Yangon circular railway to be upgraded

February 22, 2018

Myanma Railways yesterday began a project for upgrading the western Yangon commuter rail network between Yangon and Danyingone stations, said U Tun Aung Thin, General Manager of the Lower Region Administration of Myanma Railways.

“The project to upgrade the first part of the railway section started today. We are going to undertake the project by dividing the circular railway into three segments,” he said in a press conference in Yangon yesterday. The first part of the project focuses on the railway between Danyingone and Insein stations, which is 3.75 miles long. This first project started on 21 February and is expected to be completed by 31 May.

The second part will renovate the railway between Insein and Kyeemyindaing stations, which is 5.5 miles long. Upgrading of this section is scheduled to start on 1 October and is expected to be finished by the end of January, 2019.

The third part of the project will renovate the railway between Kyeemyindaing and Yangon stations, a distance of 2.75 miles, and will commence on 1 February in 2019 and be completed at the end of March.

“There are two railroad tracks between Insein and Danyingone stations. Starting today, we began to upgrade the inside railroad track. So, the transportation service can be provided using one railway but train schedules are the same as usual,” said U Kyaw Kyaw Tun, General Manager of the Myanma Railways.

During the project, the train that runs from the Yangon station to the University of Computer Studies is temporarily unavailable, but it’s being substituted with the YBS’s No. 78 bus line that is providing public transportation from the Yangon Station to the Danyingone Station. The Yangon circular rail network, the cheapest way of getting around in Yangon, is running 220 times a day with 25 trains, servicing 90,000 people a day. The whole loop is 29.5 miles long. The upgrading project includes filling new crushed stone in railroad tracks, substituting railway ties and rails, renovating buildings at the stations, fencing along the railroads, and refurbishing platforms at the stations.

After the project is completed, the travel time on the whole loop will be decreased to 110 minutes from 170 minutes.

Myanmar Digital News

Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar