Yangon-Mandalay train journey will shorten to 8 hours by 2023
Yangon-Mandalay train journey will shorten to 8 hours by 2023
The Myanmar Times, 16 Jan 2018
URL: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/yangon-mandalay-train-journey-will-shorten-8-hours-2023.html
Japan has thrown its weight behind Myanmar’s railway development by funding the Yangon-Mandalay railway, according to the country’s foreign minister Taro Kono who held a joint press conference in the capital with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on January 12.
The railroad upgrade programme is expected to cut travel time between Yangon and Taungoo to 3.5 hours and the overall Yangon-Mandalay one-way journey to eight hours. The Yangon- Taungoo part is scheduled to complete in 2020.
“By 2023, the travel time between Yangon and Mandalay will be eight hours, and this will help the people’s travels as well as easing and speeding up trade,” Taro Kono commented.
The railway connecting Yangon and Mandalay stretches over 380 miles and is a popular route for travelers. Commuters need at least 12 hours to go from one city to another, and the time can go up to 15 hours due to the deterioration in the physical infrastructure.
The project will be funded by an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan from Tokyo. ODA is broadly divided into bilateral aid, in which assistance is given directly to developing countries, and multilateral aid, which is provided through international organizations.
There are three phases for the scheme. The first priority is to build the Yangon-Taungoo line, covering 166 miles; then Taungoo-Yamaethin will be constructed, spanning 118.5 miles, followed by 100 miles between Yamethin-Mandalay.
The railroad upgrade programme is expected to cut travel time between Yangon and Taungoo to 3.5 hours and the overall Yangon-Mandalay one-way journey to eight hours. The Yangon- Taungoo part is scheduled to complete in 2020.
“By 2023, the travel time between Yangon and Mandalay will be eight hours, and this will help the people’s travels as well as easing and speeding up trade,” Taro Kono commented.
The railway connecting Yangon and Mandalay stretches over 380 miles and is a popular route for travelers. Commuters need at least 12 hours to go from one city to another, and the time can go up to 15 hours due to the deterioration in the physical infrastructure.
The project will be funded by an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan from Tokyo. ODA is broadly divided into bilateral aid, in which assistance is given directly to developing countries, and multilateral aid, which is provided through international organizations.
There are three phases for the scheme. The first priority is to build the Yangon-Taungoo line, covering 166 miles; then Taungoo-Yamaethin will be constructed, spanning 118.5 miles, followed by 100 miles between Yamethin-Mandalay.