Honam Line

For the high-speed railway, see Honam high-speed railway.

The Honam Line is a major railway line serving the Honam region (North and South Jeolla Provinces) in South Korea. The line is served by frequent passenger trains from Seoul (via the Gyeongbu Line) to Gwangju and Mokpo.

Honam Line
Overview
Native name	호남선(湖南線)
Status	Operational
Owner	Korea Rail Network Authority
Locale	Daejeon South Chungcheong North Jeolla South Jeolla Gwangju
Termini	Daejeonjochajang Mokpo
Stations	48
Service
Type	Heavy Rail, Passenger/freight rail Regional rail, Intercity rail
Operator(s)	Korail
History
Opened	Stages between 1911 and 1914
Technical
Line length	252.5 km (156.9 mi)
Number of tracks	Double track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV/60 Hz AC catenary
Route map Legend Gyeongbu Line 0.0 Daejeonjochajang Gyeongbu Line Daejeon Line National Route 32 5.7 Seodaejeon National Route 4 National Route 4 11.8 Gasuwon Daejeon South Ring Expressway 17.3 Heukseong-ri 20.7 Wonjeong (1955–2006) Daejeon Gyeryong Honam Expressway Branch 25.4 Gyeryong National Route 1 28.0 Sindo (1966–2006) Gyeryong Nonsan 34.7 Gaetaesa 39.6 Yeonsan 44.5 Buhwang National Route 4 50.8 Nonsan 56.5 Chaehwa (1967–1974) Ganggyeong Line Honam Expressway 57.5 Chaewoon (Signal Box) National Route 23 60.7 Ganggyeong National Route 23 Nonsan Iksan 66.7 Yongdong National Route 23 71.8 Hamyeol 75.4 Dasan (1967–2006) 81.2 Hwangdeung Honam High Speed Railway Under Construction National Route 23 87.9 Iksan Janghang Line National Route 27 Jeolla Line National Route 23 Honam High Speed Railway Mangyeong River | Iksan Gimje National Route 26 National Route 21 95.3 Buyong 98.5 Waryong Honam High Speed Railway 105.6 Gimje Gimje Jeongeup 112.4 Gamgok National Route 30 117.9 Sintaein 123.5 Chogang Honam Expressway Honam High Speed Railway 131.4 Jeongeup National Route 29 Honam High Speed Railway National Route 1 137.4 Cheonwon 141.6 Noryeong Jeongeup Jangseong 148.6 Baegyangsa Honam Expressway 154.3 Sinheung-ri until 2006 Gochang-Damyang Expressway 160.1 Anpyeong Jangseong Line (for freight) 163.8 Jangseong National Route 24 169.6 Okjeong (1959–2006) Jangseong Gwangju 174.7 Imgok Honam High Speed Railway 181.2 Hanam For North Songjeong Gyeongjeon Line National Route 22 185.7 GwangjuSongjeong Gwangju Naju 195.0 Noan since 2001 Noan until 2001 National Route 13 National Route 1 For LG Chemical 201.5 Naju National Route 13 203.2 Yeongsanpo until 2001 208.9 Dasi 212.1 Gomagwon since 2001 Gomagwon until 2001 Naju Hampyeong 218.7 Hampyeong since 2001 National Route 23 Hakkyo until 2001 Hampyeong Muan 226.3 Muan 230.3 Mongtan 234.9 Myeongsan until 2001 241.2 Illo until 2001 239.3 Illo National Route 2 Daebul Line Muan Mokpo 245.2 247.9 Imseong-ri East Mokpo (1953–2003) 252.5 Mokpo 253.2 Mokpo Seaside

Honam Line
Hangul	호남선
Hanja	湖南線
Revised Romanization	Honamseon
McCune–Reischauer	Honamsŏn

History

A Honam Railway from Seoul to Mokpo was first proposed in 1896 by a French company.^[1] After the start of the Russo-Japanese War, in May 1904, Imperial Japan forced Korea to sign an agreement granting the Japanese military control over railways, including the right to seize land.^[1] Japan the seized much of the fertile Honam plain in advance of a planned Honam Line.^[1]

The construction of the line started in 1910.^[1] The first 39.9 km (24.8 mi) between Daejeon and Yeonsan was opened in July 1911.^[1] The line was extended to Ganggyeong in November 1911, to Iri (today Iksan) in March 1912, to Gimje in October 1912 and to Jeongeup in December 1912.^[1] Construction continued from the other end of the line, with the section from Mokpo to Hakgyo (today Hampyeong) opened in May 1913; and extended to Naju in July 1913, to Songjeong-ri (today Gwangju·Songjeong) in October 1913, and finally to Jeongeup,^[1] completing the line on January 11, 1914.^[2]

Upgrade

Duplication

The Honam Line was upgraded to an electrified and double-tracked line for higher speeds in stages. The construction of the double track began on January 4, 1968.^[3] On March 30, 1978, the section from Daejeonjochajang station to Iksan Station via Seodaejeon Station was double-tracked. The double-track work for the section south of Iksan Station on the Honam Line began in February 1981, and the double-track work was completed to Songjeong-ri Station in Gwangju on September 6, 1988.

Double-tracking of the last remaining single-track section, Songjeong–Mokpo,^[3] and the electrification of the whole line, including the Gwangju spur,^[4] was finished for the start of Korea Train Express (KTX) services on April 1, 2004.^[5] The present line length from Daejeon to Mokpo is 252.5 km (156.9 mi),^[2] the line distance from Seoul to Mokpo is 407.6 km (253.3 mi).^[5]

Speeding-up upgrade

To serve KTX and SRT, section from GwangjuSongjeong to Gomagwon was upgraded to accomplish maximum speed of 230 km/h. Total length of the project is 25.9 km and it was completed in June 2020.^[6]

Major stations

Major stations and junctions along the line include:

• Daejeon, junction with the Gyeongbu Line to Seoul and Busan;
• Seodaejeon, the Daejeon passenger station for Honam Line trains;
• Iksan (formerly named Iri), the terminus of the Jeolla and Janghang Lines;
• GwangjuSongjeong, the major station in Gwangju for through trains to Mokpo, and the junction with the Gyeongjeon Line;
• Naju, the major station in Naju;
• Mokpo, a seaport on the south coast.

Services

The Honam Line is served by freight trains, as well as cross-country Mugunghwa-ho, intercity ITX-Saemaeul/MAUM and high-speed KTX passenger trains.

As of October 2024, the minimum travel time from Yongsan Station in Seoul to Mokpo in South Jeolla Province is at least 4 hours and 20 minutes for ITX-MAUM and at least 5 hours and 14 minutes for Mugunghwa. Even on the Honam Line from Seodaejeon to Mokpo itself, the travel time is at least 2 hours and 34 minutes for ITX-MAUM and at least 3 hours and 4 minutes for Mugunghwa.

See also

• Transportation in South Korea
• Korail

References

1. "전라지방–교통∙통신체계의 발달" (PDF). Land Portal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
2. "경영원칙 > 경영공시 > 영업현황 > 영업거리현황". Korail. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
3. "Rail service to be upgraded this year". JoongAng Daily. 2003-01-03. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
4. "Electricity Almanac 2009" (PDF). Korea Electric Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
5. Cho, Nam-Geon; Chung, Jin-Kyu (2008). "High Speed Rail Construction of Korea and Its Impact" (PDF). KRIHS Special Report Series. 12. Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-29. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
6. "호남고속2단계, 인천발, 수원발 KTX 공사 본격 추진" [Honam HSR 2nd pase, KTX from Incheon project, KTX from Suwon project are initiated in full-scale drive] (PDF). MOLIT official website (in Korean). MOLIT. 2020-12-20. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-01-19.