Cambodia-Thailand rail reconnected after 45 years

A railway reconnecting Cambodia and Thailand was officially inaugurated on Monday following a 45-year hiatus, with the two kingdoms’ prime ministers in attendance at the ceremony.

On the occasion, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha travelled together from Thailand’s Khlong Luek Railway Station to Poipet Station in Banteay Meanchey province.

The connecting 386km Phnom Penh-Poipet railway line had been previously fully restored by the Cambodian government, with the expectation that it will play an important role for shipping goods between the two countries.

Cambodia is further expected to receive 140km of used track from Thailand after Bangkok gave the green light to a request made by the Kingdom, Hun Sen said during a speech on Monday.

The speech was made at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Stung Bot International Checkpoint and a newly built road connecting it to National Road 5.

 

The event also included a ceremony to sign a joint operation agreement on cross-border rail transport, as well as hand over a diesel multiple-unit locomotive and four passenger carriages to Cambodia.

Hun Sen said that Cambodia currently lacks the necessary steel for railway development and that Thailand has an excess of 140km of used track. He said his request for Thailand to provide Cambodia with the surplus was successful.http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/cambodia-thailand-rail-reconnected-after-45-years