Namheung Line

The Namheung Line (南興線, Nankō-sen) was a 762 mm (30.0 in) narrow gauge railway line of the Chōsen Railway (Chōtetsu) of colonial-era Korea, located in South Hamgyeong Province, serving an industrial area south of the city of Hamheung.[1]

Namheung Line
Overview
Native name남흥선 (南興線)
StatusOperational (see text)
OwnerSinheung Railway (1934–1938)
Chōsen Railway (1938–1945)
LocaleSouth Hamgyeong
Termini
Stations10
Service
TypeHeavy rail, Regional rail
Passenger/Freight
Operator(s)Sinheung Railway;
Chōsen Railway
Depot(s)Singuryong
History
Opened1934–1936
Technical
Line length18.5 km (11.5 mi)
Number of tracksSingle track
Track gauge762 mm (2 ft 6 in)
Route map

km
West Hamheung
00.0
(Nishi-Kankō)
Hamheung
01.1
(Kankō)
Sapo
01.2
(Shaho)
Sangsu
03.5
(Jōsui)
Seongcheongang
05.9
(Jōsenkō)
Heungdeok
07.6
(Kōtoku)
Unjung
09.0
(Unchū)
Singuryong
10.8
(Shinkyūryū)
Cheongiri
13.9
(Tenkiri)
Naeho
15.6
(Naiko)
Seohojin
17.5
(Seikoshin)
Key:
narrow gauge
standard gauge

History

The Chōsen Forestry Railway extended its Hamnam Line from Oro to Jangpung on 25 August 1923, and at the same time opened West Hamheung Station between Hamheung and Heungsang, 1.1 km (0.68 mi) from Hamheung.;[2] later that year, it merged with five other companies to form the Chōsen Railway.[3] Eleven years later, this new station would become the starting point for a new line to serve factories being opened to the south of the city. The first section, running 14.9 km (9.3 mi) from West Hamheung to Cheongiri, was opened on 11 May 1934. Two years later the line was extended, first with a 1.7 km (1.1 mi) section from Cheongiri to Naeho on 5 March, followed by another 1.7 km (1.1 mi) section from Naeho to Seohojin on the Chōsen Government Railway's Hamgyeong Line opened on 15 December. The Sinheung Railway was absorbed by Chōtetsu on 22 April 1938,[4] which continued to operate the line until the end of the Pacific War.

After the establishment of North Korea and the nationalisation of its railways, the Namheung Line was renamed Sŏho Line by the Korean State Railway,[1] which subsequently rebuilt the section between Unjung and Seohojin on a new, shorter alignment.[1]

Services

In the November 1942 timetable, the last issued prior to the start of the Pacific War, Chōtetsu operated the following schedule of commuter services:[5]

Dist.
Price
K. yen
357947495153Station nameDist.
Price
K. yen
2481050525458
0.0 - ... ... 06:20 07:00 every
20
min.
20:05 21:00 22:00 23:00 West Hamheung 18.5 0.50 05:51 06:31 07:11 07:51 every
20
min.
21:11 ... 22:39 ...
11.8 0.35 05:40 06:20 06:55 07:35 20:37 21:35 22:35 23:31 Singuryong 6.7 0.25 05:20 06:00 06:40 07:20 20:40 21:09 22:05 23:55
18.5 0.50 06:05 06:45 07:21 08:00 21:02 22:00 23:01 ... Seohojin 0.0 - ... ... ... 06:50 20:10 20:43 21:32 23:30

Route

南興線 - 남흥선 - Nankō Line - Namheung Line
DistanceStation name
Total; km S2S; km Transcribed, Korean Transcribed, Japanese Hunminjeongeum Hanja/Kanji Connections
0.0 0.0 Seohamheung
West Hamheung
Nishi-Kankō 서함흥 西咸興 Hamnam Line
1.2 1.2 Sapo Shaho 사포 沙浦
3.5 2.3 Sangsu Jōsui 상수 上水
5.9 2.4 Seongcheongang Jōsenkō 성천강 城川江
7.6 1.7 Heungdeok Kōtoku 흥덕 興徳
10.0 2.4 Unjung Unchū 운중 雲中
11.8 1.8 Singuryong Shinkyūryū 신구룡 新九龍
14.9 1.6 Cheongiri Tenkiri 천기리 天機里
16.6 1.7 Naeho Naiko 내호 内湖
18.5 1.7 Seohojin Seikoshin 서호진 西湖津 Sentetsu Hamgyeong Line

References

  1. Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), ISBN 978-4-10-303731-6
  2. 朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Taishō No. 3320, 4 September 1923
  3. Establishment of the Chosen Railway, Dong-A Ilbo, 3 September 1923 (in Korean)
  4. 朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 3385, 3 May 1938
  5. Tōa Travel Co. (東亜旅行社), Ministry of Railways Combined Timetable 1 November 1942 (鐵道省編纂時刻表昭和17年11月1日)
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