Cambodia considers high-speed railway lines
The Cambodian government is considering the development of high-speed railways to improve the country’s rail infrastructure, Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a speech on April 4.
Cambodia’s railway network currently consists of two outdated tracks, one originally constructed by the French during the time when the country was part of French Indochina and another in the 1960s with international assistance.
The older line runs from the capital Phnom Penh to Poipet at the Thai border and the other from Phnom Penh to the southern resort and port city of Sihanoukville.
Both lines, which have been long been dilapidated and were only restored in the past few years with international help, are still in need of modernisation in order to upgrade them from their current running speed of between 20 to 30 kilometers per hour.
Increasing speed of transportation
“We are considering the railway development and looking for a development partner to build a high-speed rail on the existing railroads,” Hun Sen said, adding that the ministry of public works and transport has been commissioned to seek a solution for the matter and find a development partner to modernise the railway lines in order to increase the speed of transportation.
He noted that the existing traditional rail system “does not respond” to the socio-economic development needs of Cambodia and was failing to facilitate domestic shipping and connectivity to Cambodia’s neighbours.
Such a development partner has been repeatedly named in the past as China Railway Group which said it was ready to come up with an investment plan for a high-speed railway system in Cambodia. State-owned China Railway Group, through subsidiaries, built and is operating the new high-speed railway in neighbouring Laos.
Looking back
The 386 kilometer-long northern line from Phnom Penh to Poipet was built between 1929 and 1942 as mentioned during the period of French colonial rule.
The southern railway was built from 1960 to 1969 with assistance from France, then West Germany and China and spans a total of 264 kilometers.
Both railway lines were severely damaged – with some parts completely destroyed – during the Democratic Kampuchea regime of the Khmer Rouge in the second half of the 1970s, after which they were rebuilt and rehabilitated through collaboration between Cambodia and the Asian Development Bank, the Australian Agency for International Development and Australian company Toll Holdings.
Today the two lines are operated by Royal Railways, part of the Cambodia’s largest business conglomerate Royal Group.
The Cambodian government is considering the development of high-speed railways to improve the country’s rail infrastructure, Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a speech on April 4. Cambodia’s railway network currently consists of two outdated tracks, one originally constructed by the French during the time when the country was part of French Indochina and another in the 1960s with international assistance. The older line runs from the capital Phnom Penh to Poipet at the Thai border and the other from Phnom Penh to the southern resort and port city of Sihanoukville. Both lines, which have been long been dilapidated and...
The Cambodian government is considering the development of high-speed railways to improve the country’s rail infrastructure, Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a speech on April 4.
Cambodia’s railway network currently consists of two outdated tracks, one originally constructed by the French during the time when the country was part of French Indochina and another in the 1960s with international assistance.
The older line runs from the capital Phnom Penh to Poipet at the Thai border and the other from Phnom Penh to the southern resort and port city of Sihanoukville.
Both lines, which have been long been dilapidated and were only restored in the past few years with international help, are still in need of modernisation in order to upgrade them from their current running speed of between 20 to 30 kilometers per hour.
Increasing speed of transportation
“We are considering the railway development and looking for a development partner to build a high-speed rail on the existing railroads,” Hun Sen said, adding that the ministry of public works and transport has been commissioned to seek a solution for the matter and find a development partner to modernise the railway lines in order to increase the speed of transportation.
He noted that the existing traditional rail system “does not respond” to the socio-economic development needs of Cambodia and was failing to facilitate domestic shipping and connectivity to Cambodia’s neighbours.
Such a development partner has been repeatedly named in the past as China Railway Group which said it was ready to come up with an investment plan for a high-speed railway system in Cambodia. State-owned China Railway Group, through subsidiaries, built and is operating the new high-speed railway in neighbouring Laos.
Looking back
The 386 kilometer-long northern line from Phnom Penh to Poipet was built between 1929 and 1942 as mentioned during the period of French colonial rule.
The southern railway was built from 1960 to 1969 with assistance from France, then West Germany and China and spans a total of 264 kilometers.
Both railway lines were severely damaged – with some parts completely destroyed – during the Democratic Kampuchea regime of the Khmer Rouge in the second half of the 1970s, after which they were rebuilt and rehabilitated through collaboration between Cambodia and the Asian Development Bank, the Australian Agency for International Development and Australian company Toll Holdings.
Today the two lines are operated by Royal Railways, part of the Cambodia’s largest business conglomerate Royal Group.
When new HSR WILL BE STARTED again IN Cambodia?