentetsu began to implement its plans to electrify its

By 1944, Japan's situation in the war had deteriorated considerably. Having been used almost exclusively for tourist use, the 49.0 km (30.4 mi) Changdo−Naegumgang section was deemed unimportant and was closed on 1 October 1944.[16] The section was dismantled, with rails and other useful elements being removed for reuse on Sentetsu lines more important to the war effort.^[4] However, the Ch'ŏrwŏn−Changdo section remained in use to continue exploiting the iron sulphide deposits at Changdo. All operations on the Kŭmgangsan line were suspended on 15 August 1945.^[4]

After liberation (1945 to 1950)

After the end of the Pacific War, Korea was

The line was in large part destroyed by the Korean War, and the Military Demarcation Line established by the ceasefire in 1953 led to the division of the line between the two Koreas, as the armistice line ran between the stations of Kwangsam and Haso; everything south of Kwangsam ended up in South Korea, and everything north of Haso ended up in the DPRK.^[4] Although service on the DPRK's portion of the former Kyŏngwŏn Line was restored after the war (becoming today's Kangwŏn Line^[3]), the Kŭmgangsan Line was never rebuilt.^[4]

Present situation of the line

As it is bisected by the MDL and the DMZ, it is difficult to access the remains of the South Korean portion of the line. However, the Hant'an'gang Bridge built in 1926 still stands, and is designated as South Korea's "Registered Cultural Property No. 112". Poles to support the overhead catenary are still in place on the bridge, and the bridge can be accessed on foot.^[10]

The section on the Northern side is partially submerged as a result of the construction of the Imnam Dam, but some traces, such as bridge piers, can still be found, and certain segments of the right of way can be seen in aerial and satellite photos.^[18]

Route information

• Route length: 116.6 km (72.5 mi)
• Operating agency:
  • 1924-1942: Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway Co. Ltd.
  • 1942-1945: Kyŏngsŏng Electric Co. Ltd.
  • 1945-1950: Korean State Railway
• Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8.5 in)
• Operation: Left hand running
• Number of stations: 28
• Double tracked: none
• Electrification: 1500 V DC overhead line

The entire line was built to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8.5 in)

Between Tanballyŏng and Malhwiri was a significant switchback, which has since been converted to a road.^[1]

Operation

Right from the start, the railway's purpose was the opening of Mount Kŭmgang to mass tourism. As such, when the trains from Ch'ŏrwŏn to Kimwha began operation, a connecting bus service from Kimhwa to Naegŭmgang was begun at the same time. As the rail line was extended in stages to Kŭmsŏng, T'an'gam, Changdo, Hyŏlli, Hwagye, and Kŭmganggu (later Malhwiri), the bus run was shortened in turn, beginning at the then-current terminus of the railway. When the railway was completed to Naegŭmgang, this bus service was abolished.^[4] The Korea Expo held from 12 September to 31 October 1929 played a major role in establishing the Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway, carrying a large number of Korean tourists to Mount Kŭmgang. After the line was completed to Naegŭmgang, tour packages were put on offer in Japan.^[4]

Service on the trains was initially third-class only, until on 2 August 1931, a month after the opening of the last section of the line to Naegŭmgang, second-class service was inaugurated. During the tourist season, four daily round trips from Ch'ŏrwŏn to Naegŭmgang were operated, along with two or three round trips on the Ch'ŏrwŏn−Changdo and Ch'ŏrwŏn−Kimwha sections. In the off season, there were three daily return trips between Ch'ŏrwŏn and Naegŭmgang. The trip between Ch'ŏrwŏn and Naegŭmgang took approximately four hours.^[4] A ticket between Ch'ŏrwŏn and Naegŭmgang was 7.56 Korean yen - the equivalent of a sack of rice.^[10]

During the tourist season, sightseeing busses operated from Naegŭmgang, and various sightseeing tours were offered, along with discounted tourist tickets. Occasional special trains were also run during the peak season. Between May and October, a direct service between

Passenger trains were made up of four-car electric trainsets with second- and third-class compartments in addition to baggage rooms. The Sentetsu through sleeper between Kyŏngsŏng and Naegŭmgang was attached to or detached from the electric trainset at Ch'ŏrwŏn.^[19]

In addition to passenger traffic, the movement of freight was also an important source of revenue for the Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway, with shipments of ore making up the bulk of all transportation during the November−April off season. Most of the freight was

The Kŭmgangsan Electric Railway primarily operated self-powered electric railcars. There were a total of fourteen of various types that were built by

Trains were usually made up of three cars (DeRoHaNi plus two DeHa) in the off season, whilst in peak seasons, a fourth car was added. The addition of a Sentetsu sleeping car on the Kyŏngsŏng−Naegŭmgang overnight service counted as the fifth car on certain tourist-season trains.[19]

Several types of electric railcar were in use, including:

• DeHa 100-class - third class.^[21]
• DeHaNi 100-class - third class with baggage compartment.^[22] Built in 1931 by Nippon Sharyō.
• DeRoHaNi 100-class - second/third class with baggage compartment. Similar to the 2200 series electric railcars of the Sangū Express Electric Railway, and to the Shin Keihan Railway's P-6 class, five were built in 1931 by Nippon Sharyō.^[7] One of these, number 102, is preserved at the P'yŏngyang Railway Museum.^[23]

References