US EditionNorth Korea and China to Resume Passenger Train Service After Six-Year Gap
The Beijing-Pyongyang train will run four times weekly, initially serving diplomats and officials, with possible ticket sales to general passengers if seats remain, China State Railway Group said.
- This week, China State Railway Group confirmed the Beijing–Pyongyang passenger service will restart on Thursday, resuming after about six years offline.
- Border closures during the COVID‑19 pandemic forced the six‑year suspension, and North Korea’s gradual easing and last year’s Pyongyang–Moscow services helped reverse that trend.
- Operational plans show a four‑times‑weekly schedule with the last two train cars reserved for passengers, prioritizing diplomats and official travellers while allowing general passengers if seats remain.
- China's foreign ministry said maintaining a regular passenger train takes on "significance" for personnel exchanges, with the route also aiding potential revival of pre‑pandemic travel patterns.
- Amid wider regional tensions and a planned Beijing trip from March 31 to April 2, analysts link the train restart to efforts by North Korea and China to promote cooperation, despite cooled ties and recent easing of travel restrictions.
20 Articles
20 Articles
China-North Korea rail link restored as neighbours try to get ties back on track
China will resume passenger train services to North Korea for the first time in six years – the latest sign of warming ties between the two countries as Pyongyang grapples with increasing tensions with the South and Donald Trump’s unpredictability. From Thursday, passenger trains between Beijing and Pyongyang will run four times a week – on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, China Railway Group (CREC) said on social media Tuesday night. T…
North Korea, China to resume passenger train service after six-year gap
Tickets for the first passenger train in six years from Beijing to North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, were sold out ahead of its March 12 departure, an official ticketing office in Beijing said on Tuesday. The resumption of the rail service, suspended since the onset of the Covid‑19 pandemic in 2020, revives a critical transport link between the largely isolated North Korea and its primary economic ally. Tickets for the journey – restricted to tr…
Flights and trains between North Korea and Russia resumed last year, amid the rapprochement between the two countries following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The railway line was one of the few connections to foreign countries, but transport was halted due to the corona pandemic.
China-North Korea trains to resume after six-year halt following Covid outbreak
Travel operators say Chinese and North Koreans can now buy tickets for services leaving this week Passenger train services between China and North Korea are to resume this week, six years after their suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic, travel operators have said. Train journeys between the…
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