Railwatch:PreahVihearEffect [Archive]

GWR

29-09-05, 11:19 PM

This is the first I've heard of this 2004 agreement between China & Cambodia. I guess this might concern the future possible link from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam:-

http://www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news.cfm?ArticleID=12787

This would seem to fit in with the fact that Thailand & Malaysia will probably help with the construction of the Poipet Missing Link between Cambodia & Thailand. Furthermore, it seems that China is also intent on improving its own links to Vietnam:-

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/patrick.guenin/cantho/vnnews/rail.htm

Map Below of Singpore - Kunming Rail Link Missing Links:-

http://www.aseansec.org/IDCF/fp/TRN-02-005.doc

http://tinypic.com/e5lgdz.jpg

Table 1.2 Route Compositions by Country of SKRL

Country Route Length (Km)
Thailand Bangkok – Aranyaprathet 200
Cambodia Poipet – Sisophon – Phnom Penh 48 + 352 = 400
Cambodia Phnom Penh – Loc Ninh 300
Vietnam Loc Ninh – Ho Chi Min – Hanoi – Lao Cai 150 + 2000 = 2150
China Hekou – Kunming 350
Lao PDR Vientiane – Thakhek –Mu Da- Tan Ap 466 + 53 = 519
Thailand Three Pagoda Pass – Nam Tok 150
Myanmar Three Pagoda Pass – Mawlamyine 116

Table 1.3 Missing Links and Spur Lines of Selected SKRL Route Configuration

Missing and Spur Lines Country Involved Distance (km)
Poipet - Sisophon Cambodia 48
　Phnom Penh – Loc Ninh Cambodia 286
Loc Ninh – Ho Chi Minh Vietnam 149
Ho Chi Minh – Vung Tau Vietnam 75
Three Pagoda Pass – Mawlamyine Myanmar 116
Nam Tok – Three Pagoda Pass Thailand 153
　Vientiane – Thakkek – Mu Da Lao PDR 466
Mu Da – Tan Ap Vietnam 53
Source: Feasibility Study

Yappofloyd

16-02-06, 12:44 PM

Free Flow: Cambodia's quest to just get the basics
International Herald Tribune WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2006

PHNOM PENH As much of the developed world gripes about the occasional pothole or late train, a look at Cambodia offers a sobering perspective. Cambodia's roads and railways have seen more than the usual wear and tear: U.S. bombing during the Vietnam War, enduring civil conflict and poverty as well as massive refugee flows across a ravaged landscape of land mines.

A national program of rebuilding and new construction of road and rail is now under way. The hitch, says Chanthol Sun, minister for public works and transport in Cambodia, is that he has no budget. "The main issue for us now is to have enough funding to build the roads and bridges in Cambodia," Sun said in an interview. "We do have some through grants and soft loans, but we need a lot more in order to rebuild the efficient transport network."

Fluently rattling off the harsh facts of his country's parlous condition, Sun exudes confidence that it can all come about - one day. "Infrastructure is like the blood vessel: it connects from your heart through all your arteries to other parts of the country," he said.

More than 30 years after the fall of the murderous Khmer Rouge regime, and 13 years since a UN intervention pronounced a successful election in Cambodia, the country lags behind all its counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations except for Myanmar and Laos. While richer neighbors are building high-technology urban railways, Sun is hoping for a few bridges and wider roads. In a sign of what might be called progress, road accidents have now displaced land mines as the No. 2 cause of death, after AIDS.

A key bridge is planned at Neak Luong, on Route 1, about a third of the way from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City. Only a ferry crosses the Mekong here, and only in daytime, causing backlogs of traffic and severely limiting trade with thriving southern Vietnam. The Japan International Cooperation Agency has completed a feasibility study, and everyone expects Japan to build the bridge - but an official decision whether to go ahead or not can still take a few months.

Also, Sun said, the roads need to be upgraded, as some were built in the 1960s, and some are only six or seven meters, or 20 to 23 feet, wide. "Now we enlarge to 11 meters wide, and we upgrade to gravel or asphalt," he said.
Heading north toward Laos and then to China is Route 7 through Stoeng Treng Province, across the Sekong River where it joins the Mekong. Unsurprisingly, the Chinese have revamped that road and are building the crucial bridge, "probably one of the longest bridges in Cambodia also, around 1,057 meters," Sun said. He is a firm supporter of Chinese road-building for its quality and speed and says Route 7 could be finished a year ahead of schedule. When it is done, he wants the Chinese to build eastward to link with roads to Vietnam.

Meanwhile, a soft loan with generous financing conditions from South Korea is helping to fix Route 3, from Kampot to Sihanoukville in the south, while another soft loan from Thailand is fixing up Route 48, through Koh Kong Province in the south and on to Route 4 to Sihanoukville. The railway's missing link, a 50-kilometer, or 30-mile, stretch from Sisophon to Poipet near the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet, is a key task for Sun this year. Track for this part will be donated by Malaysia.

"That track is likely to be shipped to us in the second quarter," he said, "so we have the track, but we don't have the money to install, to buy the sleeper, to buy signal links and so on to get this connected. But we are determined, determined, to get the funding to start the reconstruction of that missing link this year."

GWR

20-08-06, 09:50 PM

A current article in the Phnom Penh Post: -

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/TXT/current/stories/1516/decrep.htm

Decrepit railways' rehabilitation on track

By Cheang Sokha

The dilapidated railways network connecting Phnom Penh to Sisophon and Sihanoukville will be repaired in early 2007, a senior railway official has told the Post.

Sokhom Pheakavanmony, general director of Cambodian Railways, said that the two rail lines will begin to be rehabilitated next year and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide loans for the project - including the long-destroyed 48 km from Sisophon to Poipet town at the Thai border.

"It's time to repair the railways. If not, the train system will die - you can see trains derailing every week" said Yin Bunna, director of the railway rehabilitation project for the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT). "If we receive money to repair on time, we can save the life of the Cambodian railway."

Bunna said the renovation may take roughly three years because the tracks are in serious disrepair.

The project, devised by a joint working group of Cambodian and ADB specialists, will cost approximately $67 million, including over $10 million for the 48 km from Sisophon to Poipet.

Peter Broch, ADB transport project economist in Manila, said the ADB has not approved a loan yet, but the proposed project will be presented for approval by the ADB's board in November. If approved, the loan will be concessionaire, financed by ADB's Asian Development Fund.

"We are currently preparing the feasibility study for the railway project," Broch said, "We expect to finish rehabilitation of the railway by the end of 2009, and we will ensure that the railway track is safe."

Broch said the ADB will provide a $42 million loan for the repair of the railway. However, many people have settled on the railway's land around Poipet and need to be relocated to enable reconstruction of the railway connection to Thailand.

"With this amount of money the train speed will run up to 50 km per hour," Bunna said.

The Secretary of State for the MPWT, Uk Chan, said the government will contribute 10 percent of the overall budget for the railway project.

"Most of the tracks, wooden supports and screws need to be changed," Chan said, "About 60 percent of all construction equipment is imported from Thailand. So, if we can transport this freight by train, it will save the roads from the damage of overloaded trucks."

Chan said 70 percent of Cambodian railway lines will need to be replaced. Most of the wooden supports, or sleepers, are at least 80 years old and have never been maintained or replaced.

On July 25, a train from Sihanoukville on the southern line derailed in Kampot province, spilling tons of fuel belonging to tycoon Sok Kong of Sokimex. A day later, a train from Sisophon on the northern line also derailed and overturned two freight cars of cement. No one was injured in the accidents, authorities reported.

The 385 km railroad from Sisophon, the provincial capital of Banteay Meanchey, to Phnom Penh was built between 1929 and 1941, and the 264km from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville between 1960 and 1969.

Bunna said many wooden sleepers are broken and many metal spikes have been stolen.

Suy San, general inspector at MPWT, said the Malaysian government has donated metal ties for the 48 km railroad from Sisophon to Poipet, which was destroyed during the Khmer Rouge time.

"We have to fix our railroad because it runs very slowly, only 17 km per hour," said San. "Travelers are fearful of traveling by train because it is slow and they think it's not secure. The train transports only private goods at the moment."

The government is also seeking $480 million for building part of a new ASEAN railroad from Kunming, China, to Loc Ninh, Vietnam. Cambodia's 255 km missing link would be from Bak Deung in Kampong Chhnang province through Phnom Penh to Snuol in Kampong Cham province and from there to Loc Ninh.

"The government has asked China for funding for the railroad and they promised to support the project," Pheakavanmony said, "Now we are waiting for the Cambodian and Vietnam partners to demarcate the border."

Yappofloyd

22-08-06, 02:36 AM

Great to see some good news on this long mooted project (I think that originally the lnk between Sisophon to Poipet was planned to be finished by 2003 as part of the Trans-Asia railway links supported by ASEAN and UN). Anyway, given the time is has also taken to get the Vietiane link moving (if it is?) perhaps the 48km link to reconnect the thai and cambodian networks can really be finished by 2009. I hope so...

GWR

10-09-06, 11:31 PM

Well, they are beginning to discuss the cost of moving the used rails that Malaysia offered Cambodia about a year back. But this bit is interesting. Thaksin rejected a Hun Sen request for a soft loan to the project, and suggested he go to the ADB for it instead. The report then immediately says that Thai contractors want to get in on the project. I think we need an industry analyst to figure out what's going on here. Or do we? Perhaps it's payback time for Hun Sen to make amends for that mob that torched the Phnom Penh Thai Embassy: -

ASIA-EUROPE MEETING
Thaksin pushes rail link

Caretaker prime minister urges completion of transnational Asian network; three new members to be admitted to Asem

Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday agreed with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that an ambitious international rail link to China must be completed.

He said the long-delayed US$68-million (Bt2.5 billion) railway project linking Sisophon to Poipet needed to be realised.

The trans-national project would eventually link Malaysia and Kunming in China.

During a sidelines meeting at the Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) in Finland, Thaksin said Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia had agreed on the railway plan in the early 1990s.

At present, a 48-kilometre link between Sisophon and Poipet remained incomplete as did a 250-kilometre stretch in Vietnam.

Thaksin rejected a request from Cambodian leader Hun Sen for $13 million (Bt486 million) in soft loans to finance the project, and told him to approach the Asian Development Bank instead.

Thailand wanted Thai construction companies to secure the railway contracts.

Thailand agreed to pay $100,000 for the transport of Malaysian rail track from Padang Besar to Aranyaprathet for use in the Cambodia section of the link.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/09/11/regional/regional_30013299.php

Wisarut

18-09-06, 03:21 PM

all abotu finnacial shenanigan that will have ABN AMRO and Thai EXIM Bank ... with consents from Thaksin and Co. odianovernment for rehabilitating the tracks ....

Wisarut

27-09-06, 12:25 PM

Now, Cambodian Railways can RUN Phnopenn - Battambang route ONLY at a weekly basis .... No passenger traisn between Kampong Som and Phnom Penn .... ONLY cargo trains allowed !

jpatokal

31-10-06, 01:58 PM

From the International Herald Tribune (http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/31/asia/AS_GEN_Malaysia_ASEAN_Railway.php):
Malaysia is donating used rail tracks worth more than US$2 million to Cambodia as part of regional efforts to build a railway linking Singapore to southern China.

Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy waved off the first shipment of the tracks during a ceremony at a northern Malaysian rail station late Monday, saying it would be sent to northwestern Cambodia to help fill in 48 kilometers (30 miles) of missing rails. ...

A transport ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to make public statements, confirmed details of the 7.5 million ringgit (US$2.1 million; €1.7 million) track donation.
"Northwestern Cambodia" presumably means the Poipet-Sisophon section.

GWR

23-12-06, 10:56 AM

Also featured Frontpage: -

20 December 2006

Cambodia is to restore rail links with Thailand destroyed during the 10-year war that ravaged the country and left behind a deadly legacy of anti-personnel mines and other unexploded ordnance.

There are also many years of neglect to make good. The rebuild will be a $70 million project for rehabilitating the country’s rail network as part of the Greater Mekong Sub-region’s economic development program.

Cambodia has some 600 km of railway track and associated bridges. Reinstating 48 missing kilometres up to the Thai frontier will allow the two countries to re-establish rail traffic between them. The project will also improve rail connections with the country’s ports at Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh.

The intention is to privatise railway operations when this sector of the national transportation system has been restructured under a public private partnership arrangement.

Faced with deteriorating railway services and lacking the resources to turn the railway around on its own, the government asked the Asian Development Bank to prepare a comprehensive project for restructuring the railway as a self-sustaining provider of transport services.

Peter Broch, ADB’s mission leader for the project, said that the railway in Cambodia forms a strategic part of the sub-region’s southern transport corridor.

“Restoring it will pave the way for construction of a new line between Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Min City in Viet Nam. This would… further strengthen regional cooperation among Cambodia, Thailand and Viet Nam.”

As in other South East Asian countries, efficient railways would offer a safe and cost effective alternative to trucking for heavy and hazardous cargoes such as cement, containers and hydrocarbon fuels.

The development bank is making a $42 million loan to the country, co-financed to the extent of $13 million from the OPEC Fund for International Development. The remainder of around $15 million is being contributed by the Cambodian Government but Malaysia has offered to provide as a grant in kind the rails required to rebuild the 48 km north-west towards Thailand.

The terms of the loans are favourable to a country endeavouring to restore its infrastructure: annual interest on the 32-year ADB loan totalling $55 million including the OPEC contribution will run at one per cent for the first eight years and at 1½ per cent thereafter.

The Cambodian Ministry of Public Works and Transport is the executing agency for the project, due for completion in 2009.

http://www.ciobinternational.org/en/news/1059

GWR

29-01-07, 11:48 AM

A rather belated discovery about the RCR acquisition of two Chinese locos in 2004. By most accounts, the two have pretty much been permanently stabled ever since as they are too subject to derailments on the currently badly maintained premanent way to be worth using. Let's all pray the currently projected track upgrade actually takes place: -

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200412/21/images/1220_D11.jpg

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200412/21/images/1220_D10.jpg

PHOTO 1
A Cambodian train driver poses for a photo with a locomotive made in China at the Cambodia's Railway Station in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia Dec. 20, 2004. Two new locomotives from China were put into operation Monday in Cambodian railway. Cambodian Minister of Council of Ministers Sok An said that the Cambodian government plans to buy eight more locomotives and 300 train wagons from China in the next few years.

PHOTO 2
A start-using ceremony for two locomotives made in China is held at the Cambodia's Railway Station in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia Dec. 20, 2004.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200412/21/eng20041221_168103.html

Also Rob Dickinson webpages on steam trains in Cambodia: -

http://www.steam.dial.pipex.com/trains/cambod02.htm

Shawn Naylor's pictures: -

http://www.geocities.com/mr_shawn_naylor/asian_rails/cambodia/rrintro.html

http://www.geocities.com/mr_shawn_naylor/asian_rails/cambodia/equipment.html

GWR

30-01-07, 09:11 PM

A November 2006 report. I believe work to rebuild the abandoned Ho Chi Minh City to Loc Ninh railway (145 Kms) in Vietnam has not yet started, but I'll try and find a link on that one too. 2007 has already been mentioned as the year to commence this project: -

..... construction of the missing rail link between Phnom Penh and Loc Ninh is expected to start next year with the completion by 2010.

The full report from Malaysia's National News agency, BERNAMA: -

November 27, 2006 15:53 PM
Eastern Link Of Trans-Asia Rail Link To Be Ready In 2015

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 (Bernama) -- The proposed Eastern Link of the US$1.8 billion Singapore Kunming Rail Link (SKRL) or Trans-Asia Rail Link would be completed by 2015, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy Monday.

He said the Eastern Link, which would start from Singapore, would cover countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam before ending at Kunming in China.

Three sectors in the Eastern Link at between Poipet and Sisophon (Cambodia), Phnom Penh and Loc Ninh (Cambodia) and Loc Ninh and Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam) have yet to be connected at present.

"For the 45 km-long missing link between Poipet and Sisophon, the construction of the railway would start early next year, using the railtracks donated by Malaysia while the ADB (Asian Development Bank) would be financing the construction work," he told reporters after officiating the 28th Asean Railways CEO's conference here today.

The three-day conference has attracted nearly 200 delegates and observers, comprising mostly high-ranking railway officials from seven Asean countries as well as representatives from various government agencies and multinationals companies.

Chan said once construction of the 45 kilometres of the missing link between Poipet and Sisophon is completed, it would enable the movement of trains from Singapore to Phnom Penh.

He said besides constructing the missing link, Cambodia would also start its rail rehabilitation project on its existing rail system, partially funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

He also said that China was committed to the SKRL project as it had invested heavily in improving the rail link from Kunming to the connecting point with Vietnam and Mynamar, such as the rail link between Kunming and Lai Cai in Vietnam.

According to Royal Railways of Cambodia director-general Sokhom Pheakavanmony, construction of the rail link between Poipet and Sisophon is expected to be completed by the end of next year or early 2008.

For the 225-kilometre missing link between Phnom Penh and Loc Ninh, a border town between Cambodia and Vietnam, he said a feasibility study on the missing link, funded and conducted by China, had been completed.

"We are in the process of preparing for the project to kick off as matters related to the funding have been sorted out. Once its starts, construction works can be completed within three years," Pheakavamony said.

He said construction of the missing rail link between Phnom Penh and Loc Ninh is expected to start next year with the completion by 2010.

Vietnam Railways deputy director-general Nguyen Dat Tuong said Vietnam and Cambodia are currently working to finalise the connecting rail point near Loc Ninh.

This is due to the fact that several routes could be considered for the connecting point, he said.

"Both sides have agreed it should be somewhere near Loc Ninh, but the exact point has not been decided," he added.

Tuong said that once the two countries have decided on the exact connecting point, Vietnam would immediately start construction of the 145-kilometre missing link between Loc Ninh and Ho Chi Minh City.

"Both sides are expected to start the construction (on the missing link) at the same time," he said.

Tuong said there was already an existing rail link connecting Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi and China in the north, through two connecting points -- Lai Cai (for Kunming) and Dong Dang (to Beijing, China).

"For China, we don't have missing link. We currently have regular train service from Hanoi to Beijing twice a week," he said.

Tuong said Vietnam was also working on upgrading the existing 1,730-kilometre rail link between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, which has served as the major rail link in Vietnam in order to facilitate more movement of cargoes and trains.

"We have asked for assistance from Japan and other countries to help us on this project," he said.

-- BERNAMA

http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_business.php?id=232665

VRC Railway Watch - Information on the projected Vietnamese rail link to Cambodia:

http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?p=15536#post15536

GWR

31-01-07, 12:05 PM

The Malaysians contributed the used rail from their Rawang to Seremban track improvements and SRT carried it to Aranya Prathet/Poipet. Presumably, the normally disused track from Aranya to the border was used for this operation!? This is a statement from the Malaysian Embassy in Phnom Penh: -

Reception Ceremony of 106km Donated Rail by the Government of Malaysia to the Royal Government of Cambodia

On 9 January 2007, a ceremony was held at the border town of Poipet, Banteay Meanchey Province, Cambodia, 402km north-west of Phnom Penh to hand over 106km used rail tracks donated by Malaysia to Cambodia.

The handover ceremony was presided over by H.E. Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Incharge of the Council of Ministers, Cambodia. It was also attended by H.E. Sun Chantol, Minister of Public Works and Transport, Cambodia and senior government officials from the Council Of Ministers, Ministry of Public Works and Transport and the Royal Railways of Cambodia.

The Malaysian side was represented by YB Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas, Deputy Minister of Transport, H.E. Dato’ Adnan Haji Othman, Ambassador of Malaysia to Cambodia, Dato’ Mohd Salleh Abdullah, Managing Director of Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad and four other officials.

H.E. Niyom Diovilai, Vice Governor of Railway of Thailand and 11 officials from the Railway of Thailand were also invited and present. There were also 400 Poipet citizens present to witness the auspicious ceremony.

The handover ceremony commenced at 10.30 a.m. with the playing of the national anthems of Malaysia and Cambodia respectively, followed by speeches by H.E. Sun Chantol, YB Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas and H.E. Sok An. YB Datuk Douglas subsequently presented to H.E. Sok An a small piece of the rail track to symbolically mark the official handover of the 106km rail tracks.

In his speech, H.E. Sok An expressed appreciation to Malaysia for its contribution of the used rail tracks. H.E. Sok An believed that the restoration of the Poipet-Sisophon missing link using the used rail tracks would not only help restore the physical infrastructure of Cambodia’s railway in order to connect Cambodia with the rest of Asia but would also help develop the economy of Cambodia and its people.

http://www.kln.gov.my/mission/phnompenh/news/343

GWR

31-01-07, 12:25 PM

The official Cambodian acceptance of the track: -

http://www.car.gov.kh/sokan/09jan07_rialroadtrack_en.asp

http://www.car.gov.kh/gif/09jan07_hanover106kmrail2.jpg

Wisarut

31-01-07, 01:20 PM

The actual way to derliver the rail form Aranyaprathet to go across Cambodian Border is the truck as the following set of Photograph has shown:

http://portal.rotfaithai.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=58

GWR

10-03-07, 09:18 PM

UPDATED: 13:57, March 07, 2007
ADB approves 42 mln USD of loan to restore railway for Cambodia

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved 42 million U.S. dollars of loan for Cambodia to restore its railway, local media said on Wednesday.

This is part of the efforts to complete the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) railway network which also connects China, said daily newspaper the Rasmey Kampuchea.

The agreement of providing the loan was signed by Minister of Finance and Economy Keat Chhon and C. Lawrence Greenwood, vice- president of ADB here on Monday.

The loan will be spent on restoring 254 km of railway road from Phnom Penh to seaport city Sihanoukville and also on 383 km of railway from Phnom Penh to Poipet town of Banteay Mean Chey province next to the border with Thailand, the paper quoted Keat Chhon as saying.

The whole budget for restoring railway is worth about 73 million U.S. dollars, with 42 million from ADB, 13 million from the OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) Fund, 2.8 million as grant aid from Malaysia and the rest 15.2 million from the Cambodian government, he added.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.people.com.cn/200703/07/eng20070307_355163.html

GWR

29-08-07, 01:04 AM

http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showpost.php?p=16753&postcount=18

A 200-km railway line from Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh to Viet Nam’s southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City, has been singled out as a key stretch that needs to be built as soon as possible, according to ASEAN General Secretary Ong Keng Yong.

GWR

02-11-07, 11:54 PM

Nov 2, 2007
Cambodia gets US$80m funding for Thailand rail link
SINGAPORE - CAMBODIA will build a rail link to Thailand after it received US$80 million (S$116 million) in funds from the Asian Development Bank and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Cambodia's transport minister said on Friday.

Work on the 48km connection between Sisophan in Cambodia and Poipet near the Thai border will start early next year and be completed by 2010, said Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol.

The US$80 million funding will also cover improvements to other parts of the Cambodian railway system, he told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of transport ministers from the 10-member Association of South-east Asian Nation, or Asean.

The link between Cambodia and Thailand is part of plans for a 5,500 km railway linking Singapore to Kunming, which was was first proposed by Asean in 1995.

The project, which envisages connecting domestic rail networks to form a continuous link from Singapore to Kunming in China, is aimed at easing travel between various Southeast Asian countries and China.

Besides the connection to Thailand, Cambodia will also have to build 257 km of tracks linking its capital Phnom Penn to Loc Ninh in Vietnam.

Mr Sun Chanthol said the Vietnam rail link will cost around US$500 million and his country was seeking funding for the project. -- REUTERS

http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Asia/STIStory_172910.html

Yappofloyd

03-11-07, 02:11 AM

^ Amazing the difference in articles as the one above says work will start next year whereas this one says "actively preparing". Perhaps, they are not inconsistent but suggestions that this will all be complete by 2010 seem a bit hopeful esp as the Cambodian Govt hasn't even award the tender yet for the upgrading of the PP to Sisphon line (although due to be awarded by end of Nov).

Singapore-Kunming Rail Link Project Progressing Well, Says Chan
19-10-2007

SINGAPORE, Oct 19 (Bernama) -- The proposed rail project linking seven Asean countries and the city of Kunming in China is progressing well with several missing links scheduled for completion within the next few years, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said Friday.

He said that the countries with the missing links -- Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia -- had all completed their feasibility studies on the links and were working toward their construction.

The rehabilitation and construction of the Singapore-Kunming Rail Link (SKRL) in China had also been been actively implemented and was expected to be completed by 2009, involving a length of 1,000km, he said.

"Most encouraging is the fact that we already have some specific dates for the missing links to be constructed and some have concrete dates of the completion," he told reporters after chairing the 9th Special Working Group Meeting of the SKRL here.

The 5,513km rail project, first proposed at the Asean Summit in Bangkok in 1995, begins in Singapore and meanders through Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam before ending in Kunming.

Malaysia is tasked to chair the working group for the US$2 billion project, which is a flagship undertaking under the Asean-Mekong Basin Development Cooperation.

The missing links along what is known as the eastern route, are the 48km cross-border crossing of Poipet-Sisophon in Cambodia, a 286km route between Cambodia's Phnom Penh and Vietnam's Loc Ninh, and another 129km connecting Loc Ninh and Ho Chi Minh City.

The missing links in Myanmar involve another route which branches out from Thailand.

On the route in Cambodia, Chan said: "They have been actively preparing the ground for construction of the Poipet-Sisophon route and we can expect its completion by 2010. For the Loc Ninh-Ho Chi Minh City route (in Vietnam), work is expected to begin in 2010."

As for the Phnom Penh-Loc Ninh route, Chan said, a feasibility study had been completed but the project still required funding before construction could begin.

On the Myanmar-Thai rail link, he said that a feasibility study for the 110km route connecting Nam Tok in Thailand to Myanmar's Three Pagoda Pass and to Thambyuyazat had also been completed. "We are still looking for funding for this project," he said.

GWR

08-11-07, 01:55 PM

Phnom Penh Post, Issue 16 / 21, October 19 - November 1, 2007. Non-specific link:
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Run-down railroad set for private sector revamp

By Brendan Brady and Cheang Sokha

The rickety Cambodian railway is scheduled to receive desperately needed repairs.

With $73 million in loans and grants at its disposal, the government is now conducting twin bids - one for repairing and one for operating - the state-run Royal Railways of Cambodia (RCC), said Touch Chankosal, undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Public Works and Transports (MPWT).

Chankosal said the funds will mend the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville as well as Phnom Penh-Poipet railway lines as part of the massive Trans-Asian Railway, which aims to create an integrated freight railroad network across Asia.

According to Chankosal, it will take three years to complete the repairs.

"The Cambodian railway is very dilapidated and requires fixing. On the current railway, the train drives very slowly, around 20kmh, and there are lots of problems. I think if the railway is fixed, the trains can run much faster, around 50kmh."

The loans include $42 million from Asian Development Bank(ADB); $13 million from OPEC Fund for International Development; a $2.8 million grant from Malaysia and $15.2 million from the government of Cambodia.

The government has already selected the restoration company to repair the tracks but the winner of the bid has not been identified.

Officials from MPWT and the ADB short-listed two companies, Toll Holding Australia and the French-based TSO, for the 30 year railway operating concession, said Paul Power, a consultant hired by the ADB to oversee the contract and advise the government.

The government is required under terms of the ADB loan to close a deal with an operator by November 30.

Power said Toll and TSO prequalified from a pool of about 10 bidders, based on their financial and technical capacity to run a railway. Power said that the repairs will not modernize the railway, but "the railway is simply being restored to the level it once had a while back."

Power highlighted the current condition of the Cambodian railway, noting that "the RCC has two new Chinese carriages, but it doesn't want to use them because they're afraid they'll derail and be ruined."

The ADB loan stipulated that the repair and operation of the railway must be privatized.

"If you want an efficient railway, you want a privately managed company. The concessionaire is expected [by the ADB] to bring a business focus. For example, at the moment there's no marketing department," said Power.

Commuters should be aware that the repairs are aimed at improving the flow of commercial goods. "The purpose of fixing the railways is not for transporting passengers. It's for transporting goods because the Ministry of Public Works and Transport is looking to reduce the use of roads for commercial transport, which damages the road because the overloaded trucks are so heavy. The new tracks will allow the carriages to carry more tonnage," explained Chankosal.

Power said the government wants the railway to provide passenger services, which, he added, invariably lose money.

"The government will have to weigh its social obligation with the cost of making a passenger service part of the contract with the concessionaire," Power added.

GWR

20-12-07, 03:56 PM

Serei Sophorn = Sisophon, I suppose:

Cambodia ready for railway to Viet Nam
Ha Noi, Dec 20 (VNA) - Cambodia will spend 550 million USD to build a railway line from Phnom Penh to Loc Ninh in Viet Nam 's southern Binh Phuoc province.

Work on the 275 km line is scheduled to begin soon following the completion
of a careful feasibility study, says Cambodia 's Transport Ministry.

Cambodia will also open a line from Serei Sophorn, in Banteay Province, to Thailand as part of the effort to improve the carrying of freight
within ASEAN.

The 80-million USD project is expected to be completed by 2010.

The Serei Sophorn - Thailand line will become part of a 5,500 km route
from Singapore through Thailand and Cambodia to China 's Kunming
province.

A 130 km Sai Gon-Loc Ninh line is now being planned by Viet Nam with the
help of experienced Chinese experts.

The work is expected to cost 438 million USD and is part of Viet Nam 's
plan to have a railway system to link with its fellow ASEAN countries by
2020 as part of a national transport development strategy approved by Prime
Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.- (VNA)

Today In Asia : Last Update : 12:07:12 20 December 2550 (GMT+7:00)
http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=1891

Despite the Hanoi report location in the article above, I strongly suspect that this announcement was actually made at the ASEAN Railways CEO's Conference at the Sedona Hotel in Yangon, December 19-21:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?t=2494

GWR

03-01-08, 10:07 PM

Horribly-garbled report, although I suppose the last paragraph may indicate some progress on the (long-time short distance) missing link with Thailand:

Cambodia to build railways linking trans-Asia network

03/01/2008 -- 6:26 PM
Phnom Penh (VNA) – Cambodia has planned to upgrade this year its current railway system and build a series of new railway sections to connect with the trans-Asia raiway network which will run through Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam by 2015.

According to Minister of Transport and Communication Touch Chankosal, sections from Phnom Penh to the Sihanoukville port city and from the Sisophone province to the Poipet border gate on the international route linking Phnom Penh to Thailand are expected to be built firstly, at a cost of 73 million USD funded jointly by the Asian Development Bank, the Organisation of Petroleum Export Countries and the Malaysian government.

Another railway segment from Phnom Penh (Cambodia) to Loc Ninh (Viet Nam) will also be built in 2008 with fundings from the World Bank, he said, adding that Cambodia is now calling for more foreign investment to modernise current railway system.

The country now has the 1.000-km railway system running from the Sihanoukville port city to the Poipet border gate adjacent to Thailand.-Enditem

http://www.vnanet.vn/Home/EN/tabid/119/itemid/230313/Default.aspx

Yappofloyd

05-01-08, 03:00 PM

Another railway segment from Phnom Penh (Cambodia) to Loc Ninh (Viet Nam) will also be built in 2008 with fundings from the World Bank, he said, adding that Cambodia is now calling for more foreign investment to modernise current railway system.

The country now has the 1.000-km railway system running from the Sihanoukville port city to the Poipet border gate adjacent to Thailand.-Enditem

Yes a normal mixed up VNA article, I suspect regurgitating some Cambodian MoT press release. I'm pretty sure that nothing has yet been done on the Poipet to Sisophon link esp. as the Cambodian gov was only issuing a tender last Oct 07. Still optimistically due to be completed by 2010 for a max speed of 50kms!!!

Previously the Mnister was quoted as saying;
According to Chankosal, it will take three years to complete the repairs.

"The Cambodian railway is very dilapidated and requires fixing. On the current railway, the train drives very slowly, around 20kmh, and there are lots of problems. I think if the railway is fixed, the trains can run much faster, around 50kmh."

GWR

18-02-08, 11:36 PM

Cambodia starts ADB-funded project on railroad rehabilitation

18/02/2008 -- 9:19 PM

Ha Noi (VNA) – Cambodia launched on February 18 a new ADB-funded project to restore rail traffic between Thailand and Cambodia, according to the Asian Development Bank’s website.

Approximately 600 kilometres of track and another 48 kilometres near the Thai border that was completely destroyed during wartime will be reconstructed in the next two years with a concessional loan of 42 million USD from the ADB.

“This is one of the last steps in the creation of a regional railway that will stretch from Singapore to Beijing ,” said ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda at the inaugural ceremony in Sisophon, near Cambodia’s border with Thailand.

“Soon, trains will be running from Singapore to Sihanoukville,” he added.

The railway rehabilitation project is a vital component of the Greater Mekong Subregion’s southern corridor, which links Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam, said the ADB.-Enditem

http://www.vnanet.vn/Home/EN/tabid/119/itemid/236299/Default.aspx

GWR

19-02-08, 10:28 AM

See also previous post.

http://www.vnanet.vn/Home/EN/tabid/119/itemid/236299/Default.aspx

Many pictures in the following blog on the groundbreaking ceremony:

http://khmernz.blogspot.com/2008/02/ceremony-of-new-railway-at-sisophon.html

See also for overall situation on the Royal Cambodian railways (RCR) - with numerous pictures:
http://khmernz.blogspot.com/search?q=railway

GWR

19-02-08, 11:26 PM

See previous two posts for this current story.

Cambodia's 'Bamboo Railway' Goes Modern

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Today, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Royal Government of Cambodia launched a project that will restore rail traffic between Thailand and Cambodia by 2010.

The new project will rehabilitate approximately 600 kilometers of track, and reconstruct another 48 kilometers near the Thai border that was completely destroyed during wartime.

ADB is providing a $42 million concessional loan for the project from its Asian Development Fund.

“This is one of the last steps in the creation of a regional railway that will stretch from Singapore to Beijing,” said ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda at the inaugural ceremony in Sisophon, near Cambodia’s border with Thailand.

“Soon, trains will be running from Singapore to Sihanoukville,” he added.

Railway services in Cambodia are presently intermittent, and unofficial trolleys with bamboo floors operate along portions of the railway.

In addition to supporting the repair of tracks and bridges, ADB is providing technical assistance to Cambodia to restructure the railway by appointing an international railway operator to operate, maintain and invest in the railway over the next 30 years.

Investing in rail upgrade, maintenance, and better service delivery will help revitalize Cambodia’s railways, enhance internal commerce and international trade, reduce transport costs, and ease road traffic.

The railway rehabilitation project is a vital component of the Greater Mekong Subregion’s southern corridor, which links Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam.
http://www.adb.org/Media/Articles/2008/12398-cambodian-railways-projects/default.asp

ADB Technical Assistance Report, May 2007:
http://www.adb.org/Documents/TARs/CAM/tar-cam-37534.pdf

GWR

23-02-08, 10:41 PM

Hun Sen's reminder: Cambodia needs $500 million to build the railroad line between Cambodia and Vietnam

http://bp1.blogger.com/_76xUgRgjZYM/R7oPh4XiNMI/AAAAAAAADag/Ogl-2xOwu3Q/s400/Hun+Sen+in+Sisophon+02.jpg
[Photo: $500 million needed to link Cambodia to Vietnam? Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks at the ground breaking ceremony of a new railway at Serey Sophon town in Banthey Meachey province, 469km (291 miles) northwest of Phnom Penh, February 18, 2008. Cambodia launched on Monday a $73 million project for the restoration and reconstruction of over 600 km of railway track which will become part of the rail transportation route linking Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam to Kunming, China. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea]

Railway gets a new life

18 Feb 2008
By Ky Soklim
Cambodge Soir
Translated from French by Luc Sâr

On Monday morning, the authorities have officially inaugurated the restoration site for a railroad line. The restoration will involve 552 km of railway, and will cost $73 million. The Asian Development Bank (ADB), OPEC, Malaysia, and the Cambodian government will finance this ambitious project.

Seriously damaged by the civil war, railways in the kingdom will find a new youth. On Monday 18 February, in the province of Banteay Meanchey, the government has officially proceeded to the launch of the restoration work for a portion of the network, covering a distance of 552 km. These railways will connect Phnom Penh to Poipet (386 km) and Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville (266 km). The restoration of the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville line will take 23 months, whereas the Phnom Penh-Poipet line will take 22 months.

The total cost will be $73 million. The Cambodian government will finance $15.2 million, the ADB $42 million, OPEC $13 million, and Malaysia $2.8 million. Haruhiko Kuroda, ADB president, is satisfied about this project: “This even shows the importance of the government policy for the return to prosperity in the kingdom.”

The Australian company Toll Holding obtained a 32-year concession for the railway network in Cambodia. A French-Belgium-Thai consortium will take care of the restoration project. The authorities hope that these improvements will lead to development of the transport of goods.

“The railways play an important role in the trade between our country and Thailand. They are of main importance as part of the trans-border railroad system,” Sun Chanthol, the minister of public works and transport, explained. This line will link, in 2015, Singapore to Kunming in China, crossing Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma and Laos. Hun Sen took care to remind during the inauguration that: “$500 million is needed to build the railway line between Cambodia and Vietnam.”
http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2008/02/hun-sens-reminder-cambodia-needs-500.html

GWR

09-05-08, 09:30 AM

Friday, May 09, 2008
Cambodia seeks US$500 million for Vietnam rail link

Friday, 09 May 2008
By Soun Sophalmony
The Mekong Times

Cambodia is seeking US$500 million in loans or aid to construct a 255 km rail link to Vietnam, though China has already pledged 20 million Yuan (around US$2.8 million) to the project.

Sun Chanthol, minister of Public Works and Transport, said in an interview with The Mekong Times that his ministry has asked China, India and other Asian countries to contribute towards the plan.

“The ministry is cooperating with China to push for an in-depth study on the project, while Wen Jiabao, Chinese Prime Minister, has pledged 20 million Yuan to Cambodia for the construction of this railroad,” he said at the ministry’s annual conference.

“The ministry has finished its negotiation on the point for linking the railroad and will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on the point with Vietnam,” he said, adding that Vietnam’s vice minister of transport will come to Cambodia soon to sign the agreement.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday at the conference that the nation needs 10-15 years to develop road infrastructure in tandem with the rail link, which is expected to be finished by 2020.

Cambodia earlier this year started a major rail restoration project which will rebuild the existing Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville and from Phnom Penh to Poipet lines.

The project was initialized by the Asian Development Bank but has been supplemented by a donation of used rail track from Malaysia.

Trinh Ba Kim, Vietnamese Embassy spokesman, could not be reached for the comment.

Posted by Heng Soy
http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2008/05/cambodia-seeks-us500-million-for.html

GWR

28-05-08, 02:49 PM

Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Train overturn, several thousand liters of fuel spilled

Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

While there was a commotion about a plane crash incident in Kampot province on Tuesday, [Mod:Or was it a UFO that exploded over a nearby Vietnamese island? http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showpost.php?p=21248&postcount=11 ] another incident took place in Sihanoukville when a train line overturned causing a spill of several thousand liters of fuel. The Koh Santepheap newspaper reported that a tank hauling 48,000 liters of fuel was among the overturned wagons. The reason for the overturn appears to be the decrepit old railroad tracks which could no longer support the weight of the wagons. The report indicated that immediately after the train overturned, several dozens of villagers rushed in to try to scoop the spilled fuel. Some were able to collect two cans of fuels, while others were able to scavenge even more until railroad officials arrived and instilled order. According to officials, at least half of the tank load of fuel was lost. The incident took place near the Popeal Kher area, Trapeang Moul village, Choeung Kauk commune, Prey Nub district, Sihanoukville, on Tuesday. A commune councilor from Choeung Kauk indicated that the Diesel fuel in the wagon belonged to the Sokimex company.
Non-specific link:
http://ki-media.blogspot.com/

GWR

15-08-08, 11:14 PM

Interestingly, this report contains some comments on the current rail refurbishment project:

Friday the 15th of August 2008
Thai rail shipments to capital plummet with border dispute
Written by Kay Kimsong
Thursday, 14 August 2008

Imports have dropped more than 50 percent, despite planned efforts to expand trade by refurbishing the railway , officials say

Thai goods imported by rail from Banteay Meanchey province to Phnom Penh plummeted between 50 and 60 percent in July compared with June 2008 due to the military standoff at Preah Vihear, a government rail official said Wednesday.

"We saw the amount of goods from Thailand fall sharply," said Sokhom Pheakavanmony, director general of the Royal Railways of Cambodia. He added, "As the dispute continues, the number of Thai goods will continue to decline."

The drop comes despite efforts to boost rail-bound border trade.

A 48km stretch of rail between Svay Sisophon town, Banteay Meanchey province, and the border town of Poipet is currently being renovated under a three-year, US$88 million programme supported by the Asian Development Bank.

The project is expected to be completed in 2010, and is intended to link Cambodia to the Asean Singapore-Kunming railway project running through Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Kunming, China.

"Now renovations are going on close to Svay Sisophon," said Sokhom Pheakavanmony. "The Asean railway will boost growth for 500 million citizens in [the region]."

He said the border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand would not affect the Asean railway project.

Sok Sareth, deputy governor of Banteay Meanchey province, added that his officials have discouraged those in the province to join in a boycott of Thai goods that was proposed after the Preah Vihear crisis erupted last month.

"I think the boycott was just the idea of some young teenagers. Most people never participated," he said.

Overall, trade between Thailand and Cambodia has increased this year, and Thai officials say that lingering tensions over the border will not impact trade.

But commerce has dipped slightly since the dispute began. Hundreds of Cambodian and Thai soldiers remain deployed at the temple as their governments remain deadlocked over the issue.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2008081421191/Business/Thai-rail-shipments-to-capital-plummet-with-border-dispute.html