Suggested citations
AGLC4 | 철도법 2015 [Railway Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2015)] [tr Daye Gang].
Bluebook | Cheoldobeob 2015 [Railway Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2015)] translated in Law and North Korea by Daye Gang, https://www.lawandnorthkorea.com/.
Adopted on October 22, Juche 76 (1987), as Decision No. 6 of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on March 11, Juche 88 (1999), as Directive No. 507 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on February 3, Juche 89 (2000), as Directive No. 1337 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on January 24, Juche 95 (2006), as Directive No. 1528 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on February 26, Juche 97 (2008), as Directive No. 2601 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on May 5, Juche 98 (2009), as Directive No. 37 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on April 26, Juche 100 (2011), as Directive No. 1617 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on August 23, Juche 100 (2011), as Directive No. 1825 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on July 22, Juche 104 (2015), as Directive No. 577 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
CHAPTER I. BASICS OF RAILWAY LAW
Article 1 (Status and objectives of railways)
Railways are the arteries of the country and a precedent for the national economy. Railways in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall serve the development of the socialist independent national economy and the advancement of the material and cultural standards of the people.
Article 2 (Ownership over railways)
Railways in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are the noble gains of the revolution won through a struggle to realize the doctrine for nationalization of important industries. Only the State shall own railways.
Article 3 (Principle of developing railway transportation)
Transportation is an important component part of socialist reproduction on a large scale. The State shall correctly determine the balance between production and transportation and shall develop railway transportation from the principle of creating transportation ability in advance, before production.
Article 4 (Railway construction principles)
Constructing railways so that they have good prospects is an important condition to develop all areas of the country and all sectors of the national economy together. The State shall construct railways in a planned way according to the overarching land construction plan and must place them rationally.
Article 5 (Principle of modernizing and scientizing railways)
Modernizing and scientizing railways is a central task of strengthening the material and technical foundations of railways. The State shall systematically increase investments in the railway transportation sector, strongly expand the technological revolution, and must modernize and scientize railways by actively accepting the results of the newest scientific techniques.
Article 6 (Principle of regularizing railway operations)
Strict discipline is life to railways. The State shall adopt strong and strict discipline and order over railways and shall regularize railway operations.
Article 7 (Principle of guaranteeing increasing transportation demands)
Smoothly assuring the transportation demands of the national economy is the basic guarantee of the normalization of production and of constant growth. The State shall improve transportation organization and method in conformity with developing reality and strengthen expedited shipping, container transportation, and intermodal transport to smoothly assure increasing transportation demands.
Article 8 (Principle of raising cultural character and working spirit in railway transportation)
Railway transportation is labour work for society and all people.
The State shall strongly open up a cultural revolution to manage railways frugally and cleanly and must raise cultural character and working spirit in railway transportation.
Article 9 (Principle of protecting railways)
Supporting and protecting railways using the whole masses is a fundamental character requirement of a socialist system. The State shall ensure that all people pay deep attention to transportation and strongly support railways, and participate in protecting and managing railways as if they are the owners.
Article 10 (Principle of scientific research and training technical experts in the railway transportation field)
The State shall modernize railway transportation methods and equipment and must conduct scientific research and technical experts training work to scientize railway operations so that it has good prospects.
Article 11 (Exchange and cooperation in the railway transportation field)
The State shall develop exchange and cooperation in the railway transportation field with other countries and international organizations.
CHAPTER II. STRENGTHENING MATERIAL AND TECHNICAL FOUNDATIONS OF RAILWAYS
Article 12 (Basic requirements of strengthening the material and technical foundations of railways)
Strengthening the material and technical foundations of railways is a compulsory requirement of independent and modern railway transportation construction. State planning institutions and railway transportation institutions must strengthen the Juche identity of railway transportation and must do the work of increasing rail weight and modernizing railway transportation methods and equipment so that it has good prospects.
Article 13 (Electrification of railways)
Railway electrification is the basic direction of railway transportation development of our country. The railway transportation institution shall consolidate results accomplished in railway electrification and must complete railway electrification. The electricity supply institution shall adopt a system of supplying electricity to railways via an exclusive line and must assure high quality electricity.
Article 14 (Production of cars, rails, sleepers, fixing products)
Railway transportation institutions and given institutions must strongly manage production bases for cars, rails, concrete sleepers, and railway fixing products, and must produce modern engine locomotives, electric trains, heavy-duty rail cars, passenger cars, heavy rails, concrete sleepers, and railway fixing products that conform to the reality of our country in a planned way.
Article 15 (Guarantee of strength of railways, extension of railway station internal line)
The railway transportation institution and the authorities concerned shall reinforce railway structures, including steel bridges, in conformity with increasing the rail weight of the railway and the requirements of modernization, and shall raise the strength of railways by accepting heavy rails and concrete sleepers, and must increase railway station internal lines.
Article 16 (Construction of new railways, full equipment of railway networks)
State planning institutions, railway transportation institutions, and authorities concerned shall construct modernized new railways that increase rail weight according to prospects, and must fully equip the railway network of the country by laying double tracks, roundabout tracks, and connecting tracks in sections where transit ability is strained. Railways that have not received pre-delivery inspections may not be operated.
Article 17 (Automation of railroad yards and sections)
Railway transportation institutions shall extensively accept modern technical means including computing to automate railroad yards and sections, and must make the railway command and conduct system wireless, televised, and automated.
Article 18 (Cargo stations and dedicated tracks)
Railway transportation institutions and given institutions and enterprises must have different and modern equipment and facilities to load and unload or store cargo at cargo stations and dedicated tracks, according to increases in railway transportation ability. Equipment and facilities that can cause damage to freight cars may not be installed at cargo stations and dedicated tracks.
Article 19 (Guarantee of working conditions in the railway transportation sector)
State planning institutions, labour administration institutions, resources supply institutions, and given institutions and enterprises must prioritise the assurance of the labour, resources, and facilities required for the increase in rail weight, modernization, and operation of railways, over other sectors. Railway employees including engineers, assistant engineers, repairers, and rail maintainers may not be mobilized in other work that is not related to railway sector work.
CHAPTER III. TRAIN OPERATIONS
Article 20 (Operation of trains on time and without accident)
Strengthening train operations discipline on railways is a basic requirement to normalize railway transportation. The railway transportation institution must adopt a single command and direction system in the organization and conduct of train operations, and must guarantee the operation of trains on time and without accident by normalizing railway operations. All cars operating on a main railway line must submit to the single command and direction.
Article 21 (Train timetables)
Railway transportation institutions shall correctly make a train timetable and must ensure that all trains operate according to the timetable. The train timetable may not be changed or violated at will.
Article 22 (Train organization plan)
Railway transportation institutions must draw up trains according to a train organization plan. The work of drafting the train organization plan shall be done by the central railway transportation guidance institution.
Article 23 (Freight car exchange order)
Railway transportation institutions must compulsorily implement a freight car exchange order. It may not own more freight cars in operation than the possession standard.
Article 24 (Operation of railway cars)
Only railway transportation institutions may operate railway cars. Railway transportation institutions shall increase the towing weight and travelling distance of engine locomotives and must assure the designated number of days between loading one freight and the next freight. In cases when a given institution or enterprise seeks to use cars of another country, it must receive the agreement of the central railway transportation guidance institution, and must return the used car within the period determined.
Article 25 (Conducting and driving trains)
Railway workers must abide strictly by regulations and order in conducting and driving trains. Conducting and driving trains may only be done by the railway worker with the given qualifications.
Article 26 (Command and registration of cars and creation and mobilization of reserves)
Railway transportation institutions must command and register all cars without exception and must have reserves of engine locomotives, freight cars, and passenger cars required for urgently raised transportation from time to time. At times of urgent cargo transportation at a State level, the dedicated cars of the given institution or enterprise may be mobilized. In these cases, the given institution or enterprise must assure in time the dedicated cars required by the railway transportation institution.
Article 27 (Railway stations)
Railway stations are basic units that directly undertake and perform transportation. Railway transportation institutions must strengthen railway station work to raise the responsibility and role of railway stations in train driving and in passenger and cargo transportation.
CHAPTER IV. RAILWAY CARGO TRANSPORTATION
Article 29 (Basic requirements of railway cargo transportation)
Railway cargo transportation is a basic duty of railway transportation institutions. Railway transportation institutions must correctly transport cargo required for national economic development and people’s standard of living within the period determined.
Article 29 (Railway cargo transportation plans and contracts)
State planning institutions must adopt railway cargo transportation plans so that the balance between transportation demand and transportation ability is correctly guaranteed. Railway transportation institutions and the institutions, enterprises and organizations that own the freight must conclude transportation contracts in time based on the cargo transportation plans and must compulsorily fulfil them.
Article 30 (Prohibition of illogical transportation)
State planning institutions, railway transportation institutions, and given institutions and enterprises must ensure not to do illogical transportation including backhauling, repeated transportation, and empty movements.
Article 31 (Expedited shipping)
Railway transportation institutions must expedite shipping for large volumes of cargo that are to be transported to large factories, enterprises, or constant areas. Resources supply institutions and given institutions and enterprises must assure the contracted supplies in conformity with the requirements of expedited shipping.
Article 32 (Cargo hold transportation)
Railway transportation institutions and given institutions and enterprises must increase cargo hold production and must transport cargo that can be wasted during transportation, or cargo that requires a lot of packaging materials or cargo that is arduous to load and unload, using cargo holds. Empty cargo holds must be returned to the owner in time.
Article 33 (Intermodal transport)
State planning institutions, transportation institutions, and given institutions and enterprises must organize intermodal transport to lessen the expenses on railways. Organizing intermodal transportation must be able to increase economic effectiveness.
Article 34 (Classifying and packaging railway cargo)
Railway cargo shall be transported by dividing into single shipment cargo, small cargo, baggage, and hand luggage. Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must package the cargo to be transported according to the designated specifications. Cargo that has not been packaged according to the specifications may not be transported.
Article 35 (Loading railway cargo)
Railway transportation institutions and institutions, enterprises and organizations that own the freight must load cargo according to the loading capacity of the freight car and the requirements of the given regulations. Cargo that has a large volume or is light so it can be compressed, including fiber, iron chips, and rice straw, must be compressed to be loaded.
Article 36 (Transportation of special cargo)
The transportation of cargo requiring special transportation conditions, including radioactive materials and explosive substances, shall be done according to separately determined regulations.
Article 37 (Division of work for loading and unloading cargo)
The work of loading and unloading cargo at railway stations shall be done by the railway transportation institution. However, the work of loading and unloading cargo at railway stations, dedicated tracks, and dedicated places where there is no labour to load and unload single shipment cargo shall be done by the owner of the freight.
Article 38 (Loading and unloading cargo, train dwell time)
Railway transportation institutions and institutions, enterprises and organizations that own the freight must load and unload cargo in time. Freight cars that load and unload cargo must hand it over to the railway station within the designated time period. The work of determining train dwell times for institutions and enterprises shall be done by the railway transportation institution.
Article 39 (Handover and takeover of cargo)
Railway transportation institutions and institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens that own the freight must correctly hand over and receive cargo.
Railway transportation institutions shall have responsibility for accidents that occur during the period from receiving the cargo to handing it over. Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens that own the freight may require compensation for damage caused during the period the cargo transportation was requested from the railway transportation institution.
Article 40 (Cargo management)
Railway transportation institutions must strictly adopt an order of cargo entry, exit and management. Cargo with an unknown owner or cargo that is not retrieved after the end of the storage period shall be handed over to the given institution to be handled.
Article 41 (Railway freight charges and fees)
Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens that have used freight cars of other countries or steam locomotives, or have consigned cargo transportation, must pay the given freight charges and fees to the railway transportation institution. The work of determining the railway freight charges and fees shall be done by the central price determining institution.
CHAPTER V. RAILWAY PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION
Article 42 (Basic requirements of railway passenger transportation)
Railway passenger transportation is labour activity to accommodate guests’ travelling convenience. Railway transportation institutions shall raise working spirit towards travelling guests to assure their safe and cultural travel.
Article 43 (Organization of passenger trains)
Railway transportation institutions must organize passenger trains conveniently for guests’ travel. Work commute trains, school commute trains, tourist trains, and temporary passenger trains may be organized in required sections.
Article 44 (Labour facilities of railway stations and passenger cars)
Railway transportation institutions must have different labour facilities inside railway stations and passenger cars, shall manage them in a culturally hygienic way, and must do guidance work for guests well. Passenger cars that do not guarantee spotlights, grades, or heating may not be operated.
Article 45 (Train ticket sales)
Railway transportation institutions must sell train tickets in conformity with the number of carriage seats. Institutions, enterprises and organizations seeking to organize group travel must apply to the railway transportation institution in advance.
Article 46 (Commercial work on railways)
Railway transportation institutions shall operate train dining cars well and must normally sell food including carbonated drinks to guests inside railroad yards, station buildings, and inside trains. Local political institutions, agricultural guidance institutions, and commerce guidance institutions must guarantee food ingredients and regional specialties required for train commerce.
Article 47 (Treatment of patients arising during travel)
Railway transportation institutions must adopt measures to treat patients arising during travel. Public health institutions of the area concerned and public health workers on board trains must be mobilized to the treatment of the patient arising during travel, according to the requirements of the railway transportation institution.
Article 48 (Adherence to railway travel and passenger train use order)
Citizens must willingly abide by railway travel order and passenger train use order. A person who does not have a designated train ticket or a person with cargo that may cause interference to guests’ travel and the maintenance of order inside the train may not board a passenger car.
CHAPTER VI. RAILWAY PROTECTION
Article 49 (Duty to protect railway)
Protecting railways is an important guarantee to assure the safe operation of trains. All institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens, including railway transportation institutions, shall value and love railways and must actively protect them.
Article 50 (Railway protected areas)
Railway protected areas shall be determined to protect railways and railway structures. The work of determining railway protected areas shall be done by the Cabinet.
Article 51 (Management of railway protected areas)
In railway protected areas, acts must not be done that cause interference to railway protection including cultivating farmland or raising domestic animals. Trees shall be planted on land in the 20-meter section to the left and the right of foundational railway protected areas, and the land environmental protection institution shall manage them. Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens excluding the land environmental protection institution may not use land in the 20-meter section to the left and the right of foundational railway protected areas.
Article 52 (Protection of railway facilities)
Railway transportation institutions, land environmental protection institutions, and local political institutions must protect railway facilities from natural damage, by doing retaining wall construction, landslide prevention construction, and drainage construction in required places including railroad banks, steel bridges, riverbanks surrounding tunnels, and mountain slopes. Things such as protective guardrails and protective wire mesh shall be installed in key railway sections, and safety facilities must be installed in places where roads are laid under steel bridges.
Article 53 (Prevention of damage from electrolytic corrosion)
Railway transportation institutions must adopt electric insulation measures for electrified sections of the railway, and must prevent damage to railway facilities from electrolytic corrosion in advance.
Article 54 (Construction and maintenance for dedicated tracks)
Dedicated tracks may not be led from the main railway line and must be led from a sidetrack from the railway station. In cases where institutions or enterprises seek to lay, fix, or demolish dedicated tracks, the agreement of the railway transportation institution must be received. Institutions or enterprises with dedicated tracks must normally inspect, maintain, and service railway facilities including cars and railways. Technical guidance and supervision and control for dedicated tracks shall be done by the railway transportation institution.
Article 55 (Prohibition on passage by railway)
Transportation methods including residents, cars, and carts may not travel by railways or cross railways by a place that is not a railway crossing. In cases where local political institutions, road management institutions, and railway transportation institutions make a railway crossing, shall guarantee that the streets between are more than 2km, and must construct overpass bridges or underground crossings at railway crossings. For railway crossings where overpass bridges or underground crossings cannot be constructed, they must build a surveillance guardpost. As necessary, in cases where a temporary railway crossing is sought to be newly created or eliminated in a place that has not been decided, the approval of the railway transportation institution shall be received, a barricade shall be installed and a guard must be placed.
Article 56 (Railway stations and railway surroundings management)
Railway transportation institutions and authorities concerned shall manage railway stations and railway facilities well, shall manage the surroundings in a culturally hygienic manner, and must install railway markers so that they have cultural character. Land environmental protection institutions, local political institutions, and authorities concerned shall plant many trees that are of good species in the foundation railways surroundings and use them as tree nurseries, and must assure their survival rate according to the regulations. Slash-and-burn fields and unstocked forests of mountains adjoined to foundation railways must have trees planted and made into forest. Homes and public buildings must not be constructed within a determined distance from the foundational railway, and those already present must be transferred.
Article 57 (Prohibition on acts causing inconvenience to railway protection)
Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens may not damage or destroy railway markers, signal communication facilities, labour facilities, and railway electrification systems, and must not install other facilities there without the approval of the railway transportation institution. In cases of increasing high-tension wire above tramway tracks or signal communication lines, the regulated height shall be assured and safety measures must be adopted. In determined streets surrounding railways, acts of developing underground resources may not be done.
Article 58 (Car management)
Railway transportation institutions must do maintenance and service for cars in a planned way to assure the normal operation of the cars. The structure of a car may not be changed without the approval of the central railway transportation guidance institution. Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must securely operate cars and must not damage them.
Article 59 (Inspection and maintenance of railways)
Railway transportation institutions, local political institutions, and given institutions, enterprises and organizations shall decide a section to manage and must normally inspect, maintain, and service railways so that no interference is caused to train operations. In railroad banks surroundings shall be planted things such as false indigos or grass so that railroad banks are not lost, and they must be managed so they are always neat.
Article 60 (Cargo hold and transportation equipment management)
Railway transportation institutions and institutions, enterprises and organizations and citizens that own the freight must manage cargo holds and transportation equipment well and must abide by the order instituted for their use. Cargo holds and transportation equipment may not be put to a different use.
Article 61 (Education about railway protection)
Railway transportation institutions, local political institutions, and authorities concerned shall do education work in different forms and methods within the people so they preserve railways and keep strict discipline about railways in a self-aware way.
Article 62 (Railway restoration in times of natural disaster)
In cases where railway restoration work is raised because of events like natural disasters, institutions, enterprises and organizations must compulsorily mobilize the labour, facilities, and resources required according to the requirement of the authorities concerned.
CHAPTER VII. SANCTIONS
Article 63 (Restoration and damage compensation)
In cases where cars and railway facilities have been damaged or destroyed or a cargo accident has been caused, it shall be restored or the given damage shall be compensated.
Article 64 (Penalties and disembarking from train)
In cases where the railway travel order and train use order has been violated or interference has been caused to railway transportation, a penalty may be imposed or the person or thing may be disembarked from the train.
Article 65 (Train delay fee, cancellation charges, suspension of freight car use)
In cases where the stationary period of a freight car has been exceeded or a contract for transportation of freight or a resources supply contract for a railway has not been able to be fulfilled, a train delay fee or a cancellation charge may be imposed or the use of the freight car may be suspended.
Article 66 (Administrative or criminal responsibility)
Responsible workers of institutions, enterprises and organizations or individual citizens that have caused interference to railway operations, protection, and management by violating this law shall have administrative or criminal responsibility imposed depending on the gravity.
Last updated 17 January 2021