First stage of reconstruction of North Korea – Russia rail line completed

Russia hosts a demonstration train on the rail link between Rajin, North Korea and Hasan. Photo: Russian Railways.

On October 13, the first stage of reconstruction of the railway between Hasan, Russia and Rajin, North Korea was completed.
This section of the railway is part of a pilot project to restore the entire Trans-Korean line and connect it to the Trans-Siberian Railway.
The project will also set up the port of Rajin as a major transit hub, said Russian Railways Senior Vice President Valeriy Reshetnikov.
For three years, specialists from the Russian and Korean railway networks have worked together, and accomplished much.
To date, a new combined track (1520mm and 1435mm) has been laid, connecting the Rajin area with Tumangan on the border with Russia.
The track is 32km long, and serious repair has been carried out along 20km of this track, in addition to much more work.
The next step will be the construction, at the port of Rajin, of modern cargo terminal facilities, which will be designed to handle up to 5 million tonnes of cargo.
There are plans to seriously upgrade the infrastructure of the section of the railway between Baranovsky and Hasan, where the Trans-Korean Railway connects with the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Once the work is complete, the new section of track is expected to yield the shipment of 17 million tons per year.
The total cost for the Hasan – Rajin rail link reconstruction project, including the cost of constructing a container terminal at the port of Rajin, is estimated at 8.3 billion rubles.
The project started three years ago in October of 2008, after an agreement to cooperate was signed between Russian Railways and the Ministry of Railways of North Korea.
Subsequently, in 2009, the joint venture “RasonKonTrans” (70% controlled by Russia, and 30% by North Korea), began the practical phase of the project.