25 August
As part of the upgrade of the Yangon Circular railway, a new locomotive factory is being constructed near the Insein locomotive factory, said U Maung Maung Thwin, the general manager of the Civil Engineering Department.
“Currently, we have the Insein locomotive factory, which has 11 railways. The coaches stay overnight at the factory. We also perform servicing, checking, and refilling of water and fuel.
Then, the coaches ply daily for 200 rounds. Now, a new locomotive factory is being constructed near the Insein locomotive factory.
After upgrading the railways, the new coaches will arrive. Then, we will maintain those coaches,” he added.
“The upgrade of the Yangon Circular railway is being conducted in three phases. In the first phase, we will repair railways, drains, bridges, platforms, and interchanges. In the second phase, we will upgrade level crossings. And finally, we will upgrade traffic lights and indicator points,” he said.
“A total of 37 coaches are being serviced daily at the current circular train locomotive factory. Once the new locomotive factory is completed, a total of 98 coaches can be serviced daily. The new air-con coaches will replace the old ones,” U Maung Maung Thwin said.
“The upgrade of the infrastructure of the Yangon circular railway is expected to be completed in May, 2020. The upgrade of the indicator points will take two years. The entire project for upgrading the circular railways will be completed in 2022. Upon completion of the project, commuters will be able to travel comfortably and conveniently,” he added.—Myint Maung Soe (Translated by Hay Mar)
