Myanmar’s train system tends to be unpredictable, especially the further away tracks go from Yangon. Bago instead, after Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyitaw, the fourth largest city of Myanmar, has the famous reclining Buddha, the tallest Pagoda of Burma and other sights. Despite my fears, everything was prepared neatly by the state railway. But after just three months, they informed us that there were changes necessary; these and those are not working, we’re now offering the following wagons … wagons we didn’t need and didn’t want. I need to go there again for sure because all the expenses in the preparation of the tour can’t be refinanced with a single tour – especially not when some of the money changers offered rates 3% below an equal rate between Euros to Dollars. The whole ceremony took place in track No.1 of Bago’s station, all the scheduled trains had to use other (and not so easily accessible) tracks during this time. Due to a scarcity of available land in Yangon City, a number of development projects will be conducted on the grounds of the Kyimyindine and Pazundaung railway stations which are owned by Myanma […], Subscribe to our tender alert mailing list THE Yangon Central Railway Station comprehensive development project is expected to launch in May, 2017, according to an announcement from Myanma Railways (MR). Location: Myanma Railways. Bago (Pegu), Myanmar. Naypyitaw has neither culture nor entertainment to offer. Prior to arriving in the country, we heard from fellow travellers about how great and adventurous these journeys could get.. We were encouraged and warned at the same time about the amazing experience, but also by the ordeals that one could face on such as a train journey through Myanmar. (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='LNAME';ftypes[2]='text';fnames[3]='ADDRESS';ftypes[3]='address';fnames[4]='PHONE';ftypes[4]='phone';fnames[5]='BIRTHDAY';ftypes[5]='birthday';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true); Copyright © 2020 — Consult-Myanmar Co Ltd, Myanmar Co Reg No: 100066009, • All rights reserved. But we cannot wait another nine years, even though the re-signalling of Bago station has already seen a delay of seven years, it’s unlikely that it’ll take another seven years before the gantries and semaphores fall. The further we went from Bago the more confident the crew became about the ability of a steam locomotive. The daily traffic jam in Yangon is now “as good as” the traffic jams in other Asian capitals. We bought the paint and paid the railway employees from Bago, who would otherwise have waited idle for new tasks to be done, which didn’t exist. Especially, the wagon problem cost a lot of time and persuading skills, and of course money. A traditional stone train wasn’t possible with these wagons. But at that price they couldn’t find sufficient tourists to fill a train. The GM even doesn’t like to talk to the ministry, not even on the phone! Moreh is 109 km from Imphal and the road to it runs through hills infested with several insurgent groups. A number of certain and delicate details will never make it into the public domain, because if they did, there would be neither a serviceable YC nor an authentic steam train rolling over Myanmar Railways’ tracks. Both issues were repaired on our rest day in Mottama. But I rate this as a soft answer and wait for a written confirmation before I’ll publish the next itinerary. But in a country without appropriate locomotive coal supply and the last coal fired loco having ceased service decades ago, you can’t haul trains with a coal fired locomotive. Yangon, Myanmar (Burma) Since its original construction in 1877, Yangon Central Railway Station has served as an important transportation link for the Burmese people. Of course, we came up with several wishes for future tours. Remember, some time ago the rate was 20, 30, yes, even more than 40% better for the Euro than now. The first really big project since the inauguration of the bridge between Mottama and the Ye-line will cost the railways another precious six years until it’s completed (if there are no delays). YC 629 left the workshop as a coal fired locomotive. Marketing is invisible and the ancient structures of the railways don’t fit the new times. Wheels are turning again! everything which makes this a traditional looking main line. Guide to train travel in Myanmar. There is nothing worth a visit – except the four steam locos of course. The passenger coaches didn’t only receive a new paint coat, they also overhauled them completely. The train … 7 days charter trains and you needed to pay some 5 to 7,000 US-Dollars per person without flight, hotels, bus, guide, food etc. And these sounded like: “The YD is the brother of the big sister, the YC. It is one of the highest, in elevation, railway stations in Myanmar. Departure time, Arrival time and Total duration. The railways clarified all issues of water supply in time. The water supply was another problem; due to the long time without use, all water supply facilities were dead. And the people from Bagan told him that the steam locos could only make it for five, in the best case for ten, kilometres under their own steam with a maximum of five wagons. Album: Video: Notes: Links: There were a number of people both local travellers and tourists visiting the station while we were there. Taking the Myanmar train was one of those things that we just had to do. Another plus point for Bago is that there are still crews with the knowledge and the skill to maintain and operate steam locomotives. With the six four wheel wagons we’ve paid for already added, it would make a 14 wagon train with the obligatory crew’s van. And of course to our genius local guide. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. Pyin Oo Lwin. The first tenders for advertising in late 2013 attracted a lukewarm response, with advertisers snapping up the rights to only a handful of new carriages […], To learn more about the latest Travel Restrictions affecting all travelers entering Myanmar due to the COVID19 Pandemic, click here, #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } It’s one of these faceless new towns straight from the drawing board. At the beginning of the negotiations, it didn’t look promising at all. The income of a skilled mechanical worker is around 35 US-Dollars a month, just to set this in the right perspective. It is heritage listed but in need of repair. As part of the collaboration, steel rails for laying alongside the Yangon-Mandalay railroad were brought in from Japan and unloaded at Yangon Port yesterday. Min Dharma is a subsidiary of Mottama Holdings owned by Chinese-Myanmar businessman Yang Ho. Now they wanted to overhaul two YDs and two YCs. Obviously impossible. All Aboard the Trains of Myanmar. And so, they agreed to all suggestions and wishes. With the help of the diesel, the train wasn’t any faster because of the speed restriction of 20 miles per hour for trains without a through brake. Just imagine: a group of 20 people would need to pay 1,050 US-Dollars each for just one single train. The idea of steam in Burma, I started negotiations around running chartered steam trains state... 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