No one was injured in the crash. Supplied
A passenger train rear-ended a cargo train in Kampot province yesterday, according to local police.
No one was injured in the crash.
Chief of staff of the district police Chhun Chhoeun said that the trains were going in the same direction when the accident occurred.
These two trains were going from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville when the passenger train rear-ended the other, he said.
Hong Sarann, Boeung Touk commune police chief, said that the accident was caused by the fact that the first train used its brakes abruptly and the second one could not control its speed.
There was no one injured from the collision. It damaged both trains, but slightly. It dented one carriage and two wheels, he said.
The service will be free of charge for the first three months of operation. KT/Chor Sokunthea
The new railway line from the Phnom Penh train station to the airport will be launched before the Khmer New Year in April, according to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
In addition, passenger ships from Prek Phnov to Phnom Penh and Takhmao, in an effort to resolve traffic congestion, will also be completed.
Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol said the ministry is constructing the track that links the train station to Phnom Penh International Airport.
Three train engines from Mexico will be used for passenger transport, with each train able to hold 100 passengers.
I will make every effort to ensure the railway from Phnom Penh to the international airport is completed before the Khmer New Year, Mr Chanthol said.
I would like to announce that after its completion, it will be open for people to use or test for free for three months, including the transportation by waterway. The railway expansion project saw protests in July when local residents were told to move 15 meters from the road.
Nuth Cheata, a resident of Chamkar Ov Leuk Pi village in Por Senchey districts Kakab 2 commune, said authorities and residents have agreed to move their fences back 10 meters to allow road expansion.
According to data from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, three million vehicles were registered in 2016, including 500,000 cars and 2.5 million motorbikes.
Trains will be ready by Khmer New Year. KT/Chor Sokunthea
Mr Chanthol also confirmed the number of new imported cars to Cambodia to be about 30,000 to 40,000 units per year.
The estimated number of people living in Phnom Penh was more than three million as of early 2016, according to figures provided by the municipal governor.
A Kabab 2 commune resident living near the airport, said she would use the train service, but wanted to see how effective and timely it was first.
I will use it, but will wait to see if it is acceptable, she said. Mr Chanthol said the government is connecting the northern railway out of Phnom Penh to Poipet city before the end of 2018 to connect the Cambodian railway to Thailand.
The government is also looking to expand some national roads from two to four lanes soon to facilitate travel and cargo transportation, he added.
A train cruises through the Cambodian countryside, part of the railway line that connects Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville in the coast. KT/Chor Sokunthea
The railway line connecting Phnom Penh to Poipet in Bantey Meanchey province and further on to neighbouring Thailand will be fully operational in 2018, with officials on both sides of the border saying it will be pivotal in bolstering trade between Cambodia and Thailand.
The new line from Phnom Penh to Poipet city is expected to be completed next year, well ahead of our previous deadline, which was 2020, said Sun Chanthol, the Minister of Transportation.
Now we are speeding up work on this line to have it ready by 2018, so we can have a railway connection to Thailand.
The line, generally referred to as the western rail line, has 130 kilometres that still need to be built or repaired, with the ministry seeking $20 million in funding from the national budget through the Ministry of Economy and Finance, according to Ly Borin, an under-secretary of state at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
Mr Borin also said that if their request for funds is approved, the project will be awarded to a private company through a bidding process.
The section of the line in disrepair, damaged during wartime, extends from Pursat province to the capital, Mr Borin noted, adding that other sections of the western rail line have been fully repaired and are ready to carry trains.
The western rail line is one of only two railway lines that exist in the kingdom. The other one, connecting Phnom Penh to Preah Sihanouk province in the coast, is already in service.
The Phnom Penh-Poipet rail line is expected to play a key role in facilitating trade and the movement of people between Cambodia and Thailand, with leaders from both countries having publicly committed to tripling bilateral trade to $15 billion by the year 2020.
Mr Borin could not provide a tentative date for an official launching ceremony for the new line, but said it will probably take place early next year.
He added that officials on both sides of the border are already working on setting up the protocols and systems for the crossing of people and goods at the border.
Battambangs new bamboo train, which starts at the foot of Phnom Banan, was inaugurated on Sunday afternoon. Photo supplied
Battambang's beloved bamboo train is back, but this time on a different set of tracks.
After shutting down last year to make way for actual train service on the tracks, the new train is now located more than 20 kilometres from the city and began operations on Sunday.
We have six lorries to operate and provide service to the national and international tourists visiting Banan temple area, said Soy Bora, a representative of the new trains operators.
Originally conceived as a logistical fix during the United Nations Transitional Authority of Cambodia period, the original bamboo train was a lorry system that operated on Cambodias rarely used northern rail line.
However, tourists soon discovered that the improvised rail vehicles, often consisting of a small motor and a bamboo platform on wheels, were a thrilling ride through the countryside, and a cottage industry sprang up just outside the provincial capital. But with plans to redevelop the railway for other traffic, the bamboo train had to go.
Provincial tourism authorities arranged a new home for the train, with the original operators still running the business.
According to Battambang native and Butterfly Tours founder Moth Pheap, the old train was steeped in history, with the old tracks giving it a quirky charm that made it an important stop on his companys bicycle tours.
It was a main thing. I got a lot of people [visiting] that came to try the bamboo train, he said.
The new track is too far from the city, he said, and loses some of its gritty authenticity in its new more manicured and bland form.
The line starts near the base of Phnom Banan, on which sits an eponymous Angkorian temple, in Kanteu II communes Sang Village, before ending 4 kilometres down the line at Chhoeuteal commune.
The tourists can experience the spectacular landscape around the Banan temple, ancient carvings and fruit orchards, Bora said. Cambodians must pay 10,000 riel (about $2.50) while foreigners will pay twice that.
Banan District Governor Chum Nhor, noting the beauty of the community forests in his district, said he hoped the new location would spur tourism growth in the area and improve local livelihoods.
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