Asia-Pacific
Myanmar builds new railroads to better regional transport
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-08 13:15
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YANGON: Myanmar has been building new railroads in the country and some sections of the new railroads on the east and west banks of the Ayeyawaddy River have been commissioned into service, facilitating regional commodity flow and public transport, according to the Ministry of Rail Transportation Friday.
The recent successive inauguration of two sectional railroads Aungtha-Bawditahtaung and Monywa-Bawditahtaung of the circular railway in Monywa, northwestern Sagaing division, has facilitated the commute in Monywa where more than 250,000 people live, it said.
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Meanwhile, an over-400-kilometer-long railroad project to link Magway division and Rakhine state has been underway and is targeted to be completed during this year.
The 413-kilometer long Sittwe-Ann-Padang-Minbu railroad project includes building of 51 railway stations, 1,285 bridges and tunnels.
Moreover, Myanmar will start nine other new railway network projects to link south with north and east with west of the country.
The over 2,000-kilometer-long project will cost about 132 billion kyats (over US $130 million).
According to official statistics, the length of railroads and rail tracks in Myanmar has respectively extended up to 5,031.29 kilometers (km) and 6,549.26 km, increasing 59 percent and 46 percent in the past 21 years.
There were 3,162.16 km of railroads and 4,470.17 km rail tracks nationwide before 1988 and the state-run Myanmar Railways has built 1,868 km of new railroads and 2,079 km of rail tracks in the whole country since 1988.
The passenger trains has increased to 379 from 229 and freight trains to 18 from 17, the figures indicate.
There are 805 railway stations in the whole country now, an increase of 318 from before 1988 when there were only 487.
According to official statistics, the number of passengers rail- transported in the country in a day stood over 100,000.
