Korail - International Service

International Service

• North Korea: Yes, same gauge - but not generally available

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 Kumgang-san Line—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.

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. In November 2008, North Korea shut down the link.

A Trans-Korean Main Line, spanning North Korea and connecting to Russian Railways, is planned.

• Japan No

There's no railroad connection between South Korea and Japan. But Korail and JR West have a joint rail pass(한일공동승차권) which includes discounted KTX and Shinkansen ticket with Busan-Shimonoseki/Fukuoka ferry ticket. A Korean Strait undersea tunnel was proposed, but both government and rail companies seems to have no interest in this ultra-long tunnel project.