Pyongyang Metro

The **Pyongyang Metro** (Korean: 평양 지하철도; MR: *P'yŏngyang Chihach'ŏlto*) is the rapid transit system in the North Korean capital Pyongyang. It consists of two lines: the Chollima Line, which runs north from Puhŭng Station on the banks of the Taedong River to Pulgŭnbyŏl Station, and the Hyŏksin Line, which runs from Kwangbok Station in the southwest to Ragwŏn Station in the northeast. The two lines intersect at Chŏnu Station.

Daily ridership is estimated to be between 300,000 and 700,000. Structural engineering of the Metro was completed by North Korea, with rolling stock and related electronic equipment imported from China. This was later replaced with rolling stock acquired from East Germany.

The Pyongyang Metro has a museum devoted to its construction and history.

## Construction

Construction of the metro network started in 1965, and stations were opened between 1969 and 1972 by president Kim Il-sung. Most of the 16 public stations were built in the 1970s, except for the two most grandiose stations—Puhŭng and Yŏnggwang, which were constructed in 1987. According to NK Newssources, construction accidents in the 1970s are alleged to have potentially killed dozens of workers.

China had provided technical aid for the metro's construction, sending experts to install equipment made in China, including electrical equipment made in Xiangtan, Hunan and the escalator with vertical height of 64 m made by Shanghai Seleva.

Pyongyang Metro is among the deepest metros in the world, with the track at over 110 metres (360 ft) deep underground; the metro does not have any above-ground track segments or stations. Due to the depth of the metro and the lack of outside segments, its stations can double as bomb shelters, with blast doors in place at hallways. It takes three and a half minutes from the ground to the platform by escalator. The metro is so deep that the temperature of the platform maintains a constant 18 °C (64 °F) all year. The Saint Petersburg Metro also claims to be the deepest, based on the average depth of all its stations. The Arsenalna station on Kyiv Metro's Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska Line is currently the deepest station in the world at 105.5 metres (346 ft). The deepest heavy rail station in the world is the Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon railway station, located 80 m (260 ft) underground. The Porta Alpinarailway station, located above the Gotthard Base Tunnelin Switzerland, was supposed to be 800 m (2,600 ft) underground, but the project was indefinitely shelved in 2012.

The system was initially electrified at 825 volts, but lowered down to 750 volts to support operation of the Class GI sets. However, this conflicts with the documentation on the DK4 sets, which uses 750 volts with a +20% and a -38% tolerance.

A 1999 KBS news broadcast stated that two lines were under construction, with line 3 to run from Kwangbok station to Mangyongdae, while the location of line 4 was unknown. The two lines were to open for the 55th Party Foundation Day.

In 2012, Korean Central Television released renders of a new station bearing the name Mangyongdaedisplayed at the Pyongyang Architectural Festival.

In 2018, NK News claimed that there would be possible extensions to the metro system, with anonymous sources claiming activity to the west of Kwangbok Station. Commercial satellite imagery revealed only one structure under construction, and it speculated an absence of announcements from state media was due to funding issues, as well as due to the 1970s tunneling accidents.

In 2019, Kaeson station and Tongil Station were modernised, adding TVs that show the next service and brighter lighting. This was followed by Jonu station and Chonsung station in 2020. The TVs can also display a digital version of the Rodong Sinmun.

At the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, it was announced to push forward on the updating and renovation of the Pyongyang Metro, along with the production of new-type subway trains.