Restoration of this train station is expected to finish by the end of the year. Ministry of Transportation
The government of Cambodia unveiled an ambitious commitment yesterday to complete the restoration of the western rail line connecting Phnom Penh to Poipet before the end of the year, one day after a 48km passenger railway service from Poipet to Serey Sophorn was put into service.
Sun Chanthol, Minister of Public Works and Transport, spoke of the timeline for the Phnom Penh to Poipet rail link as he presided over the launch ceremony of the Poipet-Serey Sophorn link in Banteay Meanchey province.
The Poipet-Serey Sophorn railway service is just the first step of our project to restore the rail line, Mr Chanthol said.
He added that the next steps would be connections to Battambang, Pursat and then Phnom Penh.
The second step is that we will restore the connection from Serey Sophorn to Battambang this month, to Pursat by May, to Bat Deng (Kampong Speu province) by July, and finally to Phnom Penh before the end of the year, Mr Chanthol said.
Putting the western railway service into operation would contribute to public transport and cut traffic congestion and road accidents. In particular, it would connect the rail line to Thailand, Mr Chanthol said.
Sin Chanthy, president of the Cambodia Freight Forwarders Association (CAMFFA), acknowledged the development of the railway sector in the country, but he called for more convenient transport of goods and products by rail.
It is good that we have passenger railway services coming online, showing the government has worked to make the service happens, Mr Chanthy said.
But for logistics as a whole, we want to see rail transport for goods and products in large amounts soon.
We want to see rail transport in Cambodia comparable to neighbouring countries because we are now in the Asean integrated community.
Currently, Cambodia has two rail lines. The first is the southern link between Phnom Penh and Preah Sihanoukville province which crosses through Takeo and Kampot provinces.
The western line is from Phnom Penh to Poipet on the border with Thailands Aranyaprathet province.
Although just one section of the western rail line was being inaugurated yesterday, Mr Chanthol said it was a historical occasion after the absence of the service for 45 years.
The service is being managed by Royal Railways, a subsidiary of the Kith Meng-owned Royal Group,
Mr Chanthol said also that Cambodia had been considering building a new railway connecting Phnom Penh with Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, which he said it would be part of the Singapore-Kunming Railway Project in Asean.
Private companies have been asked to conduct feasibility studies over building a rail line from Phnom Penh to Bavet city in Svay Rieng province, where the Vietnamese side would build from Ho Chi Minh city to the border, Mr Chanthol said.
A service from Phnom Penh city centre to the international airport along a new 1.6m rail link is due to start on Tuesday of next week. It will be free for the first six months.
Passenger services have been launched between Sisophon in Cambodia and Poipet on the border with Thailand.
Passenger services have been launched between Sisophon in Cambodia and Poipet on the border with Thailand.Negotiations are underway to enable trains to use a 1·3 km cross-border connection to Thailand's rail network.The service operated by Royal Railway was inaugurated by Minister of Public Works & Transportation Sun Chanthol an April 4.
Trains serve four intermediate stations and take around 1 h 15 min.The service is to be extended from Sisophon to Phnom Penh once the rehabilitation of the remainder of the metre-gauge northern main line is completed.The ministry said the revived line would facilitate the transport of agricultural produce, and help to attract investment and create jobs.
CAMBODIA: Passenger services have been launched on the reinstated 48 km section of the line between provincial capital Sisophon and Poipet on the border with Thailand.
The service operated by national railway concessionaire Royal Railway was inaugurated by Minister of Public Works & Transportation Sun Chanthol an April 4. There are three round trips per day, serving four intermediate stations and taking around 1 h 15 min. Travel is free of charge until August 1.
The service is to be extended from Sisophon to Phnom Penh once the rehabilitation of the remainder of the metre-gauge northern main line is completed later this year, although a date has not been fixed. Negotiations are also underway with Thailand to enable trains to use a 1·3 km cross-border connection to the Thai rail network, which would enable a Phnom Penh Bangkok passenger service to be operated in the future.
The ministry said the revived line would facilitate the transport of agricultural produce, and help to attract investment and create jobs. It would also be an important link in a developing international corridor running from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
The 386 km line connecting Phnom Phen to the Thai rail network was completed in 1942, but damaged by fighting in the early 1970s. In 2009 the Asian Development Bank and the Cambodian government agreed to fund reinstatement, and work was launched with a groundbreaking ceremony in Poipet on July 25 2014.
An interview with Royal Railways CEO John Guiry appeared in the May 2017 issue of Railway Gazette International magazine, which subscribers can access in the digital archive.
Passenger services have been launched between Sisophon in Cambodia and Poipet on the border with Thailand.
Negotiations are underway to enable trains to use a 1·3 km cross-border connection to Thailand's rail network.
The service operated by Royal Railway was inaugurated by Minister of Public Works & Transportation Sun Chanthol an April 4.
Trains serve four intermediate stations and take around 1 h 15 min.
The service is to be extended from Sisophon to Phnom Penh once the rehabilitation of the remainder of the metre-gauge northern main line is completed.
The ministry said the revived line would facilitate the transport of agricultural produce, and help to attract investment and create jobs.
CAMBODIA moved a step closer to the restoration of rail links between its capital Phnom Penh and Bangkok on April 4 with the launch of passenger services on the 48km section of the Northern Line between Sisophon and Poipet on the border with Thailand.
Passenger and freight services on the 385km Northern Line from Phnom Penh to the Thai frontier were suspended in the 1970s due to the civil war, which inflicted serious damage on the lines infrastructure.
Cambodia Royal Railway is operating three return services a day between Sisophon and Poipet, with intermediate stops at Teuk Thla, Samrong, and Kep and an average journey time of 1h 15min.
To celebrate the upcoming Khmer New Year, the government is offering free travel on the route until July 31.
The rebuilding of the line railway been financed with the aid of a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is supporting the rehabilitation or reconstruction of 641km of railway in Cambodia.
Much of the work required to end the isolation of Cambodias railway network has now been completed. On the Thai side, State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has completed the rehabilitation of the 6km section between Aranyaprathet station and the border at Ban Khlong Luek.
However, Cambodias minister of public works and transport Mr Sun Chanthol says discussions regarding border arrangements have not yet been concluded, and it is unclear when international services will resume between Aranyaprathet and Poipet. Furthermore, reconstruction works are still underway on sections of the line between Sisophon and Phom Penh.
Chanthol says services will be extended from Sisophon to Battambang later this month, Pursat by May, Bat Deng by July, and Phnom Penh "before the end of the year,"
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