Old railway turns into tourist attraction

The Korea Railroad Corp. runs a mini train on a zigzag railway from Dogye Station at High 1 Choo Choo Park, the nation’s only mountainous railway theme park, in Samcheok, Gangwon Province. / Courtesy of Korail

By Chung Ah-young

In the past, a train climbed a steep mountain by running on a switchback or zigzag railway that was set up between the low and high points. In recent years, however, a train can more easily ascend a mountain owing to new tunnel constructions.

Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) closed down the switchback section from Heungjeon Station to Nahanjeong Station after opening the Soran Tunnel between Dongbaek Mountain and Dogye in June 27, 2012.

Recently, however, KORAIL decided to revive the switchback railway as a tourist attraction at High 1 Choo Choo Park, the nation’s only mountainous railway theme park in Gangwon Province.

KORAIL runs the mini train on a zigzag railway from Dogye Station in Samcheok, Gangwon Province.

The train departs at 12:30 p.m. and 3:40 p.m. every day and arrives at Choo Choo Station, the old Simpori Station. The three-vehicle, 168-seat train takes an hour to travel the 9.2 kilometer section.

“The train is a good example of how to revive our disappearing railway history and turn it into a tourist attraction,” Yoon Sung-ryeon, director of the KORAIL tourism project team, said. “The operation of the train at Dogye Station is expected to boost the regional economy,” he said.

High1 ChooChoo Park Corp. was established in 2014 by Kangwon Land, a casino and resort company, as a train theme park using old railways and regional resources.

KORAIL offers a train trip on a zigzag railway on an incline, similar to Switzerland’s funicular one that was removed in 1963. The train ride, which uses a rail bike and other exotic mini trains, passes through 12 tunnels to give passengers a unique railway experience.

Visitors in Seoul and adjacent areas need to take the train departing from Cheongryangri Station in Seoul at 7:05 a.m. or from Daejeon Station at 7:00 a.m. and transfer to the train for the switchback railway at Jecheon Station.

Round-trip tickets cost 9,000 won each, while one-way tickets are 5,000 won each. Tickets are available at www.choochoopark.com.