Rail transport in Menghe

Rail transport is a major mode of long-distance transportation in Menghe.

Menghe Railways, a state-owned enterprise, has a monopoly on nearly all long-distance rail transport. The state railway monopoly has existed since 1964, though its organization has undergone several changes since then. Municipal public transportation systems are managed by local governments rather than the national railway corporation, with joint management of some commuter rail services. Other notable exceptions include tourist railroads and some short-distance freight lines.

History

First railroads (1860-1901)

The first railroad in Menghe was built in 1860, after the Brothel War opened the country to additional foreign investment. It was a 600mm narrow-gauge railway which ran 49.1 kilometers from the west gate to the Sieuxerrian port cession on the coast of Hwangsa Bay. While ostensibly for moving passengers and light freight between the port and the city, it was also intended to garner Menghean interest in railroad construction, in the hopes of attracting future contracts from the Myŏn dynasty.

The Myŏn dynasty collapsed in 1867, ushering in the beginning of the Three States Period. At the start of this period, the State of Sinyi expelled all foreign advisors from the country, and the Namyang Government in the south was mainly concerned with consolidating its political structure and financing the Rebel Suppressing Army in the north. Seeing an opportunity, an Anglian rail company offered to build a medium-gauge (4 foot 8½ inch) railroad from Sunju to Insŏng with full foreign financing, in return for exclusive rights to civilian passenger and freight operations on the line. The Namyang leaders agreed, and the line began construction in 1869, opening in 1870.

In 1871, Namyang leaders laid out plans for a new long-distance railroad linking the front lines to the country's southern ports, to speed up the movement of arms and reinforcements. The 201-kilometer line from Yŏng'an to Hwasŏng was built first, as transport south of Hwasŏng could be conducted by canal. The 863-kilometer line from Hwasŏng to Insŏng opened in 1874, after three years of construction, allowing trains to cover in less than two days a journey that would take over a week on a river barge. The Chanam-Chŏnjin railroad, another Anglian venture, was built between 1876 and 1878, with a connection to the other mainline at Unchŏn added in 1880. Because the Meng and Ŭm Rivers were over a kilometer wide along their southern reaches, it was not feasible to run rail bridges over them at the time, and rolling stock had to use train ferries at Chŏnjin and Insŏng. This entire network was built in 4ft 8½ inch gauge (1435mm), though the Sylvan-built Altagracia North Line (built 1888-1891) used 1668mm gauge, and a mining route bringing coal to Changban used 2ft 6in (762mm) gauge.

The rival State of Sinyi was slower to embrace railroads, due to its origins as a movement against Western influence. But when faced with the urgent need to reopen shipping between the Meng River canal network and the coastal ports, the Gwangmu Emperor eventually authorized a rail link in the east. Engineers surveyed four possible routes: Ranju to Yŏngsan, Hyangchun to Yŏngsan, Anchŏn to Taekchŏn, and Kimhae to Taekchŏn. While the fourth route was longest, it required the shortest distance through mountainous terrain, and was therefore the least expensive. The section from Kimhae to Dongrŭng opened to traffic in 1877, and the overland section to the highest navigable point on the Gyŏng river opened in 1879; the full route to Taekchŏn was completed in 1880. Two years later, when the Sunchi Emperor ascended to the throne, he ordered that this line be extended to Junggyŏng and Sapo, and moved the capital to Donggyŏng (formerly Kimhae). A separate railway between Songrimsŏng and Baekjin was built between 1879 and 1881, and in 1887-1889 a railway between Songrimsŏng and Jinyi connected it to the rest of the network. Apart from a 760mm coal mine route in North Donghae province, all of Sinyi's railways were built in 914mm (3 foot) narrow gauge, which allowed for smaller and cheaper bridges, tunnels, embankments, and mountainside paths. Sinyi relied extensively on engineers from Fyrland to plan the routes and manufacture specialized equipment, but financed the railways from the military budget, and initially operated a state-run rail service to collect revenue. This service was later privatized in 1889, becoming the Donghae Railway Company.

Indpendently from the other two states, the Uzeri Sultanate built a 426-kilometer railway from Quảng Phả to Hồng Xuyên in 1884-1886. While this route carried some passenger services, it was mainly intended for freight, shipping coal and sugarcane from the northern side of the mountain range to the southern ports for export. The rails were built by a Sieuxerrian company in meter-gauge, and the rolling stock was Sieuxerrian in origin as well.

When the Three States Period ended in 1901, Menghe had roughly 6,600 kilometers of track, including track laid in the Uzeri Sultanate. Unfortunately, because it originated from a variety of independent projects, the network lacked a single unified gauge. Not counting streetcars, at least seven different track gauges were used in total: 600mm, 720mm, 762mm, 914mm, 1000mm, 1435mm, and 1668mm. Of the seven, 914mm and 1435mm were most common, as these were the official track gauges of the State of Sinyi and the Namyang Government, respectively.

Consolidation and expansion (1901-1964)

After the formation of the Federative Republic of Menghe, the Ministry of Railways faced the daunting task of unifying this diverse rail network. The first step was to re-gauge the Sinyi Main Line, which now extended from Chŏnju to Baekjin. Because of the large difference in gauge, it was not possible to re-gauge the existing line using the same sleepers, and because of the high volume of freight, it was necessary to avoid prolonged closures. The eventual solution was to build a set of 1435mm tracks parallel to the original route, shift all traffic onto those tracks, then close down the 914mm tracks and replace them with 1435mm tracks on new sleepers. In the process, the already-crowded single-track route would be replaced with a dual-track corridor. This expensive undertaking began in 1903 and was not fully completed until 1909. Even then, only the main Baekjin-Insŏng portion was in 1435mm: because the original Sinyi route through the Donghae mountains relied extensively on tunnels, bridges, embankments, and switchbacks, all of them with a narrow loading gauge, it was not feasible to re-gauge this portion of the line or add a second set of tracks. Instead, freight and passengers would have to switch trains at a break of gauge where the two sections of track intersected.

During construction, Menghe also built rail bridges across the Ro river at Insŏng and the Meng river north of Hwasŏng. At 945 and 1440 meters long, respectively, these were the longest bridges ever built in Menghe. For the time being, Chŏnjin still relied on a train ferry.

Merging railroad networks also required administrative reforms. For service from Insŏng to Baekjin, the government financed the creation of a new private company, Menghean Federal Railway. Federal Railway was given control of the long-distance mainline, while other lines remained under the control of other private enterprises, such as the Donghae Railway Company. Initially, federal regions could also set their own regulations on track gauge and loading gauge for regional lines, allowing Donghae to keept its extensive 914mm network. This law was revised in 1917 to require 1435mm track and a standard loading gauge on new lines capable of long-distance service.

After re-gauging the Baekjin-Insŏng mainline and bridging the Meng and Ro rivers, Menghean Federal Railway turned its attention to a new project: the Great Northern Railroad, which would open up the interior to development and connect its coal mines to coastal ports and industrial centers. Construction began in 1910; when it finished in 1919, the single-track route covered a total of 1,843 kilometers, linking Suhait with Jinjŏng, Ryŏjin, Hapsŏng, and Songrimsŏng. Paired with new branch lines to coal mines, it contributed to a surge in heavy industry development in the northeast.

As expansion of the network continued, concerns over interoperability led to the so-called "gauge wars." In 1919, Federal Railway sued Donghae Railway on the grounds that its recently completed coastal extension from Anchŏn to Ranju created a "long-distance mainline" and should fall under Federal's ownership. This suit was unsuccessful, but another one in 1921 forced Unryŏng Rail in the southeast to suspend work on a 913mm line from Yŏngjŏng to Gyŏngsan and transfer ownership of the project to Federal, which expanded the gauge to 1435mm, planned a link to Chŏnju, and resumed construction. Meanwhile in the west, Federal built its own track from Insŏng to Pyŏng'an via Chimyang, as the Baekyong Gulf Line via Altagracia and Giju was built in Sylvan 1668mm gauge. The debate peaked in 1926, during a heated legal dispute over whether Federal or Unryŏng had rights to build a new line from Goksan to Musan via Daegok; Unryŏng already had 913mm tracks in the area, but Federal's managers insisted that the route should be built in 1435mm because it would be a strategic coal shipment route. After his coup in 1927, Kwon Chong-hoon decided the matter in Federal's favor, a decision which forced Unryŏng Railways into bankruptcy.

The resolution of the "Gok-gok" case marked the beginning of a harsher standardization policy under the Greater Menghean Empire. A military commander himself, Kwon believed that long-distance rail transport was vital to national defense, and ordered that all new tracks west of the Donghae Mountain Range be built in 1435mm gauge. To enforce this decision, he ordered that the Pyŏng'an-Quảng Phả and Pyŏng'an-Sunju routes be converted to 1435mm gauge. After Fenix Rail, a Sylvan company, refused to comply, Kwon nationalized its assets and transferred them to Federal. Kwon also launched a major nationwide railway building program in an effort to bring more marginal cities onto the line and improve supply lines near the frontiers. This included a separate 1435mm route from Jinyi to Donggyŏng, which finally linked the capital to the Federal network, and which was later expanded to Baekjin via Chŏngdo. It also included an ambitious 2,398-meter road-and-rail bridge at Chŏnjin, completed in 1938, which finally allowed direct service to Chanam.

The first few years of the Pan-Septentrion War brought a renewed boom in railroad construction, as the Greater Menghean Empire sought to boost industrial capacity and supply the front line. Of particular note are four rail lines built into Maverica and one built across Dzhungestan, all of them built with the help of Allied prison labor. As the war progressed, however, new construction and even regular maintenance rolled to a halt, as military planners directed more steel and manpower to military production. Allied bombing damaged many marshalling yards and bridges, including the long bridge across the Meng River at Chŏnjin. The Menghean War of Liberation brought additional damage to the network, as guerilla fighters sabotaged bridges, derailed trains, and pulled up rail spikes to melt down into homemade weapons. The Allied Occupation Authority carried out routine repairs of damaged lines, and even upgraded the Great Northern Railroad to double track, but as the war dragged on, the debt-laden Republic of Menghe government struggled to finance even basic maintenance.

Length of railway track in Menghe in 1944

Track gauge	Distance of track
1435mm	23,937 km
1000mm	346 km
914mm	3,492 km
Dual 1435+1000mm	773 km
Dual 1435+914mm	945 km
Other gauges	469 km
Total	29,962 km

Rail transport in the DPRM (1964-1987)

After their victory in 1964, Communist leaders concluded that urgent action was needed to repair the country's damaged rail network. Their first step was to nationalize all private rail companies in Menghe, placing their assets under the direct management of the Ministry of Railroads. Next, they set out to rationalize the private networks' wide variety of track gauges and loading gauges. By this time, nearly all meter-gauge track in the southwest was on dual-gauge lines; the middle rails were removed, and exclusively 1000mm lines re-gauged. In the east, economic planners concluded that the 914mm network was too vast to re-gauge, especially considering how much of it ran through tunnels. Instead, they condensed the many 914mm loading guages into two standards, one based on the oldest, narrowest lines (D) and one which was initially designed for dual-gauge tracks (N). All new construction would use Form N gauge, and all lines which could not be modified for Form N would use Form D. As many bridges and tunnels had been damaged during thirty years of war, new construction created an opportunity to rebuild damaged lines to Form N standard.

The years that followed saw a breakneck campaign of new railroad construction. Between 1964 and 1988, the length of railroad track in Menghe increased 65%, with most of the increase taking place during the 1970s under the productionist leadership of Sim Jin-hwan. In the east of the country, this included the completion of the Donghae Mainline, planned since the 1930s: a 1435mm, double-track railroad which ran the full distance from Baekjin to Gyŏngsan with no break of gauge. Further inland, the New Frontier Route linked Suhait to Sunju via Suksŏng, though it saw disappointingly little traffic. Two new railroads across the Donghae Mountains greatly increased the volume of passengers and freight which could move between the east coast and the central plains, relieving pressure on the existing bottlenecks in the line.

Because railway construction was part of Sim Jin-hwan's campaign to promote rapid industrialization under a state-socialist model, there was a particularly heavy emphasis on building rail lines which would serve mines, refineries, and factories. Construction also gave disproportionate attention to the interior region, which was better protected from Dayashinese bombing or invasion in the event of a war. Intercity passenger transportation was a secondary priority, and there was little advancement in commuter rail, as the Household Registration System prevented rural residents from working in the cities. In general, any workers able to afford daily rail transport to the cities already had state-owned dormitories near their workplaces.

Ryŏ Ho-jun's ill-conceived rural industry campaigns stalled several railway construction plans, undercutting plans to reach 50,000 kilometers of track by the 20th anniversary of victory in the War of Liberation. There are several reports of local governments ordering villagers to pull up rail spikes and even steal entire sections of track in order to meet arbitrary quotas for steel ingot production. A route from Mindong to Yanggang, already under construction, was torn up in 1986 to punish locals for attempting an uprising during the Menghean famine of 1985-87. In 1987, the Communist Party even ordered that workers in the east coast tear up strategic rail lines to hamper any invasion from Dayashina, though these plans were never fully implemented. Despite the political instability, the 1980s did see the construction of some new railway links, especially strategic routes through the mountains to reinforce the coast.

Length of railway track in Menghe in 1988

Track gauge	Distance of track
1435mm	43,075 km
914mm	3,703 km
Dual 1435+914mm	2,557 km
Total	49,335 km

Administration

Ownership

Nearly all long-distance railway service in Menghe is controlled by Menghe Railways (멩국 철로 / 孟國鐵道, Mengguk Chŏldo), which is sometimes shortened to Gukchŏl or National Rail. Prior to 2003, railways and rolling stock were directly administered by the Ministry of Railways and financed out of the government budget. As part of the 2003 ministerial reorganization, the Ministry of Railways was rolled into the new Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and formally renamed as the Railroad Regulatory Agency (RRA). Ownership of railways and rolling stock was transferred to Menghe Railways, a state-owned enterprise.

Menghe Railways is formally designated as a mixed-motive state-owned enterprise. This means that its finances are separate from the Ministry of Transportation's budget, and the promotion of managerial staff incentivizes profitability, but the corporation is still required to meet public service requirements set by the Ministry of Transportation. Examples of these requirements include:

• Building strategic freight railroads as directed by the Ministry of National Defense;
• Building projects proposed and financed by the Ministry of Economic Development;
• Operating passenger service in rural or marginal areas; and
• Charging affordable ticket prices, as designated by the Railroad Regulatory Agency.

For example, many frequent-stop railway lines in rural areas are not profitable and would be shut down by a private carrier, but Menghe Railways continues to operate them in order to provide adequate transportation to rural residents.

Private companies are forbidden from building or operating intercity railway lines, except where the RRA explicitly authorizes them to do so. Most of these exceptions cover foreign trains which stop at Menghean stations, including through service on the Trans-Hemithea High-Speed Railway. Since 2011, Menghe Railways has experimented with allowing investors to buy and sell stock, but the Menghean government retains a 55% controlling stake.

While its budget and accounts are separate from the national budget, and although managers are rewarded for reducing cost-revenue gaps, Menghe Railways still operates at a loss, and receives subsidies from the national government. These subsidies can be divided into financing for new construction, per-ticket subsidies to incentivize ridership, and support for low-volume lines in marginal areas; most high-volume passenger routes, including the Baekjin-Gyŏngsan HSR route, make money and do not themselves require subsidies.

Classification of tracks

Railway tracks in Menghe are divided into three types, each with different ownership laws.

National railways comprise most of the network, including Inter-city rail, commuter rail, regional rail, and high-speed rail, but also industrial spurs, sidings, classification yards, rail yards, and other supporting infrastructure for the national system. This network is exclusively owned and operated by Menghe Railways, with the exception of some cross-border foreign trains which use its tracks.

Municipal railways are local passenger services confined to a given metropolitan area, in other words urban rail transit. Examples include trams, light rail, and rapid transit, but not commuter rail, which is classified as a National Railway. The category also includes rail yards which serve these systems. Municipal railways are owned and managed by prefecture-level municipal governments, and regulated by each municipality's Transportation Bureau.

Delimited railways are special-purpose railways serving a confined area. Examples include mine railways, funiculars, and people movers inside airports, parks, and malls, as well as rails used to move goods within the property of a factory, shipyard, or other industrial complex. Heritage railways are also included in this category. These railways are owned by whatever entity owns the plot of land they serve; thus a mine railway may be publicly owned or privately owned, depending on whether the mine is publicly or privately owned, but even in the former case it is owned by the state-owned enterprise which operates the mine. Like municipal railways, delimited railways may be linked to the national railway network - for example, to allow the delivery of rolling stock - but they cannot operate on the national railway's tracks outside the owner's property.

Integration of commuter rail service

Since 2010, Menghe Railways has worked to promote integration between nationally-run commuter rail and municipal rapid transit. Originally, becauses these systems were run by separate governments, they had their own maps, schedules, and ticketing systems: passengers transferring from a commuter train to a metro line would have to leave the station and buy a separate ticket. This caused a great deal of inconvenience for passengers, especially as municipal governments began to implement rechargable transit cards and smartphone payment apps which allowed integrated ticketing between metro, bus, and tram lines, but not commuter rail.

Donggyŏng was the first city to experiment with integrated ticketing of commuter rail and municipal transit, introducing a single card and a single app which could be used on both systems. Metro-rail transfer points were modified to allow free passage between platforms without a ticket check, and at the end of a passenger's journey, the total fare was calculated from the shortest route between the stations where the passenger swiped in and out. Revenue was then split between Menghe Railways and the Donggyŏng Metro based on the separate fares for each part of that trip. Other changes were purely superficial, to aid passenger navigation: commuter rail routes were added to metro system maps, and in some cases given Line numbers, with the metro system's logo added to stations. Insŏng, Hyangchun, and Haeju - all cities with large metro and commuter rail networks - followed up with similar experiments.

In 2017, the National Assembly passed a document urging all local governments with municipal railways to pursue integrated ticketing on the Donggyŏng-Insŏng model. Further expansion of integrated ticketing is expected to go hand-in-hand with the expansion of the One-Stop smart card and app, which as of June 2020 is valid for use in 64 cities and on all commuter and regional rail lines.

Track network

Length of operational railway track in Menghe in 2020

Type	Single track	Double track	Electrified	Pct Elect.	Total
High speed 1435mm	none
Conventional 1435mm
CargoMax 1435mm			none
Dual gauge
Narrow gauge 914mm			none
All types

Passenger service

Types of route

Currently, Menghe Railways distinguishes between the following types of passenger train, depending on train speed and the frequency of stops. Note that top speeds differ by region; in the mountainous east, high-speed trains do not accelerate above 300 km/h, while in level areas in the west, top speeds of 350 km/h are permitted.

Letter	Menghean name	Translation	Speed (1435mm)	Speed (914mm)	Description
G (高)	고속 여객 렬차 / 高速旅客列車 Gosok Yŏgaek Ryŏlcha	High-speed intercity train	300-350 km/h	N/A	Direct service between major urban centers on dedicated high-speed track.
K (快)	쾌속 도시간 여객 렬차 / 快速都市間旅客列車 Kwaesok Dosigan Yŏgaek Ryŏlcha	Fast intercity express train	200-250 km/h	N/A	Direct service between major urban centers on tracks upgraded for increased speeds. They sometimes run on dedicated express track.
D (都)	도시간 여객 렬차 / 都市間旅客列車 Dosigan Yŏgaek Ryŏlcha	Intercity express train	160 km/h	120 km/h	Direct service between major urban centers at standard or slightly increased speeds. They always share track with other trains.
Tŭ (特)	특급 여객 렬차 / 特急旅客列車 Tŭkgŭb Yŏgaek Ryŏlcha	Limited express train	140 km/h	120 km/h	Limited-stop service between major urban centers, usually stopping at edge cities, county-level cities, and transfer hubs.
To (通)	통근 여객 렬차 / 通勤旅客列車 Tonggŭn Yŏgaek Ryŏlcha	Commuter train	120 km/h	100 km/h	Stops at all stations on the suburban portion of the route, but only stops at major transfer stations within the urban center.
W3 (緩)	3급 완행 여객 렬차 / 三級緩行旅客列車 Sam-gŭb Wanhaeng Yŏgaek Ryŏlcha	Class 3 stopping train	120 km/h	100 km/h	Regional rail which stops at all stations along a route. W3 specifically applies when covering a long route in a rural or rural-urban area.
W2 (緩)	2급 완행 여객 렬차 / 二級緩行旅客列車 I-gŭb Wanhaeng Yŏgaek Ryŏlcha	Class 2 stopping train	120 km/h	100 km/h	Classification for urban rapid transit which is controlled by Menghe Railways rather than the municipal rapid transit corporation, usually because it runs on the national railway network. Stops at every urban station, unlike semi-express commuter trains.
W1 (緩)	1급 완행 여객 렬차 / 一級緩行旅客列車 Il-gŭb Wanhaeng Yŏgaek Ryŏlcha	Class 1 stopping train	120 km/h	80 km/h	Railbus or railcar trains (sometimes multiple units) on rural or suburban routes with low passenger traffic.
Y (旅)	여행 렬차 / 旅行列車 Yŏhaeng Ryŏlcha	Tourist train	varies	varies	Trains for dedicated tourist service.

Intercity express trains, limited express trains, and stopping trains each have a sub-category of temporary (임시 / 臨時, Imsi) trains. These trains are not scheduled for year-round service, but are added to the schedule during periods of peak travel, such as the new year travel season. Temporary trains can also be mobilized on an as-needed basis for:

• Evacuating refugees from an area affected by a disaster;
• Briginging supplies and volunteers to an area affected by a disaster;
• Bringing new conscripts to training centers during the twice-annual training period;
• Moving active-duty military personnel between bases.

Levels of service

History

Passenger trains in the Three States Period, the Federative Republic of Menghe, and the Greater Menghean Empire used the three-class seating system common in Casaterran countries at the time. The exact service quality varied between the different private rail companies, but in geheral, first-class carriages had fine upholstered seating and served meals, second-class carriages had cushioned seating in a 2+2 arrangement, and third-class carriages had wooden benches or beds. Sometimes third-class carriages had additional open space for carrying farm goods or livestock.

Under the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe, passenger trains officially offered only one level of service, designated "people's class." During the 1970s, some trains added carriages reserved for members of the Menghean People's Communist Party, one of many privileges which Party members could enjoy. These carriages had more comfortable seating and more storage space, and in the 1980s they were the first to receive air conditioning. They also tended to be less crowded. Even so, compared with comfort standards in Casaterran passenger trains, they were more analogous to second class carriages.

Following the Decembrist Revolution, Party carriages were instead reserved for military officers, and later for civil servants and members of the newly-founded Socialist Party. In 1997, some routes also introduced business-class carriages, which were similar to foreign first-class service and were open to all types of travelers for a higher ticket price.

Menghe Railways streamlined the seating class system in 2003 as part of its re-branding process, aiming to unify the various status-based cars into a single tier system. This resulted in the system described below, which is used today.

High-speed rail (G)

High-speed trains (G type) offer tickets in the following four classes. All classes offer complimentary wi-fi, as well as power outlets for charging electronics. Additionally, alternating carriages in the multiple unit have either a bathroom or a garbage bin and hot water dispenser. Because the high speed of these trains leaves less time between stations, sleeper cars and premium suites are rare, with most trains featuring a combination of first class and second class carriages.

• Premium suite: Luxury car with large 2-seat compartments, each containing a fold-down bed, a desk, storage space, and a bathroom with a shower. Very rare, and only used on certain routes.
• First class seat: 2+2 seating arrangement with increased leg room between seats. The storage space for luggage, at the front and/or rear of each car, is also larger.
• Second class seat: 2+3 seating arrangement, with similar seat quality to economy class on an airplane. As on first-class cars, seats have fold-out tables and power outlets for charging electronics.
• Sleeper: Four folding beds/benches per compartment, with two on each side. There is also a table in the middle. These cars are only used on long-distance international routes, such as the Trans-Hemithea High-Speed Railway and the South Hemithea High-Speed Railway.

Intercity trains (K, D)

Intercity trains (K and D type) offer two standard classes of service, plus seating and sleeper versions for both, for a total of four common ticket types. As on high-speed rail, some trains carry premium suites with service above the first-class level, but these are not common due to reduced passenger capacity. On older rolling stock, first class carriages have air conditioning while second class carriages have fans only; second class carriages built after the mid-2010s all feature air conditioning by default, though it may be weaker.

All K-type trains and most D-type trains run on 1435mm track, but there is a single narrow-gauge intercity line (the "Mini Express") which runs from Donggyŏng to Yŏngjŏng, including night service with sleeper cars. It has the same four-class pricing scheme and roughly the same comfort level, but the seating and bunk layouts differ slightly because the train cars are physically narrower.

• Premium suite: Luxury car with 2-seat compartments, each containing a fold-down bed, a desk, storage space, and a bathroom with a shower.
• First class seat: 2+2 seating arrangement with increased leg room between seats, reclining seat backs, and fold-down tray tables, similar to second class on high-speed trains. The storage space for luggage is larger.
  • Mini Express: 1+2 seating arrangement.
• First class sleeper: 2-person compartments, each with two beds that can fold down into benches and a table in the middle, as well as a locking door which separates the compartment from the hallway. It is permitted to buy both tickets for one compartment and reserve it for oneself.
  • Mini Express: 2-person compartments, but with the bunks stacked against the wall opposite the hallway and upward-folding seats on either side.
• Second class seat: 2+3 seating arrangement with reduced space for baggage storage. Most second class seats on current rolling stock are upholstered, but some still take the form of straight-back benches, which are preferred as they allow children or additional passengers to squeeze in on packed trains. This is the preferred carriage type for low-income migrant workers traveling between the city and the countryside.
  • Mini Express: 2+2 seating arrangement, with individual seats instead of benches.
• Second class sleeper: 6-person compartments with 3 non-folding bunks per side. There are no doors separating compartments from the hallway, but each bunk has a curtain (or on newer rolling stock, a segmented plastic door that rolls up to one side) to provide privacy.
  • Mini Express: 4-person compartments with 2 non-folding bunks per side.
  • Bilevel sleeper car: 4-person compartments with 2 non-folding bunks per side.

Frequent-stop trains (Tŭ, To, W)

These trains do not have a class system. Instead, like rapid transit trains or city buses, all passengers share the same seat type. These trains also lack sleeper and diner cars, which would be redundant on a frequent-stop, short-distance, high-density route. Cars on these trains are generally designed with a relatively large amount of standing room, though not as much as rapid transit trains, to accommodate rush hour passenger levels. Air conditioning is present on all new rolling stock of this type, though some older carriages on less-traveled routes still lack it; this is not factored into ticket price.

Special carriages

Special carriages for Party members and military officers used to be a common sight on Menghean trains, as they allowed the Communist and later Socialist parties to offer privileges to higher-status personnel while maintaining the impression that money did not buy additional luxury in a socialist state. These high-status cars disappeared in the 2003 reorganization, when many of them were re-classified as first-class carriages. Nevertheless, a few types of special-purpose carriage remain.

• Barracks car: A four-bunk sleeper reserved for military personnel. Each car has storage lockers at one end, so overall passenger capacity is similar to a three-bunk second-class sleeper. These cars are added to trains at the start of the conscript training period, during the deployment of conscripts to the front, and during the call-up of reservists. Trains composed entirely of barracks cars may also be used to move military units around the country, with vehicles and other equipment on a separate train.
• Women-only sleeper compartment: Since the 1960s, sleeper trains have included a small number of women-only compartments, usually 1 to 3 per car but sometimes with all women-only compartments in a single car. Passengers must request a women-only ticket when making a purchase, and must show ID to confirm that they are female. The remaining compartments are mixed.
• Women-only car: These appeared on some To and W class trains in 2016, as part of an effort to combat groping and sexual harrassment on crowded rush hour trains.

Ticketing

High-speed (G and K)

Ticketing on high-speed and fast intercity trains works similar to ticketing on airplanes. Passengers must purchase tickets for a specific seat, and they make these purchases ahead of time. It is possible to buy tickets online, over the phone, or via the Menghe Railways app, though this requires registering under one's resident ID number, so it is only open to citizens and permanent residents. Until 2016, foreign tourists had to book their tickets through a third-party travel agency; in 2016, Menghe Railways added an option to buy tickets online with a foreign passport as identification. It is possible to purchase tickets online as little as one hour before the train's scheduled departure, though after that point one must purchase tickets at the station in person. In-person purchases also require the buyer to provide a resident ID card or foreign passport.

Starting in 2015, citizens and permanent residents have been able to use their ID card or smartphone app (with ID information) as a substitute for a physical ticket on G and K type trains. Because tickets are linked with one's ID number for security purposes and the Menghe Railways ticketing database links ID numbers, tickets, and seats, either of these can substitue for a ticket at the gate check and aboard the train. It is not necessary for security staff and on-board conductors to visually check the card or app, as ID cards produced after 2004 have built-in MIFARE chips for non-contact reading. Individuals without ID cards or smartphone apps must retrieve a physical paper ticket from the station using the confirmation number from their online purchase.

Passengers with these ticket types wait in the main station building until their train is approaching the station. The platform opens to passengers 15-20 minutes before the train's scheduled departure. In order to enter the platform, passengers must pass through automated ticket-check gates, which can read paper tickets, smartphones, and ID cards. A conductor also performs ticket checks once passengers have boarded.

G and K type high-speed trains do not allow passengers to buy "non-seat" tickets; every passenger aboard the train must have a seat, except for children below the age of 5. During peak travel periods, such as the New Year vacation, some routes sell a limited number of "waiting line" tickets; passengers with these tickets are not guaranteed a seat on their train, but will be allowed to board if another passenger cancels their trip or does not show up. If unable to board, waiting line passengers can board the next train with empty seats on that route.

Express (D and Tŭ)

D and Tŭ trains use a mix of pre-purchased tickets and automatic tickets (described below). Passengers have the option of purchasing tickets ahead of time, either by phone, over the app, on the Menghe Railways website, or at the station's ticket desk and ticket machines. This is the only way to get tickets for premium-class seats, first-class seats, and sleeper cars. It is also the only way to get a reserved seat. As with high-speed trains, remote purchases are possible up to one hour before departure, but in-person tickets are still possible until five minutes before departure (when the platform gate is closed at major stations).

Unlike G and K trains, which require that all passengers have a seat assigned when passing through the gate to the platform, D and Tŭ trains also sell "non-seat tickets" (좌석 없는 표, jwasŏk ŏbnŭn pyo). These allow the holder to board the train, but do not entitle the holder to a seat. They are equivalent in value to a second-class seat, and allow the holder to occupy a second-class seat if one is available, but the passenger must vacate the seat if another passenger with that seat reserved boards the train. Some stations enforce an informal limit on the number of non-seat passengers allowed to board a train, to limit crowding and improve safety.

D and Tŭ trains also differ from G and K trains in that they allow passengers to swipe on and off using card readers at the carriage doors, as described in the section on stopping trains below. By default, swiping on entitles the passenger to a second-class non-seat ticket, meaning that card-swiping passengers can sit in a second-class seat if one is available but must vacate it if the passenger with a ticket to that seat boards.

Stopping trains (To, W)

Originally, To-type and all W-type trains used paper tickets, which are sold at stations through a ticketing desk or an automated machine. These tickets do not correspond to a specific train or seat, but allow the passenger to ride any train going between the start and end stations for a 12-hour period. This allows prolonged stops at individual stations, as long as the passenger does not reverse direction. On To, and W3 trains, a conductor makes regular ticket checks; ticket checks are less common on W2 trains, but the fines are much higher. On W1 railbuses, passengers show the ticket to the driver when boarding, or run it through an automatic ticket-check machine.

To and W trains have supplemented the paper tickets with an e-ticketing system. Card readers are installed next to the train doors, allowing passengers to swipe their phones or transit cards as they board. Passengers swipe again when they disembark, and the ticketing system automatically deducts a fare from their account based on the distance between stations. One minute after the train starts moving, card readers are switched off, to prevent accidental swiping. If passengers forget to swipe out, the fare ceiling for the route is deducted; there are also backup card readers on platforms for passengers who forget. Because there is no flat boarding fee, passengers who disembark and embark on a later train, or who transfer between trains, do not pay a higher fare than those who take a direct route (apart from rounding). Card-reading trains also charge the same fee regardless of train type (Tŭ, To, W1-3). When train conductors carry out ticket checks, they use a handheld scanner to check that passengers' cards or smartphones show a ride in progress. In February 2020, Menghe Railways announced that all trains have been equipped with card and phone readers, which were introduced more slowly on rural routes.

Currently (June 2020), the following cards and apps are accepted. Passengers must be careful not to swipe multiple devices at once, as this may result in an error or a charge on both accounts. Devices linked to the same account (e.g., a OneStop phone and OneStop card) cannot be swiped twice on one ride, but devices linked to different accounts (e.g., a OneStop card and a Menghe Railways card) can both be swiped to pay for a companion.

• Menghe Railways ticketing app (also used for ticket purchases)
• OneStop universal transit app
• Menghe Railways smart card
• OneStop smart card
• OneStop prepaid tourist card
• Resident ID card (post-2004 version)

Amenities

All G, K, D, Tŭ, To, and W3-type trains have onboard restrooms, either one per carriage or one in every other carriage. Restrooms on older trains use Hemithean-style squat toilets, but on newer trains these were replaced with sitting toilets, which offer greater stability on bumpy track and turns. Newer trains also have onboard holding tanks, while some older ones dumped waste onto the tracks in between stations. W2 (urban rapid transit) and W1 (railbus) trains do not have restrooms, so passengers must disembark and use the restroom at a station.

Most trains also have some kind of onboard catering, though this also depends on the length of the route. Where catering is present, it is available to both first-class and second-class passengers. Food trolley service typically includes fruit, packaged snacks, juice, tea, instant noodles, and light alcohol. Some long-distance routes have a restaurant car or a car with a food sale counter. All trains except W1 and W2 types have a hot water dispenser for making tea or instant noodles, and first-class carriages on newer trains also have a cold water dispenser to cater to foreign customers.

Currently, smoking is prohibited in passenger cars on all Menghean trains, and the policy is enforced with smoke detectors in bathrooms and cabins. Ignoring the law or tampering with the smoke detectors is punishable by a heavy fine, and on high-speed routes it may automatically trigger the train's emergency braking system. It was once common for Menghean trans to allow smoking in the restaurant car of non-high-speed trains, but since 2018 this has been prohibited as well.

Standards and regulations

Track gauges

During the late 19th century, Menghe's rail network contained seven different types of track gauge, the result of political fragmentation and privatized construction. Of these types, 1435mm, 1000mm, and 914mm were the most common, with the latter two concentrated in specific regions. Following the rationalization of the rail network in the late 1960s, the number of gauges was reduced to two: 1435mm and 914mm.

Of the two gauges in service, 1435mm is the most common. This is the gauge used by all rail traffic outside the east coast, as well as new freight and intercity lines within the east coast region. All high-speed trains in Menghe use 1435mm gauge. Because this gauge is shared with Polvokia, Themiclesia, Dzhungestan, Dayashina (high-speed only), and, after re-gauging, Argentstan and the Republic of Innominada, it allows for convenient international transportation.

Narrow-gauge 914mm is exclusively found in the eastern region of the country, specifically the provinces of Central Donghae, South Donghae, Ryonggok, and Unsan, as well as Donggyŏng directly-governed city. This track gauge was first adopted by the State of Sinyi, and later used by the privately-run Donghae Railways, earning it the name "Donghae gauge." Like other narrow-gauge railways, it allows for smaller tunnels, narrower bridges, and a lighter track bed, which are useful features in Eastern Menghe's rugged terrain. Construction of new 914mm gauge branch lines continued until well into the 2010s.

Some tracks in eastern Menghe use a dual gauge layout, with the outer rails spaced at 1435mm and a central rail spaced 914mm from one of them. At stations, both trains share the rail adjacent to the platform, though on some routes the narrow-gauge train switches to the inner rail in between stations.

Platform heights

There are three standard platform heights in use on Menghe Railways's network: 380mm, 550mm, and 1250mm. Other platform heights existed in the early 20th century, especially on private lines with non-standard track gauges, but all have been rebuilt to one of these standards or removed from use.

380mm platform

This was the original standard used by the State of Sinyi in 1875. It was widely built in eastern Menghe during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, due to its low cost and the low height of Donghae Railways's passenger cars. This platform height is no longer used in new construction, but it is still present on some rural routes in the east, especially those using Form G loading gauge.

550mm platform

This was the original standard used by the State of Namyang in 1871, and it became widespread under the Greater Menghean Empire. In 1965, the Ministry of Railways required that all new standard-gauge platforms be built to a height of 550mm, and required that all new rolling stock have a 550mm floor height at the entrance. Some 380mm platforms were also rebuilt to a height of 550mm, especially on platforms serving dual-gauge track.

1250mm platform

This platform height was first bought into use in the 2000s, when Menghe built its first high-speed rail line. Because the Themiclesian high-speed trains sold as part of the project had 1250mm floors, it was necessary to build new platforms to this height to accommodate them. Because high-speed trains had separate platforms from other passenger trains, this was not an issue. Since the early 2010s, Menghean fast intercity trains (K type) have also used this platform height.

While trains with 1250mm floors run routes with exclusively 1250mm platforms, there are a number of routes in the eastern part of the country where a train with a 550mm floor serves both 550mm and 380mm platforms. The Ministry of Railroads rationalization committee concluded that the 170mm (6.7-inch) difference, about the height of a stair step, was small enough for passengers to board the train without difficulty, and did not require 380mm platforms to be raised unless it was part of a larger station overhaul. The vertical gap does, however, make these platforms inaccessible for passengers with wheelchairs or other mobility constraints. This problem has become particularly acute in recent years, as Menghe's narrowing demographic pyramid and its high rural-urban youth migration have contributed to a growing share of elderly in the population in the rural areas served by 380mm stations.

Beginning in the late 2010s, some elderly rights groups have lobbied the Ministry of Transportation to eliminate the vertical gap, either by raising the remaining 380mm platforms or by purchasing rolling stock with a ramp or elevator mechanism. Opponents of changing the regulation have pointed to the high expense of these measures, especially given the low and declining ridership on the remaining 380mm platform routes and the possibility that Menghe Railways will eliminate service to some of them in the next decade. As of June 2020, the Ministry of Transportation is still conducting feasibility studies of these options, and while some new trains slated for delivery in 2021 will feature a wheelchair-elevator car for trial service, there are no plans to make these features mandatory.

Coupling

Early Menghean trains used buffer and chain couplers, which remained in production for new rolling stock into the 1960s. Following the Menghean War of Liberation, the Menghean government sought to upgrade its new trains with semi-automatic couplers to allow faster and safer coupling. Because of its close relations with Kolodoria, Menghe adopted the SA3 coupler, which was installed on all new rolling stock and retrofitted to some older locomotives and cars.

Recently, Menghe has begun transitioning to the C-AKv coupler. This design is mechanically compatible with the SA3 coupler on existing rolling stock, but it also features built-in, automatically-connecting plugs for electric power and pneumatic brake lines.

Menghean EMU trains, including urban rapid transit trains, W2 stopping trains, commuter trains, and G and K class high speed trains, use Scharfenberg couplers, with a national standard for the coupler's height above the track and the placement of the electrical and pneumatic connections. Because it cannot bear heavy loads, the Scharfenberg coupler is not used on freight trains, and there are no plans in Menghe to adopt it on other types of passenger train.

Electrification

Menghean railway electrification systems are also based on Kolodorian standards, with a 3 kV DC overhead line hung from a tensioned catenary system over the track. The 3 kV DC system, however, only applies to non-high-speed routes. High-speed (G) track uses a 25 kV AC overhead wire at 50 Hz, as the first trains and overhead wires were purchased off-the-shelf from Themiclesia. Because Menghean high-speed trains run on dedicated track and have separate platforms at stations, the use of incompatible voltages is not a serious issue, though it does require special planning to ensure that parallel and intersecting routes do not generate electrical interference. A few K-type fast express routes use multi-system trains capable of running on both 3 kV DC and 25 kV DC at 50 Hz.

Menghean safety standards require a clearance of at least 400mm between the train roof and charged electric wires; thus, trains with the "Federal" Form D loading gauge rely on an overhead line with a minimum height of 4,800mm above the track, though the maximum height can run as high as 6400mm for slow-moving trai. This allows Form M ("CargoMax") oversize carriages to pass under the wires, but only when the power to that section is shut off, which is sometimes necessary where two tracks cross. The average height of the overhead wire sits at 5800-6000mm for most sections of track, and at 5300mm for high-speed track.

Because the powered overhead line is supported by a catenary wire, additional clearance may be needed when determining the structure gauge for tunnels and bridges. The electrification of the '20s-vintage Jindong tunnel, for example, required a special mounting system to attach the tensioned wires to the tunnel roof.

Notably, railway electrification in Menghe only serves trains with a track gauge of 1435mm. All narrow-gauge (914mm) trains must use some other form of power. This is because the overhead wires are too far above the track to allow a reasonably-sized pantograph to draw electricity from them, and because narrow-gauge trains are not centered on dual-gauge track, requiring a special pantograph design. Narrow-gauge trains must also pass through tunnels with a very low structure gauge, making electrification difficult. The use of dual-gauge track also rules out a third rail system, as depending on the stretch of track, the narrow-gauge train is either using the left rail, using the right rail, moving between the two, or, in some cases, running in the center. As such, narrow-gauge routes typically use diesel propulsion, either in the form of a diesel locomotive, a diesel railcar design, or a diesel multiple unit.

Menghe Railways is also experimenting with battery electric multiple units on some narrow-gauge routes, though their reduced power-to-weight ratio, 300-kilometer range, high cost, and long charging time at specially designed stations all represent severe problems on Menghe's narrow-gauge rural tracks.

Route numbering

Rail directions in Menghe designate routes as either "up" (상행 / 上行, sanghaeng) or "down" (하행 / 下行, hahaeng), depending on the approximate direction of travel. These do not directly correspond to altitudes or compass directions. Rather, "up" describes routes moving toward Baekjin at Menghe's northeast corner, and "down" describes routes moving toward Samtay at Menghe's southwest corner. This practice originated when Federal Railways finished re-gauging the line from Baekiin to Sunju, which ran diagonally across the country.

If a rail line runs in a circle, as some regional routes do, the clockwise (inner) train is designated as "down," and the counterclockwise (outer) train is designated as "up," based on the direction each would be moving at the easternmost point on the route. If a rail line zigzags between directions during its route, the Railroad Regulatory Agency designates the entire line as either up or down based on the general path of travel.

In the numbering of passenger routes, "up" routes are given odd numbers, and "down" routes are given even numbers. Wherever possible, when a given line offers service in both directions, the odd and even numbers are adjacent. Thus on the Donggyŏng-Gyŏngsan high-speed line, route G2421 runs from Gyŏngsan to Donggyŏng, and route G2422 runs from Donggyŏng to Gyŏngsan.

See also

• Transportation in Donggyŏng