# Chungbuk Line

The Chungbuk Line (Korean: 충북선; Hanja: 忠北線) is a railway line serving North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. The line connects Jochiwon on the Gyeongbu Line to Bongyang on the Jungang Line, serving the major cities of Cheongju and Chungju en route. Cheongju International Airport is located near the rail line.

## History
### Prewar

The first section of the line was opened by the privately owned Chōsen Central Railway in 1921, which became part of the Chōsen Railway (Chōtetsu) in 1923. Chōtetsu then continued to extend the line until 1928 to Chungju as follows:
| Date | Section | Length |
| 1 November 1921 | Jochiwon–Cheongju | 22.7 km |
| 1 May 1923 | Cheongju–Cheongan (Jeungpyeong) | 23.9 km |
| 25 December 1928 | Cheongan–Chungju | 47.4 km |
Plans existed to continue the line from Chungju to Yeongwol, but after the end of Japanese rule this plan was abandoned until 1949, after which the extension was built as the Korean National Railroad's Taebaek Line.
In the November 1942 timetable, the last issued prior to the start of the Pacific War, Chōtetsu operated the following schedule of local passenger services ("R" indicates that train was operated by railcar):
| Dist. ↓ | Price K. yen | Price K. yen | 1 | 101 R | 3 | 5 | 103 R | 7 | 105 R | 9 | Station name | Dist. ↑ | Price K. yen | Price K. yen | 10 | 2 | 102 R | 4 | 104 R | 6 | 106 | 8 |
| Dist. ↓ | 2nd cl. | 3rd cl. | 1 | 101 R | 3 | 5 | 103 R | 7 | 105 R | 9 | Station name | Dist. ↑ | 2nd cl. | 3rd cl. | 10 | 2 | 102 R | 4 | 104 R | 6 | 106 | 8 |
| 0.0 | - | - | 07:40 | 08:48 | 11:40 | 14:00 | 16:10 | 17:30 | 18:40 | 20:50 | Jochiwon | 94.0 | 6.60 | 3.30 | 06:28 | 09:31 | 08:25 | 12:25 | 14:47 | 15:51 | 18:15 | 20:21 |
| 22.7 | 1.70 | 0.85 | 08:45 | 09:29 | 12:50 | 15:30 | 16:52 | 18:40 | 19:22 | 21:32 | Cheongju | 71.3 | 5.00 | 2.50 | 05:50 | 08:50 | 07:40 | 11:40 | 14:05 | 15:10 | 17:30 | 19:40 |
| 94.0 | 6.60 | 3.30 | 11:06 | ... | 15:11 | 17:56 | ... | 20:58 | ... | ... | Chungju | 0.0 | - | - | ... | 06:00 | ... | 08:50 | ... | 12:10 | ... | 16:50 |

### Postwar

Like the other private railways this line was also nationalized after the independence of Korea. The rest section of the line was opened on January 10, 1959.

### Upgrade

The double-track construction began on October 20, 1975, and on October 17, 1980, 113.2 km between Jochiwon and Bongyang was double-tracked. During the double-track construction, some sections were relocated. The entire line was electrified on 30 March 2005.
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 Chungbuk Line is to be upgraded for 230 km/h and may see KTX service.
The movie Peppermint Candy was shot near Gongjeon station.

## Route

| Station | Hangul | Hanja | Connecting lines and services | Station distance | Line distance | Location | Location |
| Location ||
| Jochiwon | 조치원 | 鳥致院 | Gyeongbu ITX-Saemaeul services Mugunghwa-ho services | 0.0 | 0.0 | Sejong | Jochiwon |
| Osong | 오송 | 五松 | Gyeongbu HSR Osong Line O-Train | 4.4 | 4.4 | N. Chungcheong | Cheongju |
| Cheongju | 청주 | 淸州 | | 7.0 | 11.4 | N. Chungcheong | Cheongju |
| Ogeunjang | 오근장 | 梧根場 | | 10.1 | 21.5 | N. Chungcheong | Cheongju |
| Cheongju Int'l Airport | 청주공항 | 淸州空港 | | 2.9 | 24.4 | N. Chungcheong | Cheongju |
| Naesu | 내수 | 內秀 | | 4.4 | 28.8 | N. Chungcheong | Cheongju |
| Jeungpyeong | 증평 | 曾坪 | | 7.8 | 36.6 | N. Chungcheong | Jeungpyeong County |
| Doan | 도안 | 道安 | | 6.2 | 42.8 | N. Chungcheong | Jeungpyeong County |
| Bocheon | 보천 | 甫川 | | 8.7 | 51.5 | N. Chungcheong | Eumseong County |
| Eumseong | 음성 | 陰城 | | 8.1 | 59.6 | N. Chungcheong | Eumseong County |
| Soi | 소이 | 蘇伊 | | 4.5 | 64.1 | N. Chungcheong | Eumseong County |
| Judeok | 주덕 | 周德 | | 7.8 | 71.9 | N. Chungcheong | Chungju |
| Dalcheon | 달천 | 達川 | | 7.0 | 78.9 | N. Chungcheong | Chungju |
| Chungju | 충주 | 忠州 | Jungbunaeryuk Line | 3.8 | 82.7 | N. Chungcheong | Chungju |
| Mokhaeng | 목행 | 牧杏 | | 5.4 | 88.1 | N. Chungcheong | Chungju |
| Dongnyang | 동량 | 東良 | | 4.6 | 92.7 | N. Chungcheong | Chungju |
| Samtan | 삼탄 | 三灘 | | 7.9 | 100.6 | N. Chungcheong | Chungju |
| Gongjeon | 공전 | 公田 | | 5.8 | 106.4 | N. Chungcheong | Jecheon |
| Bongyang | 봉양 | 鳳陽 | | 8.6 | 115.0 | N. Chungcheong | Jecheon |