The à ¬nnyul Line is a non-electrified standard-gauge secondary line of the Korean State Railway in the North and South Hwanghae provinces of North Korea, running from à ¬np'a to Ch'à Âlgwang. It is an important line in economic terms, connecting the agricultural and ore-producing areas of Kwail and à ¬nnyul counties with the rest of the DPRK.
The line connects to the Hwanghae Ch'à Ângnyà Ân Line at à ¬np'a, to the Changyà Ân Line at Sugyo, and to the Sà Âhae Kammun Line at Ch'à Âlgwang, and formerly connected to the narrow gauge Ryongjà Âng Line at Ch'à Âlgwang. The ruling grade is 15â°, the minimum curve radius is 300 m; there are 67 bridges with a total length of , but only two tunnels with a total length of .
The West Chosen Development Railway (西鮮æ®Âç£éÂÂéÂÂ, Seisen Shokusan Tetsudà Â; ìÂÂì ìÂÂì°철ë Sà Âsà Ân Siksan Ch'à Âldo) was formed in 1920 to take over the narrow gauge SanghaeâÂÂHwasanâÂÂNaet'o line built by the Mitsubishi Ironworks as a company-use railway, and then built a new narrow gauge line from Sariwà Ân to Chaeryà Âng via Sanghae. This new line was opened on 21 December 1920, and on 16 November of the following year it was extended from Chaeryà Âng to Sinch'à Ân.
On 1 April 1923, the West Chosen Development Railway and five other railway companies merged to create the Chosen Railway (abbreviated Chà Âtetsu), which took over all lines and operations of its predecessors. Chà Âtetsu grouped the Sariwà ÂnâÂÂSanghaeâÂÂSinch'à Ân and SanghaeâÂÂHwasanâÂÂNaet'o lines inherited from the West Chosen Development Railway together, calling them the Hwanghae Line, and subsequently expanded the Hwanghae Line network significantly. These expansions included the extension of the Sariwà ÂnâÂÂSinch'à Ân line, opening a section from Sinch'à Ân to Sugyo on 1 November 1929, followed by a section from Sugyo to Changyà Ân on 21 January 1937.
Chà Âtetsu sold the Hwanghae Line network to the state-owned Chosen Government Railway (abbreviated Sentetsu) on 1 April 1944, which absorbed the Hwanghae Line network and split it up, calling the Sariwà ÂnâÂÂSinch'à ÂnâÂÂChangyà Ân line the Changyà Ân Line. Although Sentetsu did make significant expansions to other parts of the former Hwanghae Line network, this line remained unchanged for the duration of Japanese rule in Korea.
After the end of Japanese rule and the subsequent partition of Korea, Sentetsu's Changyà Ân Line was located in the northern half, becoming part of the Korean State Railway. After the end of the Korean War the Railway Ministry of the DPRK began to expand and improve its network, including in South Hwanghae, leading to the opening of a line from Sugyo to Ch'à Âlgwang in 1963. With the opening of the new line, the Sariwà ÂnâÂÂSugyoâÂÂCh'à Âlgwang line was named à ¬nnyul Line, leaving the Changyà Ân Line as just the short branch from Sugyo to Changyà Ân. In 1971, a new standard gauge line was opened from à ¬np'a on the former Sahae Line to Chaeryà Âng, and at the same time, the Chaeryà ÂngâÂÂSinch'à ÂnâÂÂSugyo section was converted to standard gauge. The opening of the new standard gauge line from à ¬np'a to Chaeryà Âng led to the closure of the narrow gauge Sariwà ÂnâÂÂChaeryà Âng line. The regauging of the rest of the line from Sugyo to Ch'à Âlgwang was completed in 1973.
In terms of traffic quantity, freight on the à ¬np'aâÂÂSugyo section is roughly the same in both directions, but the bulk of freight on the SugyoâÂÂCh'à Âlgwang section is iron ore eastbound from the Ch'à Âlgwang area destined for the Hwanghae Iron & Steel Complex on the Songrim Line. Fruit from Kwail and Hwanghae Ryongmun is also a significant source of freight originating on the line. The primary commodities arriving onto the line from elsewhere include anthracite, fertiliser, wood and cement.
The following passenger trains were scheduled on this line in the 2002 passenger timetable:
A yellow background in the "Distance" box indicates non-electrified standard gauge; orange indicates non-electrified narrow gauge.
Prior to 1971, the Sariwà Ân â Chaeryà Âng â Sugyo section was part of the Changyà Ân Line.