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Gyeongui Line
The Gyeongui Line is a railway line between Seoul Station and Dorasan Station in Paju. Korail operates the Seoul Metropolitan Subway service between Seoul Station and Dorasan Station.
For the original line's history and other information prior to 1945, see Gyeongui Line (1904–1945).
Originally the line continued to P'yŏngyang and Sinŭiju, where it connected 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 itself at the end of the 19th century, but a shortage of funding resulted in the project's suspension. The Empire of Japan, which gained a 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, recognizing 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.
Freight service on the entirety of the Gyeongui Line was started on April 3, 1906.
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% electrified, 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. On 30 November 2018 an engineers' inspection train from South Korea crossed the border at Dorasan for an assessment, conducted jointly with North Korean officials, of the North's Kaesong to Sinuiju (P'yŏngŭi) line, and rail routes northwards from Mount Kumgang.
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Gyeongui Line
The Gyeongui Line is a railway line between Seoul Station and Dorasan Station in Paju. Korail operates the Seoul Metropolitan Subway service between Seoul Station and Dorasan Station.
For the original line's history and other information prior to 1945, see Gyeongui Line (1904–1945).
Originally the line continued to P'yŏngyang and Sinŭiju, where it connected 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 itself at the end of the 19th century, but a shortage of funding resulted in the project's suspension. The Empire of Japan, which gained a 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, recognizing 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.
Freight service on the entirety of the Gyeongui Line was started on April 3, 1906.
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% electrified, 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. On 30 November 2018 an engineers' inspection train from South Korea crossed the border at Dorasan for an assessment, conducted jointly with North Korean officials, of the North's Kaesong to Sinuiju (P'yŏngŭi) line, and rail routes northwards from Mount Kumgang.