Yangon-Mandalay railroad to be upgraded with Japanese loan
ELEVEN Thursday, 30 January 2014 20:53
Than Htay, minister for rail transportation, speaking about the Yangon-Mandalay railway upgrade project during the parliamentary session on Tuesday (January 28).
NAY PYI TAWThe Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will lend 20 billion Yen (Ks 192.4 billion) to the Myanmar government to upgrade the Yangon-Mandalay railroad, Minister for Rail Transportation Than Htay told a parliamentary session on Tuesday.
The interest rate for the loan is set at 0.01 percent and is repayable in 40 years with a 10-year postpone period. Meanwhile, the railroad upgrade project will be executed in three parts: Yangon-Taungoo, Taungoo-Yamethin and Yamethin-Mandalay railroads. It will be completed by September 2022, according to the minister.
Japanese experts are carrying out tests at the project areas. We will start to work on railroads between January and October, 2016. It will continue for the next four years until September 2020. The monitoring period for the project will be between 2020 and 2022, Than Htay said.
The project involves soil maintenance along the railroad, replacing old rails, upgrading bridges, building overpasses, installing signal systems, and upgrading locomotives and cars. After the railroad upgrade is complete, passenger trains will run up to 100 kilometres (62.5 miles) per hour on it, he added.
Currently, trains usually speed 25 miles per hour on the Yangon-Mandalay railroad despite a maximum speed setting of 43 miles per hour. The railroad runs for 385.5 miles in length, and the journey by train from Yangon to Mandalay takes more than 15 hours.
The railroads maximum payload will be raised from 17 tonnes to 20 tonnes, the same measure used in neighbouring countries.
Meanwhile, the first priority for the project will be the Yangon-Taungoo section. In nine main railway stations between Yangon and Taungoo, a computerized interlocking system will be installed. The Central Control System is to be installed at the Yangon Railway Station to monitor trains on the Yangon-Taungoo rail track, the minister said.
Critics say the quality of the Yangon-Mandalay railway service has declined between 2000 and 2010 due to poor maintenance and corruption in the Ministry for Rail Transportation.
NAY PYI TAWThe Myanmar government is planning to buy 20 used train carriages from India, according to an official from the Ministry of Rail Transportation.
These carriages have air-conditioning and include advanced seating privileges. So, they are more suitable for long distance trips. When the carriages arrive, a trial run will be held.
We have already renovated as much as we can in the railway sector. We will do a test run and plan to use the trains for long distance trips as they have air conditioning, said an unnamed official from the Ministry.
Previously, train cars and their spare parts had to be purchased with loans from China and India. Now, Japan is helping Myanmars rail sector with capital, technology and expert advice. Japan has also permitted a loan of US$ 500 million (Ks 493 billion) at a low interest rate.
Japan is also providing an upgrade of train carriages at the Myit Nge manufacturing factory. As well, Yangons circular railway system will be replaced with carriages produced at the Myit Nge factory.
A tender will be called for the upgrade of Yangon Railway Station to companies from Japan and Singapore, and the railway system will also be upgraded, according to the Ministry.
YANGON - The Ministry of Rail Transportation has announced a tender to implement an electronic ticket system aimed to facilitate commuters travelling on Yangons circular railway on March 29.
The electronic circular train permit can be used like the i-pay card that was previously used on buses, according to railway officials.
Why we plan to use e-ticket is that there are an increasing number of circular train passengers. For that it will be more convenient. We are also upgrading our rail systems to reach international standards, said an official from Yangon Central Railway Station.
The e-ticket system is being planned by mid-year for use on all circular trains in Yangon which connect the downtown commercial hub with outlaying suburbs and townships.
The Ministry of Rail Transportation has notified businesses who want to get the permit have to apply before April 11 at the Yangon Central Railway Station.
Previously, foreigners had to buy tickets using U.S. dollars but as of April 1, the tickets are being sold in Myanmar Kyat.
100,000 people use the circular train every day, including about 200 foreigners, according to Yangon Central Railway Station.
Ground surveys are underway to prepare for the construction of a railway linking Kyaukphyu township in Rakhine State with China, through the border town of Muse in Shan State, a report by the Ministry of Rail Transport on Monday said.
The report notes that religious and historical buildings are located on the 950 kilometre (590 mile) route, the report said. The ministry pledged that it would adhere to international standards in the project and that it would proceed with transparency. Mondays report, however, provided little information.
The project was the brainchild of the previous military junta. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the rail project was signed as part of a plan to build a railway connecting Kyaukphyu township to Kunming city in China. The section within Myanmar extends 950 kilometres from Kyaukphyu Township in Rakhine State to Muse Township in Shan State. The plan called for this line to be extended to Kunming city in Yunnan province, creating a Kyaukphyu-Kunming corridor.
The railway runs parallel to the controversial Shwe Gas Project, which exports natural gas from offshore Rakhine State to China. Although rich in natural gas, it is estimated that only 25 percent of all households in Rakhine State have access to electricity.
The Shwe Gas Pipeline project has met fierce resistance in Myanmar, who view it as an issue of national security and the surrender of sovereignty over Rakhine State to China. Meanwhile, civic groups in Rakhine State have called for a halt to resource-exploitation projects as well as the Kyaukphyu-Kunming railway project, which some allege will see a more resources shipped from the state to China.
"We have not been informed of what they intend to do or how they will do it, Tun Kyi of the Shwe Gas Pipelines Watch Group said on Wednesday, referring to the rail line. If [the government] continues resource-exploitation projects without informing the public, they will definitely face protests," he added.
The Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone Project, which will be connected to the Kyaukphyu-Kunming railway, is preparing to invite tenders from international bidders.
Union Minister for Rail Transport Than Htay earlier said that construction of the Kyaukphyu-Kunming railroad would not ignore the desire of the people.
The MoU signed by the junta says that China will pay most of the cost to build the railroad. It will be constructed under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) system, with transfer to the government occurring after 50 years of operation.
Beijing is also negotiating a planned motorway to run parrallel to the railway. A feasibility study has already been completed, though negotiations have yet to be completed, officials said.
The MoU to construct the Kyaukphyu-Kunming railroad was signed by Myanmar and China Railway Engineering Corporation in 2011 April. It will cost at an estimated US$20 billion. Presidential Office Minister Aung Min, who was ministry of railways at the time, and retired vice-president Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo oversaw the deal.
At the time of signing the MoU, China reports revealed that China would finalise the project within three years. But up to now, China has not signed the MOA with Myanmar, said an official of the rail ministry who was not to be named.
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