|
North Korea Transportation and Communications
Railroads
Railroads, the main means of transportation, had a total
route length of 5,045 kilometers in 1990. In 1990 railroads
hauled 90 percent of all freight, with 7 percent carried on roads
and 3 percent of transport hauled by water. The comparative
figures for passenger traffic were 62 percent, 37 percent, and 1
percent, respectively. By 1990 approximately 63 percent of the
rail network was electrified, an important factor in improving
traction capacity in mountainous terrain. Two major lines run
north-south, one each along the east and west coasts. Two eastwest lines connect P'yongyang and Wnsan by a central and a
southerly route, and a part of a third link line constructed in
the 1980s connects provinces in the mountainous far north near
the Chinese border
(see
fig. 7). The railroad system is linked
with those of China and Russia, although gauge inconsistencies
necessitated some dual gauging with Russia. The Third Seven-Year
Plan targeted an increase of 60 percent for railroad traffic
through continued efforts in electrification, development of
centralized and containerized transport, and modernization of
transport management.
Data as of June 1993
|
