Korean rail link still not open

[george matthews]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 010958.stm

N Korea cancels border rail trial
South Koreans work on the new train line
North Korea has cancelled a trial run of trains across the border with the South, an official in Seoul has said.

The first test of the rail link had been scheduled for Thursday - when the trains would have been the first to cross the border in more than 50 years.

[Thomas I]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 010958.stm

N Korea cancels border rail trial
South Koreans work on the new train line
North Korea has cancelled a trial run of trains across the border with the South, an official in Seoul has said.

The first test of the rail link had been scheduled for Thursday - when the trains would have been the first to cross the border in more than 50 years.

There will be no solution before the fascistic dictatorship in North-Korea has fallen...
North-Korea is like a bad remake of Hitler Germany.
And before someone criticizes me now: I was there and know about what I speak...

[David Benton]

Interesting , so what were the trains like ??

[george matthews]

There will be no solution before the fascistic dictatorship in North-Korea has fallen...
North-Korea is like a bad remake of Hitler Germany.
And before someone criticizes me now: I was there and know about what I speak...

I think you are right. However, the plan seems to be to try to soften up the regime by economic connections, such as the free trade zone and rail links. But the regime is so paranoiac that I don't think they will allow even these gradual moves. The rail link is now finished but will it ever be used?

[Komachi]

I think I will "ditto" George and Thomas' remarks and feel that there will be little, if any movement over the link. Any movement will probably be carefuly watched by N. Korean border guards, much like activities at the Berlin Wall, thus making it impractical to use the link.

But, we may be proven wrong...


Thomas I wrote...

"... before someone criticizes me now: I was there and know about what I speak..."

This is not a criticizm, but a question. Do you mean North Korea, or Nazi Germany? (I'm assuming you meant Nazi Germany.)

[Thomas I]

This is not a criticizm, but a question. Do you mean North Korea, or Nazi Germany? (I'm assuming you meant Nazi Germany.)

I'am only 30... I meant North Korea.

[Thomas I]

Interesting , so what were the trains like ??

The whole railroad is in a bad condition. Maybe because the dictator has a faible for motorways...

The passenger cars seemed to correspond to older Russian models.

There were Elloks made in North Korea, called "Red Flag" and Diesel from France, China and Russia (the well-known M62 known also as V200/120 from the Reichsbahn of the GDR).

Funny things: They had converted some Russian class M62 diesel-electric locomotives to electric locomotives....

[george matthews]

The whole railroad is in a bad condition. Maybe because the dictator has a faible for motorways....

But he has a "Royal Train" and took it to Moskva - presumably with change of wheels. Like Stalin he prefers trains to planes.

[David Benton]

what gauge us north and south korean railroads ?

[george matthews]

what gauge us north and south korean railroads ?

Standard European gauge. So when Kim Jong Il takes his royal train to Moskva he needs to change wheels.

[Thomas I]

The whole railroad is in a bad condition. Maybe because the dictator has a faible for motorways....

But he has a "Royal Train" and took it to Moskva - presumably with change of wheels. Like Stalin he prefers trains to planes.

If you had a flight with Koryo Air or if you has seen the planes on Pyongyang Airport you will know why....

[Komachi]

Thomas I quipped...

"If you had a flight with Koryo Air or if you has seen the planes on Pyongyang Airport you will know why.... "

Yeah... I'll stay with Northwest, JAL and/or ANA, thanks.


Okay, so shared gauge on the trains, I thought maybe S. Korea used the standard North American/European gauge, whereas N. Korea would use the broad gauge of the former Soviet Bloc (does China also have the five foot gauge?). I would have thought that besides security measures to prevent contraband moving across the borders, they would have had to do a bogie change as well.

Still, even with the shared gauge, I still don't see this as a practical "portal" between the two states.


Thomas I also disclosed...

"I'am only 30... I meant North Korea."

Something we have in common, Thomas. I will turn 30 later this year.

[kiha40]

Standard European gauge. So when Kim Jong Il takes his royal train to Moskva he needs to change wheels.

Are they standard gauge? Not doubting you, but I thought they might be Cape gauge, since a fair portion of the rail network was built under Imperial Japanese rule, I think.

Do you know if it was in fact standard gauge from the get-go? I was just reading some stuff about the elections that took place last week in South Korea, and that let me to read about Park Geun-hye, which led to some stuff about her father, Park Chung-hee... so on and so forth until I hit upon some information about how what is now the North was the more-industrialized half in the decade or so following the split, because the Japanese had developed it based on its natural resources and proximity to Manchuria.

Trains and global politics!

[Komachi]

Kiha40 wrote...

"Are they standard gauge? Not doubting you, but I thought they might be Cape gauge, since a fair portion of the rail network was built under Imperial Japanese rule, I think.

"... so on and so forth until I hit upon some information about how what is now the North was the more-industrialized half in the decade or so following the split, because the Japanese had developed it based on its natural resources and proximity to Manchuria.

"Trains and global politics!"


Ah yes, a nice little mikan (Manderin Orange) that the Japanese received as "spoils" from China, following the Sino-Japan War (1894-95). Formosa (Taiwan) was awarded as well. Of course, Manshukoku (Manchukuo or Manzhouguo as it was also called by the Chinese) the Japanese name for Manchuria under their occupation), was annexed by Japan in September of 1931 when a section of the Manchurian Railway was blown up (the infamous "Manchurian Incident")... supposedly by Chinese dissadents. Actually, a Japanese military leader acted on his own accord and blew up the line, which had not been sanctioned by the Diet (the national assembly of Japan, which was largely controled by the military at the time). The military leaders, however, backed the general as it was a legitimate excuse to acquire Manchuria.

This led to the establishement of the puppet government headed by the ousted Chinese Emperor Puyi, increased tensions between Japan and China (China refused to diplomatically acknowledge the existence of Manchukoku... although they maintained commercial ties with the new country) as well as the rest of the world (Japan left the League of Nations when the League declared that Japan had no legitimate claim to Manchukoku and that it was still a part of China. China convinced the US to restrict scrap and oil deals with Japan, war broke out between China and Japan in 1937 and between Japan and the US in 1941).

Trains and global politics, as Kiha40 put it.


I, too, would think that the Korean railroads would be of the 3'6" Japanese standard gauge (due to the aforementioned Japanese control), however, South Korea has just implemented (within a year or two) a high-speed rail network using French-built TGV trainsets. So, they could be using the North American/European standard gauge of 4'8.5."

[Thomas I]

China, North amd South-Korea has standard gauge.

In the 1920 and 1930 the Japanse Railways wanted to change from Cape gauge to standard gauge. They used Korea and Manschukuo as an experimental zone with standard gauge because the believed standard gauge permits higher loads and higher speeds.