The route between Aranyaprathet railway station and Ban Khlong Luek border checkpoint has commenced service on Monday. NATIONAL NEWS BUREAU OF THAILAND
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) launched service on its extended route to the Cambodian border in Sa Kaews Aranyaprathet district on Monday morning.
The route, which runs from Aranyaprathet railway station to the Ban Khlong Luek border checkpoint, also known as Rong Kluea Market, commenced service at 6:58 am.
The SRT said the extension of the route follows a signing of a memorandum of understanding with Cambodia to link the railways of the two countries.
Ban Khlong Luek railway station was opened on April 22 and the SRT gave four diesel trains to Cambodia to run from the Cambodian side to the station to allow passengers to travel to Thailand.
With the extended route, two trains leave the Ban Khlong Luek station to Bangkok and two trains from Bangkok arrives at the Ban Khlong Luek station each day.
On the first day, about 10 Thais bought tickets to Bangkok from the Ban Khlong Luek station.
The SRT announced that the first train from Bangkok leaves at 5:55am and reaches Ban Khlong Luek at 11:17am. The second one leaves the capital at 1:05pm and reaches Ban Khlong Luek at 5:27pm.
The first train from Ban Khlong Luek leaves at 6:58 am and reaches Bangkok at 12:05pm while the second train leaves the border station at 1:53pm and reach the capital at 7:40 pm.
Passenger Kamolwan Ketsawatdiwong, 72, said he was happy to use the extended train service, which is much more convenient than riding a passenger van or a bus. THE NATION (THAILAND)
THAILAND: State Railway of Thailand launched a twice-daily passenger service between Bangkok and the Cambodian border on July 1. The service is aimed at Thai and foreign tourists and people visiting the Rong Kleua Market.
The service is expected to promote cross-border trade with Cambodia, with significant growth in ridership expected once the service becomes established.
The new train service between Bangkok and Ban Klong Luk border station in Sa Kaeo province that was launched on July 1 is a major step for Thailand to boost people-to-people ties with its immediate neighbour to the east.
There are four trips a day -- two in each direction -- with the first train leaving Bangkok at 5.55am. Ban Klong Luk in Aranyaprathet is just six kilometres away from Poipet, Cambodia, where the train service linking the border town to the capital, Phnom Penh, was recently revived. The journey from Bangkok to Ban Klong Luk takes about five hours, but the trip from Poipet to Phnom Penh takes around 12.
The complete plan envisages a seamless train service from Bangkok to the Cambodian capital, via Battambang, Cambodia's second-largest city which has economic significance. Cambodia reopened the Poi Pet-Battambang route last year.
Historically, railway services between the two neighbours -- first launched in the 1940s -- have always been inconsistent.
Trains used to run from Battambang to Aranyaprathet, until they were terminated in 1974 because of the country's civil war. Most of the tracks were dilapidated, if not destroyed, by the war, but partial domestic service resumed in the 1990s.
However, the trains completely stopped running after a series of attacks by the Khmer Rouge, who kidnapped foreign travellers for ransom. Later, Cambodia chose to develop the track that links Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville in the southwest.
Outgoing Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith deserves praise for his vision. Earlier this year, he said the train link between the two countries should be revived as the tracks are already connected. "The connection could facilitate cross-border trade and boost tourism," he said.
The launch of the Bangkok-Ban Klong Luk train service followed a symbolic ride on April 22 by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his counterpart Hun Sen, with whom he crossed the border to Poi Pet. Both leaders want train services between the two countries to resume.
Some academics cautioned that the train service, particularly that for the Poi Pet-Phnom Penh route, may not be competitive compared to other modes of land transport like buses and vans, which take less time. Now there are buses and vans from Bangkok to Phnom Penh, Battambang and Siem Reap, which are popular among locals as well as tourists.
Songrit Pongern, an expert on the Mekong region, said the resumption of services is a symbolic gesture, with "no trade or tourism benefits, at least in the near future".
He reasoned that it takes too long to get to the border from Phnom Penh by train -- 12 hours, as opposed to seven hours by buses and/or vans -- and said that there will better opportunities when China completes the tracks to Vietnam, as the loop will be more extensive.
But there is no reason to wait. We must understand that the rail system, if it is efficient, is worth the investment, thanks to the fact that it is a mass-transit system. It is cheaper, safer and more reliable with a lower carbon footprint.
The big upside to taking the train is that fares are more predictable compared to buses and/or vans, whose fares may fluctuate depending on fuel prices.
At this stage, the service will only be for tourists who want to experience an exotic journey, but it would be best to make it workable means of travel for locals and to boost people-to-people relations.
Poipet railway station on the border with Thailand. Passengers will soon be able to travel to Bangkok. Ministry of Public Works and Transport
Cambodian and Thailand railway authorities will meet on Friday for final discussions on cross-border rail transportation between the nations.
Ly Borin, under-secretary of state of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, told Khmer Times yesterday that an agreement on cross-border rail transportation had been signed in April last year, but it had not yet been implemented.
The new connection will allow the carriage of cargo more efficiently, lower costs, improve security, reduce traffic jams and contribute to the development of both countries as well as to add a further link with the rest of the Asean members and the Mekong sub-region.
On Friday the 14th of February, we will talk with our Thai counterparts about the cross-border transport via railroad and we will sign the final documents to make sure that people and cargo from both countries can cross the border via train, Ly saidd.
Ly added that, in October last year, the two countries were about to start cross-border rail transportation but floods damaged the railway, so Cambodian authorities delayed the move. He added that now the track is fixed, both countries are nearly ready to start operations.
We plan to start in March at the latest to ensure the cross-border rail transportation runs smoothly between Cambodia and Thailand, Ly said.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha, in April last year, presided over the inauguration ceremony on the reconnected railroad network more than 40 years since the route stopped. Both leaders also attended the signing of an agreement on cross-border rail transportation at the ceremony.
Both governments expect it will improve transportation and boost trade. The Stung Bot-Ban Nong Ian Friendship Bridge was also inaugurated to facilitate cargo transportation between the two countries.
The agreement on joint railway traffic and the connection of our railroads again after they were separated in 1974 because of the war, will improve railroad transportation, which is an effective, cheap and safe transportation method, authorities said.
Thailand donated a diesel multiple unit (DMU) to Cambodia. A DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines that require no separate locomotive. It was manufactured by Japans Hitachi company and comprises four carriages, each able to carry 80 passengers.
Now we will have both the agreement and the procedure completed. Customs and immigration have already reached agreement so we will finalise everything this Friday. We have to study some elements of the agreement closely but, in principle, we are all agreed, Ly added.
Sun Chantho, minister at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, has pushed the authorities to prepare for the rail link between Cambodia and Thailand to boost bilateral trade and to upgrade to a better form of mass transportation than bus.
The northern rail link will connect Cambodia and Thailand starting at Phnom Penh and travelling to Poipet on the Thai border, a distance of 386 kilometres. At Poipet a Thai train engine will be fitted to allow onward passage to Bangkok. The Cambodian part of the track was refurbished and used temporarily in late 2018.
This is another successful achievement between Thailand and Cambodia, said Seang Thay, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce.
We hope that once train is linked between the two nations, cargo transport will be more convenient and it will reduce the logistical costs involved.
According to the data from the Commerce Ministry, bilateral trade between Cambodia and Thailand reached $9.41 billion by the end of 2019, up from $8.39 billion in 2018. Cambodia imported from Thailand around $7.14 billion of goods and exported to Thailand around $2.27 billion worth of products.
Cambodia will soon welcome another 140km of northern railway to connect to the Thai border to better facilitate the transportation of goods between the two countries.
Cambodia and Thailand officially launched rail reconnection link in late 2018.
Vasim Sorya, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, told The Post on Wednesday that Thailand promised to provide the new rail after the launch that year.
The Thai side will hand over the around 140km rail in August or September. It will strengthen our railways and improve the quality of goods transportation between the two countries, he said.
Sorya said that after the northern railway is upgraded, it will be able to carry 20 tonnes and increase the speed to up to 70km/h from the current 30km/h.
Connecting Phnom Penh to Poipet in Banteay Meanchey province and on to the Thai border, the northern railway has held boosted bilateral trade.
Thailand is Cambodias seventh-largest importer of Cambodian goods after the US, Japan, Germany, China, Britain and Canada, accounting for four per cent of Cambodias exports.
Bilateral trade between Cambodia and Thailand was worth around $3.1 billion in the first four months of the year, up 18.3 per cent over the same period last year, data from the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok showed.
Cambodias exports to Thailand during the period skyrocketed 106 per cent year-on-year to $687 million, as imports inched up 5.6 per cent year-on-year to $2.4 billion.
The majority of Cambodias exports to Thailand are gemstones, jewellery, agricultural products and aluminium. Cambodias imports from Thailand mainly comprised fuel, motorcycles, cars, gemstones and jewellery.
On June, 12, 2009, the Cambodian government granted a 30-year concession agreement to Toll (Cambodia) Co Ltd a joint-venture between Australia-owned Toll Holding Ltd and Cambodias local conglomerate Royal Group of Companies Ltd to manage the operations of the Kingdoms railway system.
In 2014, however, Toll Holding transferred its 55 per cent stake in Toll Cambodia to Royal Group, which then changed the subsidiarys name to Royal Railway Cambodia.
The government has spent some $226.6 million to restore the countrys southern and western railways to improve transportation. Of the investment fund, some $85 million came from the national budget while the remaining $141.6 million came from the Asian Development Bank and other development partners.
When I was first seeing the pictures of the first international train to Cambodia from Thailand, I was wondering how the Royal Railway Cambodia's buffer and chain couplers on YDM 6657 were going to be compatible with the State Railway of Thailand's knuckle couplers on the fleet of BCFs.
Alas, thanks to a Cambodia news article with onward pictures from Ban Klong Luk Border to Poipet, the mystery is now solved with a surprisingly simple solution.
Click on the link or picture below to read more!
The government is looking into the possibility of upgrading the existing train routes. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
PHNOM PENH, Dec 19 (Phnom Penh Post/ANN): The Cambodian government is looking into the possibility of upgrading the existing train routes from Phnom Penh to Preah Sihanouk and Phnom Penh to Poipet town into express railways.
In the Council of Ministers press statement about the results of their meeting on December 16, they said the construction of an express railway was to increase transportation capacity and contribute to socio-economic development while reducing traffic congestion.
The Royal Government of Cambodia will look into the possibility of upgrading the construction of the existing railways to make them express railways, especially the connection from Phnom Penh to Preah Sihanouk province and from Phnom Penh to Poipet,Prime Minister Hun Sen is quoted as saying in the press release.
According to the Council of Ministers, Hun Sen also said that a new railway from Poipet to Siem Reap could also be constructed. That railway will then also eventually be extended to Kampong Thom and to Phnom Penh.
Another railway is also to be constructed from Phnom Penh to Bavet town at the border with Vietnam in Svay Rieng province.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health on Sunday (Dec 19) reported six new Covid-19 cases, two of which were imported. It noted that all of the cases were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.
The ministry also reported two new deaths and 10 recoveries, noting that one of the deceased had not been vaccinated against Covid-19.
As of December 19, Cambodia had recorded a total of 120,416 Covid-19 cases with 116,792 recoveries and 3,005 fatalities. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
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