Trains put North-South Korea link back on track

Many Koreans hope the inaugural run will lead to the eventual resumption of regular train service between the two countries, with the government in seoul calling it an “impetus for peace”.

To the riffing of fireworks and a blast from the diesel engine’s air horn, the five-car passenger train scraped along the tracks out of munsan station, seven miles south of the border. On board were North Korean railway officials, South Korean politicians, peace activists and a poet. They were sent off by a brassy military band and South Koreans waving blue-and-white unification flags. Riot police restrained a small group of protesters. The train then made a brief stop at Dorasan station, just before the DMZ, and then pulled away, spouting exhaust and blowing back white balloons and confetti. “It’s my happiest day!” shouted the train’s driver.

The short-term ambitions for the line are more modest. South Korean officials argue that they need a train line to get raw materials and visitors to the 20 companies engaged in light industry at the Kaesong complex, a zone that brings together North Korean workers and South Korean capital and management.