The Temporary Military Railway Office (Japanese: 臨時軍用鐵道監部, Rinji Gun'yō Tetsudō Kanbu; Korean: 임시 군용 철도 감부, Imsi Gunyong Cheoldo Ganbu), was a pseudo-corporate entity established by the Imperial Japanese Army to build and operate the Gyeongui Line railway from Gyeongseong (today: Seoul) to Sinuiju.[1]
It opened the second railway line on the Korean peninsula in April 1906, and was nationalised to create the National Railway in September of the same year.
History
Construction of a railway line running north from Hanseong had been envisioned since the end of the 19th century, but the lack of funding led to the failure of several attempts.[1] Over the last five years of the century several abortive attempts were made to that end. In 1896 the French Fives Lille obtained the rights to build a railway line in Korea, but after failing to secure the necessary funding, the rights were transferred to the "Korean Railway Company" (대한철도회사, Daehan Cheoldohoesa) in 1899. However, this attempt likewise went nowhere. Finally, in 1900, the government-owned "Western Railway" (서부철도회사, Seobu Cheoldohoesa) began surveying a route for a railway from Gyeongseong to Gaeseong. Construction of what was to become the first section of the