Gov’t resumes tourist train service to Dorasan Station after 6-year suspension

The route of the "DMZ Peace-Link Train" / Courtesy of Ministry of Unification

The government is resuming regular tourist train service between Seoul Station and Dorasan Station on Thursday, ending a suspension of more than six years, the Ministry of Unification announced.

The train, designated the "DMZ Peace-Link Train," will operate on the second and fourth Fridays of each month along the Gyeongui Line, passing through Imjingang Station and into the Civilian Control Zone to reach Dorasan Station, the northernmost passenger station in South Korea and the last stop before the Demilitarized Zone.

Dorasan Station, located approximately 56 kilometers from Seoul and 205 kilometers from Pyongyang, carries symbolic significance as the point from which a future link northward would depart. A sign at the station reads, "This is not the last station from the South, but the first station toward the North."

To mark the occasion, the government is holding a ceremony titled "Dorasan Station, Reconnecting Peace" on Friday at Seoul Station and Dorasan Station.

The event will consist of three segments: a boarding ceremony at Seoul Station, a reopening ceremony at Dorasan Station and a peace tourism visit to Camp Greaves, a former U.S. military base near the DMZ that has been converted into a cultural and educational facility.

Approximately 260 participants are expected to attend, including members of the National Assembly, North Korean defectors, members of separated families, international students, youth representatives and civic leaders.

The DMZ tourist train began operations in May 2014 and was suspended in 2019. Service was formally terminated in December 2023, with Friday's launch representing a new iteration of the service under a new name.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.