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Bukhangang Railroad Bridge

Hangang Bike Path
Explore a retired and resurrected railroad bridge.

Two bridges hop across the North Han River along the Hangang Bike Path east of Seoul (aerial view).

  1. The concrete-pillared Yangsu Railroad Bridge (양수철교; map)
  2. The tan and rust-tinged-trussed Bukhangang Railroad Bridge (북한강철교; map)
The Bukhangang Railroad Bridge crosses Yangpyeong Dumulmeori, the meeting point of the North and South rivers. They combine and continue westward through the capital.
The Bukhangang Railroad Bridge crosses Yangpyeong Dumulmeori, the meeting point of the North and South rivers. They combine and continue westward through the capital.

At different points in time, both claimed the name “Yangsu Railroad Bridge.”

Let’s browse their histories.

Old Yangsu Railway Bridge

Engineers completed the original Yangsu Railroad Bridge in 1939. For almost 70 years it carried trains along the old Gyeongui-Jungang Line, connecting Neungnae to Yangsu Stations.

A picture of a bike rider on the Bukhangang Bridge outside of Seoul.
The Bukhangang Bridge crosses the point where the North and South Han Rivers meet.

The first Yangsu Railroad Bridge lived for only eleven years, however.

North and South Korea tussled for control over the bridge during the Korean War. But the war’s ping-ponging front lines collapsed the bridge twice.

  • South Korea demolished Yangsu Railroad Bridge in 1950 to slow the North Korean Army’s rapid advance.
  • After it was rebuilt, fighting again leveled the bridge in 1952.

New Yangsu Railway Bridge

The third Yangsu Railway Bridge survived longer than its predecessors. However, in 2008, rail engineers modernized the Gyeongui-Jungang Line by electrifying the trains. The old Yangsu Railway Bridge’s overhead trusses couldn’t accommodate the electric wires and gates.

A picture of the new Yangsu Railway Bridge (양수철교) along the Hangang Bike Path.
Carrying commuter trains over the North Han River, the new Yangsu Railway Bridge (양수철교) runs beside the Bukhangang Railroad Bridge (북한강 철교) along the Hangang Bike Path.

So the Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail) built a modern concrete arch bridge 50 meters upriver. The new bridge’s green gates and overhead wiring carries Gyeongui-Jungang Line’s new electric trains over the South Han River (road view).

Biking Bridge

But engineers didn’t demolish the old Yangsu Railway Bridge. In 2011, they:

  • Reinforced the bridge’s aging supports.
  • Tore up its tracks and installed wooden slats. 

And gave it a new name: “Bukhangang Railroad Bridge” (North Han River Railroad Bridge; 북한강 철교; map).

A picture of a clear fall day on the bike paths in Korea.
Bukhangang Railraod Bridge (북한강 철교) repurposed the old Yangsu Railroad Bridge into a cycling and walking bridge over the North Han River.

Today the old bridge doesn’t carry trains, but cyclists and walkers, who capture and post pics of the bridge’s rustic trusses (road view).

Because of its unique appearance and proximity to Seoul, the Bukhangang Railroad Bridge appears in K-dramas and K-pop music videos.