Gyeonginseon

Gyeonginseon
Gyeonginseon from Seoul to Incheon
Route number :	301 ( KR )
Route length:	27.0 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	(continuous) 25 kV / 60 Hz  ~
Dual track :	( Four tracks ) Guro – Dongincheon (two tracks ) Dongincheon – Incheon
Legend Gyeongbu Line 0.0 Guro 구로 Gyeongbu Line 1.4 Guil 구일 2.4 Gaebong 개봉 3.7 Oryu-dong 오류동 5.6 Onsu 온수 change from U7 Seoul Seoul / Bucheon border 6.9 Yeokgok 역곡 8.4 Sosa 소사 9.5 Bucheon 부천 11.2 Jung-dong 중동 12.2 Songnae 송내 Highway 100 (Seoul Ring Expressway) Bucheon / Incheon border 13.4 Bugae 부개 14.9 Bupyeong 부평 Transfer from U1 Incheon 16.6 Baegun 백운 18.1 Dongam 동암 19.3 Ganseok 간석 20.5 Juan 주안 Transfer from U2 Incheon Highway 120 (Gyeongin Expressway) 21.5 Dohwa 도화 22.5 Jemulpo 제물포 23.9 Dowon 도원 25.1 Dongincheon 동인천 27.0 Incheon 인천 Transfer from Suin S-Bahn line

The railway line from Seoul to Incheon is called Gyeonginseon (Korean 경인선, Seon for "line"). It was the first railway line to be built in Korea .

History until 1945

Construction phase

The history of this railway line began with the award of a concession on March 29, 1896 by the Korean King Gojong to the American businessman James R. Morse, who lived in Yokohama. The concession comprised a rail line in standard gauge from Chemulpo (today's Incheon) to Seoul. Construction of the line began about a year after the concession was granted .

Japanese showed a keen interest in this railway line. On December 1, 1897, a Japanese bank made funds available for the construction of the line and was given a lien. Even before the railway line was completed, the Seoul-Chemulpo Railway Co. Ltd. on December 31, 1899 to a Japanese consortium.

During the construction phase of the railway line from Seoul to Busan , the line was taken over on February 25, 1903 by the Japanese Seoul-Busan Railway Company. This railway company was acquired by the Japanese government as early as 1906. Thus, the line belonged to the Japanese state railway network until the end of World War II .

route

After about 2 years of construction, the 32 km long single-track section from Incheon to the Noryangjin station on the bank of the Hangang was opened on September 18, 1899. The remaining 10 km to the capital Seoul were completed by July 1900, the slope being crossed by a 600 m long bridge. The route ended in Seoul at Seodaemun station (large west gate) or at the station near Namdaemun (large south gate), today's Seoul Station.

After the completion of the railway line from Seoul to Busan in 1904, the section from Seoul to the branch to Yeongdeungpo station belonged to this main line. The Gyeonginseon has started at this junction since then.

business

City map of Incheon (ca.1930) with a railway line

In 1901 there were six train connections each from Seoul to Incheon with a journey time of around 105 minutes. The train with a steam locomotive, two passenger cars and a baggage car stopped at about eight intermediate stations. After repair work between 1906 and 1908, the travel time could be reduced to 90 minutes. In 1914, the route was served by nine train connections every two hours.

History from 1945

After the military coup in 1961 , the expansion of the railway line was included in the first five-year plan. Starting from Yeongdeungpo Station, two more tracks were laid to Dongincheon Station in Incheon, which opened in 1965.

The railway line, which is now part of Seoul Subway Line 1 , was one of the first lines in South Korea to be electrified with 25 kV / 60 Hz AC traction current .

Gyeonginseon near Jemulpo Station

swell

• Hermann Lautensach : Korea. A country study based on my own travels and literature . KF Koehler Verlag, Leipzig 1945.
• Preyer-Elberfeld, Dr. in Archiv für Eisenbahnwesen, pp. 402-418, pp. 720-743: The railways in Korea . Published by Julius Springer, 1914.
• Andrei Lankov: The Dawn of Modern Korea . Publisher EunHaeng NaMu, Seoul 2007 (English).
• Gertrud Claussen (Ed.): Foreign home Korea . Simon & Magiera Verlag, Munich 1983.
• Angus Hamilton: Korea. The land of dawn . Published by Otto Spamer, Leipzig 1904.
• Korean Tourism Office: Guide to Korea . 2007/2008.

Notes / individual evidence

1. ^ 1. Preyer-Elberfeld, Dr. The railways in Korea give December 18, 1899.
      2. In the English Wiki under Gyeongin Line there is an opening date on September 18, 1899.
      3. Andrei Lankov: The Dawn of Modern Korea states September 19, 1899.
2. ^ Preyer-Elberfeld, Dr. The railways in Korea specify Seodaemun station as the final stop in Seoul.
3. ^ Angus Hamilton Korea. The Land of Dawn specifies Namdaemun Station as the final stop in Seoul.
4. ↑ Information from Gertrud Claussen (Ed.): Fremde Heimat Korea .
5. ↑ Information from Angus Hamilton Korea. The land of dawn .