[2] Economically, it is a very important line, connecting P'yŏngyang with the coal mining and industrial centres of Pukch'ang, Tŏkch'ŏn and the South and North P'yŏngan provinces.

[5] In 1919, the line was opened to passenger traffic, with two return trips operating between P'yŏngyang and Sŭnghori daily; these trains ran with third-class cars only, and a ticket for the full distance cost 40 sen in 1920.

[5] The privately owned West Chosen Central Railway (서선중앙철도, Sŏsŏn Chung'ang Ch'ŏldo; 西鮮中央鐵道, Sōsen Chūō Tetsudō) opened its mainline, called the Sŏsŏn Line ("West Chosen Line") from Sŭnghori to Chang'an (now Namdŏk) in several stages between 1939 and 1945.

[8] The two sections of mainline remained isolated from each other until 18 September 1942, when the gap between P'yŏngnam Kangdong and Sinsŏngch'ŏn, a distance of 30.3 km (18.8 mi) was closed.

[10] The West Chosen Central Railway nevertheless continued expanding its truncated mainline, receiving approval from the Railway Bureau on 21 June 1940 to extend its line to Tŏkch'ŏn and thence onwards to the Changsang coal fields,[11] in order to transport coal from the mines in the area opened in 1938 by the Chosen Anthracite Company.

After adding a new station at Hyangjang, 5.7 km (3.5 mi) from Hyangwŏn towards Changsangri, construction on what became the current alignment of the line to Kujang began.

Also, the section from Taedonggang to Mirim was subsequently realigned after the end of the Korean War, during which the line was heavily damaged.

[2] However, it also accounts for 35.4% of northbound freight on the Sinsŏngch'ŏn–Pukch'ang section, as some of the anthracite extracted at the Ryŏngdae, Chaedong and Solgol mines are shipped to the Pukch'ang Thermal Power Complex - the largest in the DPRK - for fuel.

[2] Cement, ore, stone, fertiliser, wood and metals make up the largest part of northbound cargo.

[2] The freight-only station at Mirim is responsible for handling freight for the Taedonggang-guyŏk, Taesong-guyŏk and Sadong-guyŏk districts of P'yŏngyang.

Although most of the cement produced there is sent to P'yŏngyang, a portion is sent to places along the P'yŏngdŏk Line such as Kangdong, Sŏngch'ŏn, Pukch'ang and Tŏkch'ŏn.

At Pukch'ŏn the main customer is the massive Pukch'ŏn Thermal Power Complex, receiving tens of thousands of tons coal daily from Okch'ŏn, Ryongsan and Sŏksan on the Soksan Line, Myŏnghak, Solgol, Chenam, Hoe'an, Sŏch'ang, Hyangwŏn, Changsang and Tŏngnam.