Suryeo Line

Suryeo Line
Overview
Native name	수려선(水驪線)
Type	Passenger/freight rail
Status	Ceased operation
Locale	Gyeonggi
Termini	Suwon Yeoju
Stations	21
Operation
Opened	1 December 1930
Closed	31 March 1972
Owner	Korean National Railroad
Operator(s)	Korean National Railroad
Technical
Line length	73.4 km (45.6 mi)
No. of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	762 mm (2 ft 6 in)
Route map Legend Suin Line (former and planned line) Gyeongbu Line 0.0 Suwon Bundang Line 3.0 Hwaseong (Bon–Suwon) 6.5 Weoncheon ↑Suwon/Yongin↓ 9.0 Deokgok Since 1932 Gyeongbu Expressway 12.5 Singal Giheung, Bundang Line Giheung Kangnam Univ. Jiseok 15.9 Eojeong Dongbaek Chodang Samga 21.8 Samga,City Hall–Yongin Univ. Myongji Univ. Gimryangjang 24.1 Yongin Stadium–Songdam College  EverLine  28.4 Mapyeong 31.9 Yangji 35.4 Jeil Yeongdong Expressway ↑Yongin/Icheon↓ 40.0 Ocheon 45.7 Pyogyo 49.4 Yusan 53.1 Icheon 57.6 Muchon 59.7 Jukdang Since 1932 ↑Icheon/Yeoju↓ 64.4 Maeryu 67.0 Gwangdaeri Since 1966 69.7 Yeonrari 73.4 Yeoju

Suryeo Line
Hangul	수려선
Hanja	水驪線
Revised Romanization	Suryeoseon
McCune–Reischauer	Suryŏsŏn

The Suryeo Line is a former narrow-gauge railway line owned by Korean National Railroad. The line connected Suwon to Yeoju.

History

The first section of the line was opened by a private railway company, Chosun–Gyeongdong Railway Co. Ltd. in 1930 and in the next year the construction was complete as follows:

Date	Section	Length
1 December 1930	Suwon–Icheon	53.1 km
1 December 1931	Icheon–Yeoju	20.3 km

The line was bought on 16 October 1942 by the Chosun Railway Company^[1] and after the independence of Korea nationalized. After the first opening of the Yeongdong Expressway, the demand diminished abruptly and the line was after all abandoned on 31 March 1972. The Everline was finally opened on 26 April 2013 and the section Giheung – Stadium–Songdam College coincides almost with the former Suryeo line.^[2]

Future plans

Neither the Ministry of Construction and Transportation nor Korail have reconstruction plans for the Suryeo Line as a whole. However, part of the line was reconstructed as a part of the Yongin Everline, and another part of the line will serve as a section of the Yeoju Line, allowing Yeoju to have a rail connection with Seongnam and Icheon.

Rolling stock

The Suryeo line used narrow gauge steam locomotives, narrow gauge freight cars, KNR160 diesel cars, and KNR18000 passenger cars. After closure, all rolling stock was sent to the Suin Line. Examples of KNR160 and KNR18000 cars are have been preserved in the Korean Railroad Museum in Uiwang.

The Yeoju Line, which will follow part of the Suryeo Line, will use Korail Class 371000 EMUs. The Yongin Everline, which follows another part of the Suryeo Line, uses Bombardier Innovia Metro Mark II cars.

See also

• Korail
• Transportation in South Korea
• List of Korea-related topics

References

1. 朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 4729, 4 November 1942
2. 百年の鉄道旅行(The railway travel-100 years): The map of the section Singal – Yongin (Japanese)

• Japanese Government Railways (1937), 鉄道停車場一覧. 昭和12年10月1日現在(The List of the Stations as of 1 October 1937), Kawaguchi Printing Company, Tokyo, p514