North Korea's train transport situation has somewhat improved, with delayed train departures and arrivals diminishing, many broken windowpanes replaced with new ones and, above all, the scene of hordes of people traveling on train rooftops has disappeared, according to reliable sources.

The express train running the longest line in the North from Pyongyang to the Tumen River used to operate every two or three days in and around 1998, and in extreme cases once a week or even ten days. But the train has recently been operating almost daily, except in winter when it is delayed by 10, 20 or even 24 hours sometimes. This is because the North, relying mainly on hydroelectric power, suffers from chronic power shortages during winter - a dry season.

"Until autumn last year the express train ran normally with little delays, but in the current winter I had to wait in a stalled train for 10 hours," recalled Kim Dong-il, (alias) an ethnic Korean Chinese who often travels the railroad line. "The train halted because of suspended electric supply under staggered power supply arrangements among provinces."

Trains running the Pyongyang-Tumen River line had all their windowpanes broken before, but about half of them have now been replaced with new ones. Broken train windowpanes of other railroad lines are also being repaired one after another.

Trains running along the east coast, like those running the Pyongyang-Musan, Pyongyang-Onsong and Pyongyang-Hyesan lines operated almost daily until recently. In winter, however, they operate every two or three days. Pak Son-hwa, 30, a North Korean defector who worked at the Hyesanjin Railroad Station, reminisced, "The vocabulary 'arrival on time' itself disappeared in 1994. A train arriving in Hyesanjin from the capital in a week was rather extraordinary. The train travel usually took a fortnight and in the worst case no train arrived from Pyongyang a whole month." In January 1998, the train took 15 days to cover the distance, he added.

Operating in the most satisfactory manner in the North are trains running the Pyongyang-Shinuiju line, which have some coaches exclusively for use by foreigners. Except for power disruption, they run more or less on time.

The most conspicuous change in train transport in the North is the fact that passengers traveling on rooftops are no longer seen. It is in part because of improved train transport, and in part because of intensified crackdowns. If any people are found on train rooftops, the trains are not allowed to leave a station, said a source.

Lunch packages are sold on coaches twice or so a day. But most passengers carry food with them, because the supply falls far short of the demand and also because they are of poor quality. The temperature being low during winter as no heating is available, there is no worry for the food to spoil. In case of an emergency, it's essential for passengers to carry food sufficient enough to last a week. They must carry water bottles too as no water is supplied on coaches.

During the four years covering 1994-1998, trains in the North were nearly paralyzed. As coaches were jam-packed with passengers, people found it hard to move, let alone go to the toilet. As a large number of people hung onto window frames and doorway rails, as well as rooftops, quite a few passengers fell off to their deaths.

Partially contributing to the improving train transport situation is an increasing number of people traveling by trucks, as prosperous merchants illicitly hire trucks from corporations or public agencies.

As the train transport situation has improved, so checkups during travel have been beefed up, especially along the border with China.

(Kim Chol-hwan, nkch@chosun.com )