Hello to all UK- and international railfans!
In september 2013 I had the great opportunity to join the first DPRK railway tour organized by "Juche Travel Services". This London-based DPRK-travel agency had already organized some special tours for aviation enthusiasts in the past, now it was time for a railway tour. The main idea of this tour was to travel around the country in a special train.
In february 2013 David from Juche Travel Services ( http://www.juchetravelservices.com/The Tours/_Railway Tours.html ) contacted me and asked, whether I would like to join the tour in september. Appearently he found out about my interest in North Korean railways after reading the blog about my train trip from Vienna to North Korea via the Russian/North Korean border in 2008 (see http://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.co.at/).
I then told my friend Oliver, with whom I did the trip in 2008, about this railway tour, and we quickly came to the decision to join the tour, if… well…if we would get another visa to the DPRK. Given the special circumstances of our trip in 2008 we were not sure if they would let us in a 2nd time...
But in fact it was no problem to get the DPRK visa again, and so it happened that we visited North Korea a 2nd time.
My visa, which I picked up at the DPRK embassy in Vienna:
The tour plan included the train ride from Beijing to Pyongyang and back (via Sinuiju), as well as domestic train trips from Pyongyang to Myohyangsan, to Hamhung and Wonsan using a special charter train – the so called "Chosun Explorer".
This meant that we could also "collect" some new lines: From Sinanju to Myohyangsan and from Kowon to Wonsan. The line from Pyongyang to Hamhung, which was untill then also rarely used by tourists, was of course not new to us, as we went there on our way from the Russian/North Korean border at Tumgang to Pyongyang in 2008.
However on our 2008 trip we passed most of this scenic line during the night, so the tour was also a great opportunity to get "daylight-coverage" of this line across the mountains.
An overview of the planned train trip inside North Korea:
As I had not enough time for a great overland trip from Austria to Asia or back, I had to fly both directions. Flying in and out of Beijing is of course boring, so I planned to fly to Beijing and back from Khabarovsk in Russia. Oliver had more time, so he took the train back to Europe.
From Pyongyang it was our plan to reach Khabarovsk via Shenyang (where we would leave the Pyongyang-Beijing train and our group), Harbin, Heihe and Blagoveshchensk.
Heihe in China and Blagoveshchensk in Russia are two towns opposite each other on the Amur river. Crossing the river is possible by a regular boat service. By boat from Russia to China – that would probably be also an interesting border crossing experience (I like unusal/special border crossing experiences… as you might guess).
Our tour on GE:
"Continental" view:
The final trip plan was as follows. The given timings for the special train inside North Korea were actual timings, not planned timings. There was an official timetable for that special train, but I didn't ask for the exact planned timings.
Thu 2013-09-19
VIE (Wien Schwechat) dep 10h15, flight LOT LO 224
WAW (Warszawa) arr 11h30
WAW (Warszawa) dep 16h30, flight LOT LO 91
night: plane
(As you might have noticed the GE map doesn't show a flight via Warszawa. I planned to fly via Warszawa, but actually I flew via Frankfurt – the reason therefore will be told later.)
Fri 2013-09-20
PEK (Beijing Capital Airport) arr 06h35
night: Beijing Downtown Backpacker Hostel
Sat 2013-09-21
Beijing dep 17h27, train K27
night: train
Sun 2013-09-22
entry North Korea
Sinuiju arr 11h10
change to special train at Sinuiju
Sinuiju dep 12h23, special train
Pyonygang arr 16h30
night: Koryo Hotel
Mon 2013-09-23
Pyongyang dep 12h15, special train
Myohyangsan arr 15h45
night: Hyangsan Hotel
Tue 2013-09-24
Myohyangsan dep 11h32, special train
Pyongyang arr 15h05
night: Koryo Hotel
Wed 2013-09-25
Pyongyang dep 06h24, special train
Hamhung arr 15h13
night: Majon Hotel
Thu 2013-09-26
Hamhung dep 13h22, special train
Wonsan arr 15h55
night: Tongmyong Hotel
Fri 2013-09-27
Wonsan dep 08h31, special train
Pyongyang arr 16h39
night: Koryo Hotel
Sat 2013-09-28
Pyongyang dep 10h40, train K28
Ausreise Nordkorea
Shenyang arr 22h05
night: Shenyang, Ibis Hotel
Sun 2013-09-29
Shenyang dep 08h47, train G303
Harbin Xi arr 11h10
Harbin dep 19h11, train K7033
night: train
Mon 2013-09-30
Heihe arr 06h33
Border crossing Heihe – Blagoveshchensk by ship
Blagoveshchensk dep 11h53 (15h53 Chinese time, 17h53 local time), train 35CH
night: train
Tue 2013-10-01
Chabarovsk arr 01h04 (08h04 local time)
night: Chabarovsk, gostiniza Erofej
Wed 2013-10-02
KHV (Chabarovsk) dep 10h00, flight Transaero UN 136
DME (Moskva Domodedovo) arr 11h10
DME (Moskva Domodedovo) dep 15h40, flight Austrian OS 602
VIE (Wien Schwechat) arr 16h35
---
A small photo pre-view of the trip:
train trip Sinuiji - Pyongyang:
train trip Pyongyang - Hyangsan:
train trip Hyangsan - Pyongyang:
train trip Pyongyang - Hamhung:
train trip Hamhung - Wonsan:
train trip Wonsan - Pyongyang:
----
to be continued...
best regards from Vienna,
Provodnik (Helmut)
In september 2013 I had the great opportunity to join the first DPRK railway tour organized by "Juche Travel Services". This London-based DPRK-travel agency had already organized some special tours for aviation enthusiasts in the past, now it was time for a railway tour. The main idea of this tour was to travel around the country in a special train.
In february 2013 David from Juche Travel Services ( http://www.juchetravelservices.com/The Tours/_Railway Tours.html ) contacted me and asked, whether I would like to join the tour in september. Appearently he found out about my interest in North Korean railways after reading the blog about my train trip from Vienna to North Korea via the Russian/North Korean border in 2008 (see http://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.co.at/).
I then told my friend Oliver, with whom I did the trip in 2008, about this railway tour, and we quickly came to the decision to join the tour, if… well…if we would get another visa to the DPRK. Given the special circumstances of our trip in 2008 we were not sure if they would let us in a 2nd time...
But in fact it was no problem to get the DPRK visa again, and so it happened that we visited North Korea a 2nd time.
My visa, which I picked up at the DPRK embassy in Vienna:
The tour plan included the train ride from Beijing to Pyongyang and back (via Sinuiju), as well as domestic train trips from Pyongyang to Myohyangsan, to Hamhung and Wonsan using a special charter train – the so called "Chosun Explorer".
This meant that we could also "collect" some new lines: From Sinanju to Myohyangsan and from Kowon to Wonsan. The line from Pyongyang to Hamhung, which was untill then also rarely used by tourists, was of course not new to us, as we went there on our way from the Russian/North Korean border at Tumgang to Pyongyang in 2008.
However on our 2008 trip we passed most of this scenic line during the night, so the tour was also a great opportunity to get "daylight-coverage" of this line across the mountains.
An overview of the planned train trip inside North Korea:
As I had not enough time for a great overland trip from Austria to Asia or back, I had to fly both directions. Flying in and out of Beijing is of course boring, so I planned to fly to Beijing and back from Khabarovsk in Russia. Oliver had more time, so he took the train back to Europe.
From Pyongyang it was our plan to reach Khabarovsk via Shenyang (where we would leave the Pyongyang-Beijing train and our group), Harbin, Heihe and Blagoveshchensk.
Heihe in China and Blagoveshchensk in Russia are two towns opposite each other on the Amur river. Crossing the river is possible by a regular boat service. By boat from Russia to China – that would probably be also an interesting border crossing experience (I like unusal/special border crossing experiences… as you might guess).
Our tour on GE:
"Continental" view:
The final trip plan was as follows. The given timings for the special train inside North Korea were actual timings, not planned timings. There was an official timetable for that special train, but I didn't ask for the exact planned timings.
Thu 2013-09-19
VIE (Wien Schwechat) dep 10h15, flight LOT LO 224
WAW (Warszawa) arr 11h30
WAW (Warszawa) dep 16h30, flight LOT LO 91
night: plane
(As you might have noticed the GE map doesn't show a flight via Warszawa. I planned to fly via Warszawa, but actually I flew via Frankfurt – the reason therefore will be told later.)
Fri 2013-09-20
PEK (Beijing Capital Airport) arr 06h35
night: Beijing Downtown Backpacker Hostel
Sat 2013-09-21
Beijing dep 17h27, train K27
night: train
Sun 2013-09-22
entry North Korea
Sinuiju arr 11h10
change to special train at Sinuiju
Sinuiju dep 12h23, special train
Pyonygang arr 16h30
night: Koryo Hotel
Mon 2013-09-23
Pyongyang dep 12h15, special train
Myohyangsan arr 15h45
night: Hyangsan Hotel
Tue 2013-09-24
Myohyangsan dep 11h32, special train
Pyongyang arr 15h05
night: Koryo Hotel
Wed 2013-09-25
Pyongyang dep 06h24, special train
Hamhung arr 15h13
night: Majon Hotel
Thu 2013-09-26
Hamhung dep 13h22, special train
Wonsan arr 15h55
night: Tongmyong Hotel
Fri 2013-09-27
Wonsan dep 08h31, special train
Pyongyang arr 16h39
night: Koryo Hotel
Sat 2013-09-28
Pyongyang dep 10h40, train K28
Ausreise Nordkorea
Shenyang arr 22h05
night: Shenyang, Ibis Hotel
Sun 2013-09-29
Shenyang dep 08h47, train G303
Harbin Xi arr 11h10
Harbin dep 19h11, train K7033
night: train
Mon 2013-09-30
Heihe arr 06h33
Border crossing Heihe – Blagoveshchensk by ship
Blagoveshchensk dep 11h53 (15h53 Chinese time, 17h53 local time), train 35CH
night: train
Tue 2013-10-01
Chabarovsk arr 01h04 (08h04 local time)
night: Chabarovsk, gostiniza Erofej
Wed 2013-10-02
KHV (Chabarovsk) dep 10h00, flight Transaero UN 136
DME (Moskva Domodedovo) arr 11h10
DME (Moskva Domodedovo) dep 15h40, flight Austrian OS 602
VIE (Wien Schwechat) arr 16h35
---
A small photo pre-view of the trip:
train trip Sinuiji - Pyongyang:
train trip Pyongyang - Hyangsan:
train trip Hyangsan - Pyongyang:
train trip Pyongyang - Hamhung:
train trip Hamhung - Wonsan:
train trip Wonsan - Pyongyang:
----
to be continued...
best regards from Vienna,
Provodnik (Helmut)
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