International service
Until the division of Korea following the end of the Second World War, the Gyeongui Line and Gyeongwon Line extended into what is now North Korea. The Gyeongui Line connected Seoul to Kaesong, Pyongyang, and Sinuiju on the Chinese border, while the Gyeongwon Line served Wonsan on the east coast. Another line—the Kumgangsan Electric Railway—connected the town of Cheorwon, now on the border of North and South Korea, on the Gyeongwon Line, to Mt. Geumgang, now in the North.
The Gyeongui Line is one of two lines whose southern and northern halves are now being reconnected, the other line being the Donghae Bukbu Line. On 17 May 2007, two test trains ran on the reconnected lines: one on the west line from Munsan to Kaesong; the second on the east from Jejin to Kumgang.[10]
In December 2007, regular freight service started on the Gyeongui line, from South Korea into the Kaesong Industrial Park in the north. The service has been underutilized, however: as it was reported in October 2008, on 150 out of 163 return trips that had been done so far, the train carried no cargo at all. The total amount of cargo carried over this period had been merely 340 tons. This absence of interest in the service has been explained by the customers' (companies operating in Kaesong) preference for road transport.[11] In November 2008, North Korea shut down the link. However, railroad transportation from South Korea to North Korea resumed again on 30 November 2018, when a South Korean train carrying railroad inspectors entered North Korea.[12][13]
A Trans-Korean Main Line, spanning North Korea and connecting to Russian Railways, is being planned.[14] On 30 November 2018, 30 officials from North and South Korea began an 18-day survey in both Koreas to connect the Korean railroads.[15][16] The survey, which had previously been obstructed by the Korean Demilitarized Zone's (DMZ) "frontline" guard posts and landmines located at the DMZ's Arrowhead Hill, consists of a 400 km-long railroad section between Kaesong and Sinuiju that cuts through the North's central region and northeastern coast.[17] The railway survey, which involved the inspection of the Gyeongui Line, concluded on 5 December 2018.[18] On 8 December 2018, an inter-Korean survey began in both Koreas for the Donghae Line.[19]
On 13 December 2018, it was announced that the groundbreaking ceremony to symbolize the reconnection of the roads and railways in both Koreas will be held on 26 December 2018 in the North Korean city of Kaesong.[20][21] On 17 December 2018, the latest inter-Korean railway survey, which involved an 800-km rail from Kumgangsan near the inter-Korean border to the Tumen River bordering Russia in the east, was completed.[22] A potential threat to the groundbreaking ceremony emerged after it was revealed that the North Korean railway was in poor condition.[22] On 21 December 2018, however, the United States agreed to no longer obstruct plans by both Koreas to hold a groundbreaking ceremony.[23] The same day, a four-day inter-Korean road survey began when ten working-level South Korean surveyors entered North Korea to work with ten North Korean surveyors on a three-day survey 100-km-long section on the eastern Donghae Line.[24] On 24 December 2018, the four-day road survey, which will assist with the groundbreaking ceremony for the railroad, was completed after a separate team of ten South Korean surveyors entered North Korea and joined ten North Korean surveyors to survey a 4-km-long road in Kaesong.
JR Kyushu offered a jet foil ferry service between Busan and Fukuoka taking about 3 hours. KORAIL and JR West had a joint rail pass (called ) which included discounted KTX and Shinkansen tickets and Busan-Shimonoseki/Fukuoka ferry tickets, but the pass was discontinued due to low ridership. In 2024, the service was discontinued owing to various safety issues deemed irrepairable.[27]
There are no railway connections between both countries. The Korean Strait undersea tunnel connecting Fukuoka and Busan via Tsushima had been proposed as far back as 1917, but the plan has never progressed beyond the research phase. While the increased wealth of South Korea and continued growth of trade between the nations has made the economic case for the tunnel more compelling, promotion has focused more on using the project to reduce political tension between the nations.[28]
- 🇰🇵 North Korea (Korean State Railway):
