Tourists visit the coal-powered locomotive, which is displayed near the Death Railway in Thanbyuzayat.
THE Death Railway Museum at the site of the World War II-era Death Railway in Thanbyuzayat Township, is expected to be inaugurated by coming April.
The museum would showcase historic photos connected with the Death Railway, paintings and sculptures and 3D images of the daily life of prisoners of war who died during construction of the railway.
Artists are putting finishing touches on silicon statues of Japanese soldiers and prisoners of war, which will be displayed within the two-storey museum.
Talamon Company Ltd won the right to develop the museum together with a hotel, a restaurant and other tourist facilities on four acres of land at the site in Thanbyuzayat Township. The construction of the museum began in April last year.
The museum will offer visitors the opportunity to see a coal-fired C-0522 engine, which was used on the Death Railway, and the memorial place where the death railway line originated.
The Thanbyuzayat Township graveyard, where several thousand victims of the Death Railway are buried, has also attracted tourists.
The Japanese army forced more than 120,000 prisoners of war from alien countries and other Southeast Asian nations to construct the175-mile death railway linking Thanbyuzayat and Kanchanaburi, Thailand.
The number of deaths was equal to the sleepers along the railway, said an expert who is collecting artifacts related to the death railway to be displayed at the museum.
More than 16,000 prisoners of war died during the construction of the railway, amounting to about 38 prisoners for every kilometer of the 415-kilometer railway. With little or no medical care, they succumbed to sickness, malnutrition and exhaustion. Many suffered horribly before their deaths.
A railway locomotive of Myanmar Railways being seen at a station. Photo: Maung Maung Soe (Myitnge)
A PROJECT for the production of new train coaches with loans from China is expected to be completed in November 2016.
Out of 60 coaches to be manufactured by the project, 39 will be constructed by Si Fang factory in China while 21 will be constructed at the Myitnge Railway Locomotive Station.
18 coaches from China recently arrived and are on trial runs at the Myitnge railway Locomotive Station. The new coaches are equipped with facilities likes water supply, electricity, fans, toilets and basins.
The new coac
Myanmar and Chinese engineers and they will operate on the Yangon- Mandalay line, said U Tin Maung Thant,
General Manager of Myitnge railway Locomotive Station.
Wai Linn Kyaw/MBT
A train car of Myanma Railways is seen on rail tracks near Pansodan. The Myanma Railways aims to introduce electric trains to service downtown areas by this year.
The electric train project in Yangon has faced delays and will start from the second week of January, according to Myanma Railways (MR).
The electric trains were expected to run from the first week of December.
There are some works left to do on the electric poles and rail lines. Thats why we have pushed the launch date back, U Kyaw Soe Lwin, deputy general manager of Myanma Railways told Myanmar Business Today.
The electric train will run on a small section between Pansodan and Wardan at first, because Yangons railway systems are not ready yet to run a longer route, according to officials.
The rail lines from Pansodan to Wardan is getting ready. We are still upgrading the railway system and constructing the electric poles. We are trying to start as soon as we can, said U Tun Aung Thin, general manager of Myanma Railway (Lower Myanmar).
The electric train will be fully air conditioned and has three carriages. It will run ten times per day and tickets will cost K 100 each.
U Tun Aung Thin said the electric trains are equipped with capacitor bank, which will prevent the train from stopping suddenly when the electricity cuts off.
However, there has been questions about running electric trains when Yangon faces frequent power cuts and cant ensure enough electricity for its residents. Officials earlier said an electric train will consume the same amount of electricity to run a small city ward.
The tender for the train was called in February this year and the whole project costs about $3.6 million.
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