The railway linking Yangon to Mandalay has been slated to receive a series of large-scale, overdue renovations.
With a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the 385 mile stretch of rail will be revamped to meet international standards and halve transportation times.
U Myo Win, General Manager of Myanma Railways, told the Myanmar Times, “we will repair parts of the railway that have fallen into disrepair and replace them with modern equipment. We will cooperate with JICA to transfer this technology from Japan,”
JICA has offered an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan of 271.64 billion yen (K3.33 trillion) and the Myanmar government has also pledged K428 billion..
Major renovations will include updating the new coaches, fixing the run-down rail tracks, building new railway stations, and introducing new technology such as automated ticket machines and modern signals, U Myat Thu, Mandalay’s Regional Minister of Finance Planning, said.
As studies are underway to determine the precise scale of improvements at each of the railway’s junctures, the project is expected to begin in early 2018.
“The project will commence in two phases, the first from Yangon to Tangoo and the second from Tangoo to Mandalay,” U Nyi Nyi Swe, Deputy General Manager at Planning Department of Ministry of Transport and Communications told Myanmar Business Today.
The decaying state of the railway has prevented efficient commerce or travel from taking place on its tracks for decades. When the overhaul is complete, trains will be able to travel at twice the current speed of 50 kph and travel time between Myanmar’s two largest cities will be reduced from 14 to 7 hours.
An effective trade route connecting Mandalay and Yangon is vital for the development of Mandalay Division and its less urbanized neighbors. Much of northern and central Myanmar rely on Yangon for the delivery of food, construction materials, and petroleum.
All renovations are expected to be completed by 2023.
Source: Myanmar Business Today
