No walking and definitely no selfies on the track, railway officials have warned enthusiasts who like to stroll along the countrys highest rail bridge, which towers more than 100 metres above a ravine in Shan State. Pedestrians have now been banned from Gokteik Viaduct as a safety measure.
Pedestrians amble across Gokteik bridge. Photo: Hteik Tin Aung / The Myanmar TimesPedestrians amble across Gokteik bridge. Photo: Hteik Tin Aung / The Myanmar Times
U Yin Htwe, stationmaster at Gokteik Viaduct station, told The Myanmar Times on December 15 that 4000 people visit the spot every weekend. Though many are local, tourists can charter a train to take them over the scenic route.
On the full moon day of Tazaungdaing, there were about 7000 visitors walking along the viaduct. We had to tell people not to, he said, after receiving instructions from the railway department.
The 115-year-old viaduct was built to take trains only, and there is no pedestrian access.
Some of them drink on the tracks and some take photos and selfies on the edges of the viaduct. Its very dangerous, and when we ask them not to, they ignore us. Hence the ban, said U Yin Htwe.
Railway officials in Mandalay said they ran 13 charter trains for tourists from Nawngcho over the viaduct to Naungpain in November. They are now testing a train that can take 50 passengers.
Gokteik Viaduct was the largest railway trestle in the world upon its completion in 1901. The countrys highest bridge, it is located in the centre of the country, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) northeast of Mandalay. It is located in Nawngcho township, Shan State, and has a maximum height of 102 metres (335 feet) and spans 689m (2260 feet) across the ravine.
To broaden the use of the Yangons Circular Train among the citys populace and to reduce its toll on peoples wages, fees for four Circular Train carriages have been reduced, according to officials from Myanma Railways.
The reduced fees were introduced on December 21. Passengers will now have to pay Ks 200 ($0.15) instead of Ks 300 (US$0.40), according to Kyaw Soe Lin, the manager of Myanmar Railways.
We are doing as much as we can to provide better service to the people. One of our decisions was to reduce fees, said Kyaw Soe Lin.
Yangons Circular Train is comprised of 23 ordinary and special carriages, including six air-con carriages. Its capacity can accommodate for four per cent of the citys population.
Because of our budget, we bought train carriages that were used previously in Japan. There is difference in temperature between Myanmar and Japan, and so we had to make repairs to adjust the temperature, which resulted in some shortcomings. We are doing our best to repair these things, added Kyaw Soe Lin.
Myanmar is planning to buy 50 new carriages with a loan from Japan and plans to stop using the old carriages.
In the past, Myanma Railways received all of its second-hand carriages from China.
YANGON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A Death Railway Museum, located at the site of the World War II "Death Railway" in Myanmar's Kayin state, is opening to showcase the life of prisoners of war who died during the construction of the railway, official media reported Sunday.
The museum, originally scheduled to be inaugurated in April, will instead open on Monday, to coincide with the country's Independence Day.
The museum will exhibit historic photos, paintings, sculptures and 3D images related to the death railway. It also highlights a coal-fired C-0522 engine, which was used on the death railway, and a memorial place where the railway line originated.
During the war, the Imperial Japanese Army forced more than 120,000 Allied prisoners of war and laborers from Southeast Asian countries to build the railway linking Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar and Kanchanaburi in Thailand.
More than 16,000 prisoners of war died during the construction of the railway. Several thousand who died were buried at the Thanbyuzayat graveyard.
With little or no medical care, the prisoners succumbed to sickness, malnutrition and exhaustion and died in a horrible condition.
A museum commemorating the historic Thailand-Burma Railway has opened in Myanmar.
The railway was built during World War Two in order to ship supplies to the Japanese Imperial Army. It is often referred to as the "Death Railway," because thousands of prisoners of war and local workers died during its construction.
The railway was the setting for the movie "The Bridge on the River Kwai." The section of the railway in Thailand is a destination for many tourists, but Myanmar has not actively worked to preserve its part of the line.
On Monday, the new museum opened at Thanbyuzayat, the first stop on the Myanmar side of the border.
A former Japanese soldier who worked on the project - Mikio Kinoshita - attended the ceremony.
He says the unit he belonged to worked with Australian soldiers and locals.
He says the work was grueling and many people died.
He had strong hopes for a memorial, and is extremely glad the museum has been built.
Part of the railway has been reconstructed on the grounds.
โศกนาฏกรรมครั้งนี้เคยถูกสร้างเป็นภาพยนตร์ถึง 2 ครั้ง ได้แก่เรื่อง The bridge on the river Kwai และล่าสุดเพิ่งฉายเมื่อ 3 ปีที่แล้ว เรื่อง The railway man
YANGON, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Death Railway Museum, which was built at the site of the Death Railway of the World War II in Myanmar's Mon state and opened on Monday, the country's Independence Day, will play a role in educating people about the tragedy during the War. The museum on a 1.62 hectares of land plot showcases the miserable life of the prisoners of war who died during the construction of the Death Railway.
The Death Railway, located in Thanbyuzayat in Mon state, was built by the Japanese invasion army in 1943 to support the Japanese war effort by connecting Yangon (then called Rangoon) to Bangkok.
Its construction was notorious for its reliance on the forced labor from the civilian community in Thailand and Myanmar and allied war prisoners.
Thanbyuzayat graveyard is a place where several thousands of victims of the Death Railway were buried.
During the World War II, the Japanese invasion army forced more than 120,000 prisoners of war from alien countries and other Southeast Asian nations to build the 280-kilometer Death Railway linking Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar and Kanchananburi in Thailand.
More than 16,000 prisoners of war died during the construction of the Death Railway, or about 38 prisoners of war for every kilometer of the track.
With little or no medical care, the prisoners of war succumbed to sickness, mal-nutrition and exhaustion at last.
Mikio Kinoshita, a 95-year-old Japanese war veteran who was 24 years old when he was on duty at the railway construction site during the World War II, attended the museum opening ceremony along with his family.
He recalled that he was a railway engineer and controlled 100 Australians and 200 Myanmar prisoners of war at the site of the Death Railway.
He expressed delight over the opening of the museum to commemorate the suffering and loss of lives caused by the past tragic event.
The museum highlights a coal-fired C-0522 engine, which was used in the Death Railway and the memorial place where the Death Railway line originated.
The museum, which began construction in April last year displays historical photos, sculptures and 3D images of the daily life of the prisoners of war connected with the Death Railway.
Recalling the tragedy and taking lessons from it, Chief Minister of Mon state U Ohn Myint wished for a long-lasting friendship between Myanmar and Japan and peaceful development for Myanmar.
Myanma Railways will launch tram rail in the Strand Road route from War Dan to Linsadaung on January 10. With a capacity of about 100 passengers, the tram rail will run 10 times from 7 a.m to 4p.m with a 100 kyats fare for each commuter. The tram rail has 7miles in total for three phases but only 4 miles will be launched initially.
General Manager, Myanmar Railways(Lower Myanmar), Htun Aung Thin: We will launch the phase 1 and 2 of tram rail (electric rail) because we think it will help to ease traffic congestion partly and to give service of convenient public transportation for the commuters. We also plan to have electric rail system for Yangon circular railway. So launching this tram rail is already prepared for the further steps.
Along the Strand road route, there are five stations; War Dan, Sint Ohe, Pansodan, Botahtaung and Linsadaung.
General Manager, Myanmar Railways(Lower Myanmar), Htun Aung Thin: We chose Strand road route first as there is already old railway of cargo train so its easy to start again tram rail there. If we can run tram rail successfully in just phase 1 and 2, commuters will be familiar with that system.
Myanmar Railways and Japanese West Corporation signed a 3 million USD deal for this tram rail project in July last year.
Myanmar will launch its tram rail service, the first in the country since this kind of transportation was launched in 1904, an official report said on Wednesday.
The move will ease traffic congestion and provide commuters with convenient public transportation, said the Global New Light of Myanmar.
The 150-seated tram rail will run on the Strand Road route 10 times a day from 7 a.m to 4 p.m local time.
The 11-km tram rail line will have three phases, but only a 6.44-km route will be launched initially.
Myanmar Railway and Japanese West Corporation signed an agreement for the project in July.
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