North Korea - China passenger service resumes

CROSS-BORDER services between Ji’an in Jilin province, China, and Manp’o Chongyong in Chagang province, North Korea, have resumed after a hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.Three return services operate each week, on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, departing from Ji’an at 08.23 and arriving in Manp’o at 08. 53, with the return journey departing from Manp’o at 15.36 and arriving back in Ji'an at 15.59, taking about 25 minutes each way for the approximately 10km trip. Ji’an is currently served by a single return train per day from Tonghua, the province’s county town, from where connections can be made to the wider China Railway (CR) network.Manp’o Chongyong is the terminus of the 300km Manp’o line that links the town to Suncheon to the south, the Pukbunaeryuk line which runs 250km to Hyesan to the northeast, and the 6km line to Unha. The 590m-long single-track border bridge over the River Yalu at Ji’an was opened in 1939.The revived service consists of two coaches, one hard seating passenger coach and one baggage car, and is intended solely to provide a local service for Korean residents in China. Yonhap news agency reports that operation of the train is under Chinese management in even-numbered years, and North Korean management in odd-numbered years.