The Suin Line (수인선, 水仁線) was a 52 km narrow-gauge railway connecting Suwon and Incheon in South Korea. Opened on August 5, 1937, by the Chōsen Gyeongdong Railway, it primarily transported salt from the Sorae area. In 1942, the Chōsen Railway acquired the line, and following Korea’s liberation in 1945, it was nationalized under the Korean National Railroad in 1946.
Post-liberation, the Suin Line continued operations, but the rise of road transport and the decline of the salt industry in the 1970s led to decreased passenger and freight traffic. This decline resulted in the suspension of services on several sections: Songdo to Namincheon in 1979 and Sorae to Songdo in 1992. By 1994, the segment from Hanyang University at Ansan to Songdo was closed, with daily ridership dropping to about 250 passengers and annual losses exceeding 2 billion won. Ultimately, the Suin Line ceased operations on December 31, 1995.
In the 2000s, plans emerged to modernize and revive the Suin Line as part of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway network. The reconstruction involved converting the line to standard gauge and double-tracking it. The project was executed in three phases: the first phase opened on June 30, 2012, from Oido to Songdo; the second phase extended to Incheon on February 27, 2016; and the final phase connected to Suwon on September 12, 2020. This redevelopment led to the integration of the Suin Line with the Bundang Line, forming the Suin–Bundang Line, which reestablished the rail link between Suwon and Incheon after 25 years.
The transformation of the Suin Line from a narrow-gauge railway into a modern commuter rail underscores South Korea’s commitment to enhancing its transportation infrastructure to meet contemporary needs.
During the 1980s and the 1990s the 수인선 featured in several tv programmes. Here are three examples which can be found on YouTube:
