Tickets for first passenger train sold out ahead of March 12 departure, service restricted to business visa holders
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un stepping off train. PHOTO: REUTERS
Tickets for the first passenger train in six years from Beijing to North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, were sold out ahead of its March 12 departure, an official ticketing office in Beijing said on Tuesday.
The resumption of the rail service, suspended since the onset of the Covid‑19 pandemic in 2020, revives a critical transport link between the largely isolated North Korea and its primary economic ally.
Tickets for the journey – restricted to travellers holding business visas – were purchased by entrepreneurs, government officials and reporters, according to the Beijing ticketing office. Tickets were still available for the next service, scheduled for March 18.
North Korea still largely closed to tourists
China’s state railway told the Yonhap News Agency that the Pyongyang–Beijing train would begin the round-trip service on March 12, operating four times a week.
Only the last two carriages will initially carry passengers – mostly going on official business – with ticket sales to the general public possible depending on seat availability, Yonhap quoted a railway official as saying.
North Korea remains closed to most foreign tourism, with limited exceptions largely for Russian tour groups under restricted arrangements, according to travel agencies organising trips to the country.
Before the pandemic, Chinese visitors made up the largest share of foreign tourists to North Korea, the agencies said.
Tour organisers said on Monday that North Korea had cancelled next month’s Pyongyang Marathon for unspecified reasons. The race is one of the few events that has been open to international participants in the isolated state.
