Hi.
I will be taking a trip to North Korea where I will take the train out. I see the train stops for approx 2 hrs in Dandong, is it possible to leave the train station and take a look at the city or is the train sealed off for Chinese customs and immigration control for the whole two hours? Also I have heard som rumours that all the carriages coming from North Korea are locked off from the rest of the train so no restaurant car etc available on the Chinese leg?

Part/most of the two hours would be for Immigration and Customs, so whatever residual is left, wouldn't be enough to see much of Dandong even though it's not a big city. It makes no sense to me that once you've gone through Chinese entry formalities, that you'd be locked away from the dining car. Seems to me that the correct authority to ask would be the tour company taking you to and out of the DPRK.

However, one obvious solution is not to book the train any further than Dandong. Just arrange with the tour company to return as far as Dandong. Then you could get out after you pass Immy/Customs, look around all you want even stay the night. And make a separate ticket/reservation yourself, for a 100% Chinese domestic train or flight Dandong-Beijing. There's no need for you to stick with the tour group once you're out of North Korea.

Thanks for your reply - we do not ufortuntly have any extra time to allow for that. Another question - does Chinese trains (assuming it is a Chinese carriage crossing the border) have hot water like the Russian trains have to use for packaged noodles etc? Might come in handy...

Yes, there's hot water for noodles available in Chinese sleeping cars.