2.4 Myanmar Railway Assessment Travel Time Matrix from Yangon Railway Companies and Consortia Capacity Table Key Route Information Key Stations Yangon Circular Railway Myanmar Railway Schedule (Passengers trains attached with cargo train) Yangon - Mandalay Line Regional Railway Assessments Mon State and Thanintharyi Region Distance (Mile) and Travel Time (Hour) Matrix Capacity Table Key Route Information Key Stations Kawlin and Sagaing Region Distance and Travel Time Matrix Capacity Table Key Route Information Key Stations Kayah and Southern Shan State Distance (KM) and Travel Time (Hours) Matrix Capacity Table Key Route Information Key Stations Bago, Naypyitaw and Magway region Distance and Travel Time Matrix Capacity Table Key Route Information Key Stations Mandalay and Sagaing region Distance and Travel Time Matrix Capacity Table Key Route Information Key Stations Cargo Terminal, Mandalay Generally, the trains do not run on time and are not much used for freight. Myanmar Railways (MR) does not accept liability for damage to cargo in transit, therefore it is recommended to transport cargo by rail through third party freight forwarders or transporters. Since MR rents out most freight cargo capacity in advance to private transporters monthly, it is difficult to get freight capacity directly from MR. Railway transportation should be considered as last resort only if road transportation is temporary inaccessible/cut-off due to disaster or unstable situation. It is not recommended for emergency response situation or for cargo transportation in general as there are other faster alternatives. The railway network is divided by MR into 11 administrative divisions. In lower Myanmar, to the South the main line starts in Yangon and ends at Dawei, Tanintharyi. Freight can only be transported until Mawlamyine due to the mountainous terrain. In upper Myanmar, to the North the main line runs from Yangon via Nay Pyi Taw to Myitkyina, in Kachin State. This line to Myitkyina is used more frequently for freight by private transporters because it is less costly than road transportation. In its current state, the railway network anchors to two mains stations: Yangon Central and Mandalay Central with most routes are single track. Page 1 After many years of inadequate railway system or network development since its first inauguration in May 1877 (rail track between Yangon to Pyay), the railway network expansion, under the responsibility of the Ministry of Rail Transportation and operated by state-owned Myanmar Railways (MR), has been expedited in the last 2 decades. Its network nearly doubled since 1988, with a total route length of 6110.481 km (single route 5405.285 km and double route 705.196 km) in December 2019. The Myanmar railway network is mainly narrow gauge (1,000 mm ~ meter-gauge). This expansion however has not been followed by proper and adequate maintenance work. Approximately 60% of railway infrastructure, including locomotives and coaches are generally in poor condition, which has restricted freight train operating speed and made train rides uncomfortable because of poor tracks and bridge conditions. Some tracks are not passable during the monsoon season. There are no rail links to adjacent countries and the status of planned cross-border rail connections to China, India, and Thailand, as well as the Thanbyuzayet-Three Pagoda pass connection remains uncertain. In 2013- 2014 fiscal year, 60 m passengers and 2.5m tons were transported, using 397 passenger trains/day and 25 freight trains/day. The rail capacity includes 384 locomotives, 1,600 passenger coaches and 3,600 freight wagons. Overview of Myanmar Railway as of December 2019 The government has plans to improve the quality of the Yangon-Mandalay-Myitkyitna and the Bago-Mawlamyine section. There are existing plans to build a high-speed railway to connect Kunming in Southwest China with Vietnam, Lao PDF, and Myanmar, respectively. Construction on the section connecting to Myanmar, the Dali-Ruili railway, began in May 2011 and is scheduled to take six years, but there is no progress still in 2020. There is no rail link between Myanmar and India with the Moreh-Tamu-Kalay line is in the proposal stage. [1] A list of railway line upgrade projects in Myanmar are presented below (source: presentation of Ministry of Transport and communications in the 2019 Asia PPP Practitioners’ Network Conference, Nov 2019). Lower Myanmar Line Route Notes Yangon-Mandalay Yangon-Bago-Nay Pyi Taw-Thazi-Mandalay In frequent use Yangon-Dawei Yangon-Bago-Mawlamyine-Dawei No freight Mawlamyine to Dawei Yangon-Bagan Yangon-Letpadan-Taungdwinggyi-Bagan Older line, compared to parallel line via Nay Pyi Taw Yangon-Pathein Yangon-Letpadan-Pathein LetPadan to Pathein in disuse Upper Myanmar Line Route Notes Mandalay-Mytkyina Mandalay-Sagaing-Shwebo-Myitkyina In frequent use Mandalay-Lashio Mandalay-Pyinoolwin-Kyaukme-Hsipaw-Lashio In use (Northern Shan State Railway) Mandalay-Taunggyi Mandalay-Thazi-Taunggyi Not in use Mandalay-Thazi Mandalay-Thedaw-Dahuttaw-Hanza-Ywapale-Thazi In use Monywa-Pakokku Monywa-Khinu-Mandalay-Pakokku In use Page 2 Mandalay-Kale Mandalay-Sagaing-Monywa-Pakokku-Kale Not in use Pakokku-Thazi Pakokku-Taungtha-Meiktila-Thazi In use (central West–East) Sittwe - Mrauk-U Sittwe-Mrauk-U Since 2013. Not connected to the main railway network For more information, please see the following link: 4.9 Myanmar Railway Company Contact List Travel Time Matrix from Yangon Time Distance Nay Pyi Taw 9 hours 233 mile /372km Mandalay 14 hours 370 mile /595km Myitkyina 30 hours 724 mile /1165 km Railway Companies and Consortia There are no private railway companies in Myanmar. MR is the sole railway enterprise in the country. 4.2.1 Myanmar Government Contact List Capacity Table Operator / Company Operates on (lines) Myanmar Railway (MR) Max train length and/or pulling capacity unknown Locomotives (electric/diesel/steam) Diesel Freight Wagons (covered) / size GBHV-36 tons Freight Wagons (flatbed) / size WBY, WBYB – 30 tons WBXV – 36 tons SMBV – 36 tons Freight Wagons (high-sided)/size NA Freight Wagons (drop-side)/size NA Key Route Information Route A Route B Route C Yangon - Naypyidaw Naypyidaw - Mandalay Mandalay - Myitkyinar Track gauge 1 meter 1 meter 1 meter Ruling gradient Nil Nil NA Total track distance (single and/or double) Single Single Single Type of rail (weight and if welded or not) Joint Connection Joint Connection Joint Connection Type of sleeper and fastenings Cobar (China), ABC Cobar (China), ABC Cobar (China), ABC Page 3 Total track travel time NA NA NA Maintenance (Good, marginal, bad) Marginal Marginal Marginal Companies-consortiums operating online NA NA NA Traffic frequency (monthly/weekly/daily) Daily Daily Daily Security (Good, marginal, bad) Good Good Good Main stations (Add details below) Bago-Taungoo Tharzi Khin U-Indaw Key Stations Key Station Information Bago Naypyidaw Mandalay Location Bago Division Naypyidaw Division Mandalay Division Contact U Thaung Htike, 052 21508 U Aung Myint Hlaing, U Myint Thein (Dept. Station Master) Tel: 09-429339636, 02-35069 Information General Manager, Naypyidaw, 067 77014 Connections Road only Road only Road only with other transport means (road /waterways /air) Storage No warehouses NA NA Capacity Handling No Equipment No Equipment No Equipment Equipment Handling NA NA NA Capacity Other Bago is a big town, well developed and Naypyidaw is the capital of Mandalay has an international airport and newly established Myitnge Dry Comments from Yangon to Mandalay and Yangon to Myanmar and located Ports run by Kerry Terminal Logistics and RG Logistics Co., Ltd. And, Mawlamyine route traffic must pass this between the Yangon to Mandalay is central point to flow good and services of Upper Myanmar. town. Mandalay route Yangon Circular Railway Yangon Circular Railway is a railway line for local commuters, which serves the Yangon metropolitan area. Operated by Myanmar Railways, the 45.9- kilometre (28.5 mi) 39-station loop system connects satellite towns and suburban areas to the city. The railway has about 200 coaches, runs 20 times a day and serves 85,000 to 100,000 passengers daily. Based on 2019 data, the journey took around 2 hours and 50 minutes. Myanmar Railway and JICA have jointly financed an upgrade project with the aim to increase traffic to 260,000 passengers daily and cut down travel time by an hour once the circular railway is upgraded. This upgrade is also an initial step towards reducing road traffic by increasing the transport market share of Myanmar Railways for daily commuting within Yangon Metropolitan area. The project began in 2018 and is scheduled to be completed in 2022. The service hours are from 3:45 am to 10:15 pm daily. The cost of a ticket for a distance up to 15 miles is 100 kyats (~nine US cents), and for trips over 15 miles is 200 kyats (~18 US cents). Myanmar Railway Schedule (Passengers trains attached with cargo train) Below table is the passenger train schedule. Cargo wagons can be attached to passenger trains along the routes. It is recommended to check with Rail Road department for every trip to confirm schedule and it can be possible to check out for update on Myanmar Railway social media pages (Facebook page) and government official websites. https://www.railways.gov.mm/en_US/train-schedule/ Yangon - Mandalay Line Page 4 Train Yangon Bago Taungoo Pyinmana Thazi Mandalay Number arrival departure arrival departure arrival departure arrival departure arrival departure arrival departure - 04:00 05:56 06:11 13:20 13:40 16:08