The Chungbuk Line () is a railway line serving North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. The line connects Jochiwon on the Gyeongbu Line to Bongyang on the Jungang Line, serving the major cities of Cheongju and Chungju en route. Cheongju International Airport is located near the rail line.
History Prewar The first section of the line was opened by the privately owned Chōsen Central Railway in 1921, which became part of the Chōsen Railway (Chōtetsu) in 1923.Establishment of the Chosen Railway, Dong-A Ilbo, 3 September 1923 (in Korean) Chōtetsu then continued to extend the line until 1928 to Chungju as follows: Date Section Length 1 November 1921 Jochiwon–Cheongju 22.7 km 1 May 1923 Cheongju–Cheongan (Jeungpyeong) 23.9 km 25 December 1928 Cheongan–Chungju 47.4 km
Plans existed to continue the line from Chungju to Yeongwol, but after the end of Japanese rule this plan was abandoned until 1949, after which the extension was built as the Korean National Railroad's Taebaek Line.
In the November 1942 timetable, the last issued prior to the start of the Pacific War, Chōtetsu operated the following schedule of local passenger services ("R" indicates that train was operated by railcar):Tōa Travel Co. (東亜旅行社), Ministry of Railways Combined Timetable 1 November 1942 (鐵道省編纂時刻表昭和17年11月1日)
Dist.↓ Price K. yen 1 101R 3 5 103R 7 105R 9 Station name Dist.↑ PriceK. yen 10 2 102R 4 104R 6 106 8 2nd cl. 3rd cl. 2nd cl. 3rd cl. 0.0 - - 07:40 08:48 11:40 14:00 16:10 17:30 18:40 20:50 Jochiwon 94.0 6.60 3.30 06:28 09:31 08:25 12:25 14:47 15:51 18:15 20:21 22.7 1.70 0.85 08:45 09:29 12:50 15:30 16:52 18:40 19:22 21:32 Cheongju 71.3 5.00 2.50 05:50 08:50 07:40 11:40 14:05 15:10 17:30 19:40 94.0 6.60 3.30 11:06 ... 15:11 17:56 ... 20:58 ... ... Chungju 0.0 - - ... 06:00 ... 08:50 ... 12:10 ... 16:50
Postwar Like the other private railways this line was also nationalized after the independence of Korea. The rest section of the line was opened on January 10, 1959.
Upgrade The double-track construction began on October 20, 1975, and on October 17, 1980, 113.2 km between Jochiwon and Bongyang was double-tracked. During the double-track construction, some sections were relocated. The entire line was electrified on 30 March 2005.
On September 1, 2010, the South Korean government announced a strategic plan to reduce travel times from Seoul to 95% of the country to under 2 hours by 2020. As part of the plan, the Chungbuk Line is to be upgraded for 230 km/h and may see KTX service.
The movie Peppermint Candy was shot near Gongjeon station.
Route StationHangulHanjaConnecting linesand servicesStationdistanceLinedistanceLocation kmJochiwon 조치원 鳥致院 0.0 0.0 Sejong Jochiwon Osong 오송 五松 Gyeongbu HSROsong LineO-Train 4.4 4.4 N. Chungcheong Cheongju Cheongju 청주 淸州 7.0 11.4 Ogeunjang 오근장 梧根場 10.1 21.5 Cheongju Int'l Airport 청주공항 淸州空港 2.9 24.4 Naesu 내수 內秀 4.4 28.8 Jeungpyeong 증평 曾坪 7.8 36.6 Jeungpyeong County Doan 도안 道安 6.2 42.8 Bocheon 보천 甫川 8.7 51.5 Eumseong County Eumseong 음성 陰城 8.1 59.6 Soi 소이 蘇伊 4.5 64.1 Judeok 주덕 周德 7.8 71.9 Chungju Dalcheon 달천 達川 7.0 78.9 Chungju 충주 忠州 Jungbunaeryuk Line 3.8 82.7 Mokhaeng 목행 牧杏 5.4 88.1 Dongnyang 동량 東良 4.6 92.7 Samtan 삼탄 三灘 7.9 100.6 Gongjeon 공전 公田 5.8 106.4 Jecheon Bongyang 봉양 鳳陽 8.6 115.0
Original route + 忠北線 - 충북선 - Chūhoku Line - Chungbuk Line Distance Station name Total; km S2S; km Transcribed, Korean Transcribed, Japanese Hunminjeongeum Hanja/Kanji Connections 0.0 0.0 Jochiwon Chōchiin 조치원 鳥致院 Sentetsu Gyeongbu Line 4.4 4.4 Osong Goshō 오송 五松 7.7 3.3 Wolgok Gekkoku 월곡 月谷 22.7 18.3 Cheongju Shōshū 청주 淸州 32.8 10.1 Ogeunjang Gokonjō 오근장 梧根場 40.1 7.3 Naesu Naishū 내수 內秀 47.9 7.8 Cheongan Shōan 청안 清安 62.8 14.9 Bocheon Fusen 보천 甫川 70.9 8.1 Eumseong Injō 음성 陰城 75.4 4.5 Soi Soi 소이 蘇伊 83.2 7.8 Daesowon Taishōin 대소원 大召院 94.0 10.8 Chungju Chūshū 충주 忠州
See also Korail Transportation in South Korea
References
Bibliography 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, p 507