Trans-Korean Main Line

Main article: Transport in North Korea § Railways
Map of existing railway infrastructure in North Korea

The Trans-Korean Main Line is a project to build railway infrastructure in North Korea, and allow rail freight to travel between South Korea and Russia; it is hoped to halve the time taken to transport freight from eastern Asia to Europe[1] and earn substantial transit fees.[2]

In 2001, the leaders of Russia and North Korea signed agreements to construct a rail corridor.[3]

Construction

In 2008, reconstruction work began on a 54 km cross-border rail link between Khasan in Russia, and the port of Rasŏn, via Tumangang both in North Korea;[4] Russian Railways sees this as a first step in construction of a trans-Korean main line.[5] Initially freight is expected to be forwarded by sea from South Korea's second city Busan to Rasŏn; there are also plans to reconstruct a line from Rasŏn to the Chinese border.[6] Further plans are to extend the line along the east coast of the Korean peninsula, across the North/South Korean border to Busan.[7] A line between Onjong-ri and Jojin would be rebuilt.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Russian Railways begins reconstruction of Trans-Korean Main Line : Coordinating Council on Transsiberian Transportation". Retrieved 2010-10-30.
  2. ^ "Unlocking Russian Interests on the Korean Peninsula" (PDF). 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
  3. ^ "Trans-Korean Main Line". 2010-10-30. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
  4. ^ "Railway Gazette: Rajin port accord". Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
  5. ^ "Trans-Korean Main Line – Investment in the Future". Russian Transport Daily Report. 2010-10-29. Archived from the original on 2011-02-27. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
  6. ^ "Railway Gazette: Trans-Korean reconstruction begins". Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
  7. ^ "Comments on the Regional Railroad Network and Power Grid Interconnection" (PDF). 2007-04-12. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
  8. ^ "North Korea-South Korea Railway – Railway Technology". Retrieved 2010-10-30.