The Yangsi Line was a non-electrified standard-gauge railway line of the Korean State Railway in North P'yŏngan Province, North Korea, running from Namsi (Yŏmju) on the P'yŏngŭi Line to South Sinŭiju, likewise on the P'yŏngŭi Line, with which it was merged in 1964.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō),
History The privately owned Tasado Railway opened a line from South Sinŭiju interlocking on the Kyŏngŭi Line of Chosen Government Railway (Sentetsu) to Tasado Port via Yangsi, called the Tasado Line, on 31 October 1939,朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa Nr. 3841, 8 November 1939 to provide the Oji Paper Company (today the Sinuiju Chemical Fibre Complex) of Sinŭiju a means of shipping its products out via the port at Tasado, as the Yalu River freezes in winter. Then, on 29 October 1940 the Tasado Railway opened a second line, called the Yangsi Line, from Yangsi to Namsi,朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa Nr. 4136, 4 November 1940 likewise on Sentetsu's Kyŏngŭi Line, to make a southern connection with the mainline to P'yŏngyang and Kyŏngsŏng. On 1 April 1943, Sentetsu nationalised the Sinuiju–Yangsi section of the line,朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa Nr. 4837, 19 March 1943 both Sentetsu's new line, as well as the Tasado Railway's truncated line, kept the "Yangsi Line" name; the Tasado Line was thus shortened to its present-day condition.
After the partition of Korea the line was within the territory of the DPRK, and was nationalised by the Provisional People’s Committee for North Korea along with all other railways in the Soviet zone of occupation on 10 August 1946, to create the Korean State Railway (Kukch'ŏl);Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), at that time, Sentetsu's and the Tasado Railway's sections of the Yangsi Line were re-merged, to return the line to its original route from South Sinŭiju to Namsi. Since the distance between South Sinŭiju and Namsi via the Yangsi Line was nearly shorter than via the original routing of the P'yŏngŭi Line via Paengma, Kukch'ŏl decided to rearrange the lines; thus, the Yangsi Line was made part of the P'yŏngŭi Line, and the original South Sinŭiju–Paengma–Yangsi section was separated to become the Paengma Line in 1964. Electrification of the former Yangsi Line was completed in the same year. Yangsi and Namsi stations were given their current names, Ryongch'ŏn and Yŏmju respectively, sometime after 1964.
Route
Distance Station name Total; km S2S; km OriginalKorean (Japanese) Hunminjŏngŭm(Hanja/Kanji) CurrentKorean Chosŏn'gŭl(Hanja) Connections Notes 0.0 0.0 Namsi (Nanshi) 남시 (南市) Yŏmju 염주 (鹽州) 1939–1945: Kyŏngŭi LinePost-1945: Paengma Line 4.3 4.3 Sujŏng (Suchin) 수정 (壽亭) - - Closed 1944. 7.7 3.4 Naejung (Naichū) 내중 (內中) Naejung 내중 (內中) To P'yŏngŭi Line 1964 10.5 2.8 Tangnyŏng (Tōryō) 당령 (堂嶺) Tangryŏng 당령 (堂嶺) To P'yŏngŭi Line 1964 13.5 3.0 Yongju (Ryōshū) 용주 (龍州) Ryongju 룡주 (龍州) To P'yŏngŭi Line 1964 18.6 5.1 Yangsi (Yōshi) 양시 (楊市) Ryongch'ŏn 룡천 (龍川) 1939–1943: Kyŏngŭi Line To Sentetsu Kyŏngŭi Line 1943 21.9 3.3 Ibam (Ryūgan) 입암 (立巖) Ribam 리암 (立巖) To Sentetsu Kyŏngŭi Line 1943 25.7 3.8 Nagwŏn (Rakugen) 낙원 (樂元) Ragwŏn 락원 (樂元) To Sentetsu Kyŏngŭi Line in 1943. 28.7 3.0 Namsinŭiju (Minami-Shingishū) 남신의주 (南新義州) Namsinŭiju (South Sinŭiju) 남신의주 (南新義州) 1939–1943: Kyŏngŭi LinePost-1964: Paengma Line
References Ministry of Railways (1937), 鉄道停車場一覧. 昭和12年10月1日現在(The List of the Stations), p485