Construction of the tracks on Myanmar’s Yangon Circular Railway is now almost complete
Construction of the tracks on the Yangon Circular Railway is now almost complete, according to a statement by the Embassy of Japan in Myanmar on May 12.
The completed tracks will make train rides on the route more comfortable with less vibrations, the statement said.
Japan is cooperating with Myanma Railways to upgrade the roadbed, railway tracks, engineering structure and railway signals of the Yangon Circular Railway.
On May 11, 21 railway carriages, procured under a Japanese grant, also arrived in Yangon. The carriages, which had been running in Japan until recently, will be overhauled by Myanma Railways and refurbished to run on the Yangon Circular Railway.
These are part of 32 carriages that will be transferred to Myanmar this year under the grant from Japan.
The country is also helping to procure 66 more new railway carriages for the railway line in cooperation with Myanma Railways.
So far, Myanma Railways has completed maintenance and test runs for five carriages which arrived in February and will commence operations very soon.
The upgrading of the Yangon Circular Railway aims to speed up travel times for commuters and make their journeys more comfortable. One circuit of the city is estimated to take 110 minutes, reducing the current travelling time by one hour.
As a result of the project, the maximum operating speeds will also increase – from the current speed of 48km to 60km per hour. Waiting times will be reduced significantly, with passengers expected to wait just 10-12 minutes for trains during peak hours.
The entire project commenced in 2018 is expected to be complete in 2022. Funding is sourced from the Myanmar Railways budget and a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/upgrade-yangon-circular-railway-makes-progress.html
