International Railroad Discussion > Chairman Kim Travels by Train

According to North Korea state controlled media, Chairman Kim is traveling by train from Polyang to Hanoi, Vietnam for the second summit with President Trump. No word on how long the trip will take. Kim flew to Singapore for the first summit. Video of the dear leader or "Rocket Man" as he is also known can be found on numerous news web sites. Perhaps Kim is a supporter of the Green New Deal and is trying to reduce his carbon foot print....but more likely can't find a N. Korean aircraft airworthy enough to make the journey. The train looks nice though. 

andersonb109 Wrote:
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> According to North Korea state controlled media,
> Chairman Kim is traveling by train from Polyang to
> Hanoi, Vietnam for the second summit with
> President Trump. No word on how long the trip will
> take. Kim flew to Singapore for the first summit.
> Video of the dear leader or "Rocket Man" as he is
> also known can be found on numerous news web
> sites. Perhaps Kim is a supporter of the Green New
> Deal and is trying to reduce his carbon foot
> print....but more likely can't find a N. Korean
> aircraft airworthy enough to make the journey. The
> train looks nice though. 

Greatly admired by a certain American politican. 

Travel by rail is something of a Kim family tradition. Both the Marshall's father and grandfather traveled extensively across Asia and Europe by rail. Their private, customized Ammendorf type cars built in the GDR,  coaches are preserved at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang. Having taken the train from Peking to Hanoi I can understand why the Marshall would chose rail travel, it's a very nice and scenic ride.
 The state airline Air Koryo has a number of TU 204 and IL-62 aircraft that are quite capable of making the flight.  



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/19 10:27 by GettingShort.

BBC World Service says it will take 60 hours for the trip.

I am a little bit surprised that he is taking the train after what may have been an attempt on his father's life years ago:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/1464413/Train-blast-was-a-plot-to-kill-North-Koreas-leader.html

ts1457 Wrote:
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> I am a little bit surprised that he is taking the
> train after what may have been an attempt on his
> father's life years ago:
>
> https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/no
> rthkorea/1464413/Train-blast-was-a-plot-to-kill-No
> rth-Koreas-leader.html

Thanks for the link. I remember several media outlets covering the explosion, but didn't read any follow up stories behind it.

He flew to Singapore and stayed alive, so I thought he would be less paranoid about flying by now. I suspect he knows his enemies better than we do, so he doesn't have to listen to TO members on his choice of transportation. :-)

maybe Anderson should go with him?
 

Rocket man has been widely reported to be scared sh**less of flying. He’s already gone to Moscow by rail.   I’ve flown in IL 62 aircraft, and would be more comfy on a train myself. 

From what hat I understand, the line from China down into Vietnam is a pleasant trip. 

Now , Now , :):):)

He travels by train for the same reason his father did, the train is much more "secure" then an airplane can ever be.
He's super paranoid about his security.

PHall Wrote:
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> He travels by train for the same reason his father
> did, the train is much more "secure" then an
> airplane can ever be.
> He's super paranoid about his security.

If the Chinese were interested in regime change in North Korea, he's presented them with a fine opportunity.

(There's no serious indication they want regime change, allthough Korean stability has been a visible concern for them.)

Very long ride. Luckily no gauge change needed to access Vietnam. 

Here is some info on the power for his executive train :

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Chong-t%27ae_Electric_Locomotive_Works
 

WrongWayMurphy Wrote:
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> Here is some info on the power for his executive
> train :
>
> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Chong-t%27ae_E
> lectric_Locomotive_Works
>  

Interesting. The last picture is one of mine from 2014.

Likely he passed through Nanning China.  The route from Nanning  to Hanoi is quite scenic.  I went this way back in 2010 via night train,  departing from Hanoi in the evening. Sometime in the middle of the night was the immigration checkpoint and we all had to get off for this.  On the China side the early morning scenery was very nice as the route winds through the mountains. Some of the windows in the sleeper opened and the air was fresh and pleasant.   Not sure if this train still runs.

---

---

march_hare Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Rocket man has been widely reported to be scared
> sh**less of flying. He’s already gone to Moscow
> by rail.   I’ve flown in IL 62 aircraft, and
> would be more comfy on a train myself. 
>

IL-62 is not a bad plane.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilyushin_Il-62
"Although the plane's safety record does not equal that of newer-generation airliners, there were no fatal accidents involving an Il-62 between 1989 and 2009 during which time the highest number of planes were in service.[4] With successive Il-62M upgrades and improved avionics, including triplex inertial navigation systems and enhanced flight controls to cope with poor visibility (IMP, 1997), the plane gained a reputation as a very safe airliner whose record compares favorably with similar airliners, most of which are no longer in civilian use. Its total hull loss rate (7.7%) is lower than those of the Boeing 707 (16.4%) and DC-8 (14.9%)...

Duna Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> march_hare Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Rocket man has been widely reported to be
> scared
> > sh**less of flying. He’s already gone to
> Moscow
> > by rail.   I’ve flown in IL 62 aircraft, and
> > would be more comfy on a train myself. 
> >
>
> IL-62 is not a bad plane.
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilyushin_Il-62
> "Although the plane's safety record does not equal
> that of newer-generation airliners, there were no
> fatal accidents involving an Il-62 between 1989
> and 2009 during which time the highest number of
> planes were in service.[4] With successive Il-62M
> upgrades and improved avionics, including triplex
> inertial navigation systems and enhanced flight
> controls to cope with poor visibility (IMP, 1997),
> the plane gained a reputation as a very safe
> airliner whose record compares favorably with
> similar airliners, most of which are no longer in
> civilian use. Its total hull loss rate (7.7%) is
> lower than those of the Boeing 707 (16.4%) and
> DC-8 (14.9%)...

You're right, the Il-62 is not a bad design, but like any other aircraft you have to maintain them and operate them properly.
Aviation is extremely unforgiving of bad or no maintenance.

PHall Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Duna Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > march_hare Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Rocket man has been widely reported to be
> > scared
> > > sh**less of flying. He’s already gone to
> > Moscow
> > > by rail.   I’ve flown in IL 62 aircraft,
> and
> > > would be more comfy on a train myself. 
> > >
> >
> > IL-62 is not a bad plane.
> > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilyushin_Il-62
> > "Although the plane's safety record does not
> equal
> > that of newer-generation airliners, there were
> no
> > fatal accidents involving an Il-62 between 1989
> > and 2009 during which time the highest number
> of
> > planes were in service.[4] With successive
> Il-62M
> > upgrades and improved avionics, including
> triplex
> > inertial navigation systems and enhanced flight
> > controls to cope with poor visibility (IMP,
> 1997),
> > the plane gained a reputation as a very safe
> > airliner whose record compares favorably with
> > similar airliners, most of which are no longer
> in
> > civilian use. Its total hull loss rate (7.7%)
> is
> > lower than those of the Boeing 707 (16.4%) and
> > DC-8 (14.9%)...
>
> You're right, the Il-62 is not a bad design, but
> like any other aircraft you have to maintain them
> and operate them properly.
> Aviation is extremely unforgiving of bad or no
> maintenance.


You're right. The people who maintain Il-62s have done that, and maintenance has probably improved over the last 15 years or so.