The Daegu Line (Korean대구선) is a railway line in South Korea. The line connects Gacheon station on the Gyeongbu Line in Daegu to Yeongcheon on the Jungang Line. The line is served by frequent passenger trains between Seoul (via the Gyeongbu Line), Dongdaegu, and Gyeongju, Pohang and Ulsan (via the Jungang and Donghae Nambu Lines).

Daegu Line
Overview
Native name대구선(大邱線)
StatusOperational
OwnerKorea National Railway
LocaleDaegu
North Gyeongsang
Termini
Stations8
Service
TypeHeavy rail, Passenger/freight rail
Regional rail, Intercity rail
Operator(s)Korail
History
OpenedStages between 1917–1918
Technical
Line length29.0 km (18.0 mi)
Number of tracksDouble track
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Route map

0.0
Dongdaegu
3.1
Dongchon
Gomo
0.0
Gacheon
5.6
Sinpyeong
8.5
Banyawol
4.3
Geumgang
8.1
14.0
Cheongcheon
14.1
Hayang
19.0
Geumho
23.2
Bongjeong
29.0
Yeongcheon
Daegu Line
Hangul
대구선
Hanja
大邱線
Revised RomanizationDaeguseon
McCune–ReischauerTaegusŏn

History

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The first section of the Daegu Line was opened in 1917, between Daegu and Hayang.[1] The line was extended to the Haksan station in Pohang until 1919 as follows:

Date Section Length
1 November 1917 Daegu–Hayang 23.0 km
1 September 1918 Hayang–Gyeongju 46.0 km
31 October 1918 Gyeongju–Pohang 36.4 km
27 June 1919 Pohang–Haksan 2.0 km

A branch was opened from Gyeongju to Ulsan on October 25, 1921.[1]

The sections from Gyeongju to Pohang and Ulsan were integrated into the Donghae Nambu Line on December 16, 1935. On 1 July 1938 the reconstruction of the section Daegu–Yeongcheon was complete with the standard gauge.[2] On 1 December 1938 the section Yeongcheon–Gyeongju became a part of the Gyeonggyeong Nambu Line (the southern part of the Jungang Line), which was established on April 1, 1942. At the same time the present section was renamed the Daegu Line.[3]

Upgrade

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The 14 km (8.7 mi) section from Dongdaegu to Cheongcheon was replaced by a new alignment that takes the Daegu Line to meet the Gyeongbu Line at Gacheon, lengthening the Dongdaegu–Cheongcheon line distance to 16.5 km (10.3 mi).[1] The Dongdaegu to Cheongcheon rail distance changed to 38.4 km (23.9 mi),[1] line proper from Gacheon to Yeongcheon is 29.0 km (18.0 mi) long.[4] The project was launched in August 1997 with a planned completion in 2000, but economic difficulties and planning changes delayed completion, the line relocation was finally inaugurated on November 3, 2005.[1] Part of the project was the replacement of a 1.3 km (0.81 mi) branch to Daegu Airport from the old alignment with a 9.04 km (5.62 mi) spur line paralleling the highway west from Cheongcheon to the airport, finished a year later.[1]

The Daegu Line was considered for an upgrade to a double-tracked, electrified railway in a straighter, 34.9 km (21.7 mi) long alignment from 2000.[5] Detailed plans were prepared by 2009, the foreseen budget was 988.042 billion won, and the completion of the project was set for 2017.[5] 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 Daegu Line is to be set out for 230 km/h and may see KTX service.[6] On 28 December 2021, electrification was completed.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f 대구선 일부구간 이설 개통 (in Korean). Silvernet News. 2005-11-14. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
  2. ^ 朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), 24 June 1938
  3. ^ 朝鮮總督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), 28 November 1938
  4. ^ "경영원칙 > 경영공시 > 영업현황 > 영업거리현황". Korail. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
  5. ^ a b "대구선 복선전철". Korea Rail Network Authority. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  6. ^ "Bullet trains coming to a town near you by 2020". JoongAng Daily. 2010-09-02. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
  7. ^ choi, Jaeyong (2021-12-28). "Era of electrified double-track railway opens in Daegu, Jungang, Donghaenambu line after 100 years" (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-12-30.

Bibliography

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  • 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, pp 493–494