26 August
THE Yangon-Mandalay Railway will be upgraded to ensure quick and smooth transportation, in keeping with the current pace of development in the country. At present, trains take 14 hours to travel from Yangon to Mandalay. After the upgrade, the travel time will be almost halved to 8 hours, according to reports. The upgrade project is scheduled to start on 1 October.
Steel Rails arrives at Yangon Port
Long rail segments were imported from Japan to Yangon Port, and 4th shipment arrived on August 13th. Each shipment contains about 3000 tons of rails. About 21 shipments are expected to receive. The first shipment came in May 2019.
Getting ready for the project
On the completion of Yango – Mandalay railway upgrade project, travel time will be significantly short. Towards this end, now rails, raw materials are being imported and site offices are being built.
Stockpile of railway sleepers and Ballast are also being prepared at stations of Pyin Pone Gyi, Phayar Gyi, Htone Gyi and Ka Tote.
Site offices built
The upgrade project of Yangon-Mandalay railway contains two sections. One runs from Yangon to Toungoo and the other form Mandalay to Toungoo. Three contractors will take charge of Yangon to Taungoo section. There will be three command post: CP 101 for Pazundaung – Bago section , CP102 for Bago –Nyaunglaypin section and CP103 from Nyaunglaypin –Toungoo section. Now the contractors are preparing the stock pile for these sections. The command posts have been built in Ywathr Gyi, Pyuntansar and Oat Twin.
Trips to be reduced during construction period
Currently there are six Yangon-Mandalay trains(up and down), two postal train, Yangon-Nay Pyi Taw four trains(up and down), Yangon-Bago local train, Thingangyun-Toungoo local train, Toungoo- Thar See- Myo Haung local train,4 Yangon-Mandalay trains (up and down)and 2 Yangon- Dawei trains(up and down) running daily.
From October 1st 2019 train trips will be reduced since only one railway will be used.
Coordination
Yangon- Toungoo section will be initiated as phase-one on October 1st 2019 and survey for phase 2,Mandalay to Toungoo are being carried out. The construction for that section will begin in 2021. Phase 1 is 166 miles long, and phase 2 is 219.5 miles long. Myanmar Railway and contractors are working in coordination to realize the plan.
Travel time saving
The upgraded Yangon-Mandalay Railway will be constructed under Japanese loan. As half of the loan will be spent on new train cars the development of Myanmar train will be seen near future.
Japanese imported DEMU cars can run both on Diesel and electric power. As DEMU cars contain engines, there will be better brake system, air conditoner and more horse power. This will cut the travel time almost by half.
Shake control system
Rails currently in used on Yangon-Mandalay railway are 39 feet long and Japanese imported rails for the upgraded railway are 82 feet long. Instead of railway fish plate, exothermic welding will be used to give shake free train service.
Sixty thousand tons of rails will be used in upgrading the railway. At least, 1 shipment of rails come in. So far 4 shipments of 21 shipments of rail has come in. Plans have been made for regular arrival of shipments to have it square with work progress.
One way system
It takes 14 hours for trains to travel from Yangon to Mandalay, and 15 hours for trains that halt at more stations. After the upgrade, the travel time is expected to be only 8 hours. The section of Yawthar Gyi and Nyaung Chaydok (Bago) will be only one way from October 1st .
“ As Railway staff we have to give service to the public. We want to give best service to the public. Myanmar Railway deteriorated for some reason, but improving this situation with Japanese loan will not only good for the future of Myanmar Railway but also of the public. So I would like to request the public to be tolerant of the difficulties during construction period.
We are really proud to undertake the project” said U Kyaw Myo Lwin, Assistance Manager of Myanmar Railway division 7.
The project is expected to be completed in 2023.
Translated by Alphonsus
