High-Speed ASEAN
Train construction is happening at [relatively] high-speed across ASEAN. From Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok, Laos, Haiphong, Yangon and Kunming, rail is boosting travel, trade and logistics
UPDATE: Today, The Long Mekong Daily takes a high-speed trip along ASEAN’s emerging rail networks. Malaysia’s PM Anwar Ibrahim has re-approved the East Coast Rail link and RM11.01 billion less than originally expected.
Cambodia’s PM Hun Sen said the government conducting studies on high-speed railways connecting Phnom Penh to Preah Sihanouk province and to the border with Thailand.
China and Vietnam enjoy rapid trade growth so they have announced joint efforts to speed up the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Haiphong railway project in a November statement.
The operation of the China-Laos Railway has greatly enhanced Laos' international strategic position, thus turning Laos into an important hub for transportation in the region.
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is set to invest another 300 billion baht for the second phase of the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway project.
Indonesia is preparing to start Southeast Asia’s first high-speed rail service that will cut travel time between Jakarta and Bandung from the current three hours to about 40 minutes. The project is part of a planned 750-kilometer line that will connect four provinces on the main island of Java. So, get onboard for ASEAN’s high-speed development with the Long Mekong Daily!
Malaysia to continue with East Coast Rail Link project at lower than original cost: PM Anwar
The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project will continue under the current administration, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said, though it will cost the government RM11.01 billion (US$2.48 billion) less than originally expected.
In a press conference following a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday (Dec 21), Mr Anwar said that the government will continue with the megaproject as it is “tied down to old agreements”.
“Although there are additional costs due to realignments, if we were to look at the overall cost of the ECRL, it is RM11.01 billion less as compared to the original cost of RM85.97 billion in 2016,” said Mr Anwar.
He added that the decision was made to continue with the project, but stressed that there will no longer be major changes to it that may delay the implementation process and complicate existing work and negotiations.
The rail network will traverse through four states - Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Selangor.
Former transport minister Wee Ka Siong had previously stated last year that after some revisions, the project would cost the then-government RM50 billion.
Earlier this month, newly-appointed Transport Minister Anthony Loke said that the ECRL project was among the ongoing transportation projects that will continue despite a change in the federal government after the 15th General Election (GE15) on Nov 19.
Read full report here.
Cambodia on track for high-speed railway
The Cambodian government has expressed its determination to build high-speed rails to link Phnom Penh with Sihanoukville and neighbouring countries. Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday that the government has been conducting studies on high-speed railways connecting domestically and to neighbouring countries.
“We are conducting studies on high-speed railways connecting Phnom Penh to Preah Sihanouk province and to the border with Thailand,” the premier said during an inauguration ceremony of a 43-km road in Preah Sihanoukville province.
The high-speed rails would be built and renovated from the existing rails, he said, adding that the traditional old-decade rails could not be used for economic development.
The Kingdom’s high-speed rail project has received in-principle financial support from the Chinese government, he said, adding that Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang has mentioned this point [rail project] during the talks on December 9.
The high-speed rails have also been planned to build connections internally to serve socio-economic development, the Prime Minister said.
Lim Heng, vice-president of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, applauded the move, saying the rail connection will enhance economic transportation of agricultural products and industrial products better.
“The high-speed rail project will bring new investment to Cambodia, especially to the potential investment hub inside the country,” Heng told Khmer Timesyesterday.
It will also ease the wide disparity between the capital and province in terms of travel for people and goods transport, Heng said.
Cambodia now has two rail lines – the southern line, connecting Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, and the northern one, linking the capital with Poipet.
Royal Railway, a subsidiary of the conglomerate Royal Group, manages and operates the railways under a concessional investment.
The current trains run at a maximum speed of only 30 km per hour.
Local logistics firms, members of the Cambodian Logistics Association have sought the possibility of a train service between China and Cambodia connecting Laos and Thailand.
Read the full article here.
Standard-gauge Railway to connect Vietnam with Eurasia market via China and boost Trans-Asian railway development
A China-Vietnam cargo train at Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province Photo: VCG
As cargo trade between China and Vietnam has witnessed a rapid growth in recent years, the decision by the two neighboring countries to speed up railway connectivity is set to bring a tremendous lift to cross border as well as transit goods trade between the duo and countries beyond, said Chinese railway experts and industry insiders.
Railway cargo trade between China and Vietnam had seen a rapid growth in the first 10 months of this year. A total of 607,000 tons of goods travelled across the border, up 58.6 percent year-on-year, said reports on Saturday, citing data released by customs authority in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
In terms of value, the bilateral cargo trade grew by 1.5 times to 16.58 billion yuan ($2.33 billion) and the number of cross border train services expanded by 26.9 percent to 1,936.
The rapid trade growth came as China and Vietnam announced joint efforts to speed up the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Haiphong railway project in a November statement, which experts said signals an end to Vietnam's decades-long hesitation over whether it would be preferable to connect with China by using a standard-gauge railway system, which is different from the country's meter-gauge railway.
Read full article here.
China-Laos Railway opens up new path for Laos' development, prosperity
The operation of the China-Laos Railway has greatly enhanced Laos' international strategic position, thus turning Laos into an important hub for transportation in the region, Lao Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone said.
Since its operation in December 2021, the China-Laos Railway has brought great benefits to the Lao people and opened up a new path for Laos' development and prosperity. As the only landlocked member of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with mountains and plateaus that account for about 80 percent of the land area, Laos has realized its dream of becoming a land-linked hub in the region as the streamlined China-standard bullet train for the railway runs in the north of the country.
The launching of the railway marks a monumental and historic milestone in the development of modern infrastructure for Laos, said Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith at the launching ceremony on Dec. 3, 2021, calling it "a proud moment and the dream of all ethnic groups of Laos."
Marking the first anniversary of the operation of the railway, Lao Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone hailed the quality service for passenger and freight transportation of the railway and its contribution to the socio-economic development of Laos.
Read full story here.
Thai-China High-speed rail seeking B300bn extra
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, sixth from left, grabs a shovel and joins in a ceremony to officially begin construction of the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway at Mor Lak Hin in Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima in December 2017. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) plans to invest another 300 billion baht for the second phase of the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway project.
An SRT source said the blueprint of the 356-kilometre section of the second phase of the project, stretching from Nakhon Ratchasima to the border province of Nong Khai, has already been finished.
An environmental impact assessment (EIA) will be submitted soon to the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP).
The proposal for the 300-billion-baht budget is expected to be submitted to the SRT board for consideration during January-February next year before it is handed to the cabinet for approval later, said the source.
The source added the auction to find a bidding winner will be made by the end of next year if the proposal is approved by the cabinet within May.
Construction is expected to begin in 2024, with a total of 13 contracts to be awarded -- 12 related to construction and one pertaining to the railroad signalling system. The project should be completed in four years.
The second phase of the project will be built in several northeastern provinces, including Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, and Nong Khai.
The 356km railway will feature a 185km ground track and a 171km elevated track. The route will have five railway stations -- Bua Yai, Ban Phai, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, and Nong Khai stations.
Read the full article here.
Indonesia Gears Up to Start its First High-Speed Rail Line
The project is part of a planned 750-kilometer line that would cut across four provinces on the main island of Java.
Indonesia is preparing to start Southeast Asia’s first high-speed rail service that will cut travel time between two cities from the current three hours to about 40 minutes.
The railway line, which connects Indonesia’s capital Jakarta and Bandung, the heavily populated capital of West Java province, is part of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
As the Jakarta-Bandung portion of the rail project approached 90 percent completion, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo on Thursday visited Bandung’s Tegalluar station — one of the railway’s four stations — where eight train cars and an inspection train that arrived from China in early September were parked.
“We hope with the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train, the mobility of goods and people can be faster and improved, and our competitiveness will also be stronger,” Widodo told reporters during the visit. Widodo also expected the bullet train to benefit other sectors.
Read the full story here.
New China-Myanmar railway route launched in boost for trade with ASEAN
The opening of the Chengdu-Lincang line will further mainland Southeast Asia’s historic reorientation toward the north. The new route from the inland port along the Yangtze River to Yangon also links Chongqing with the Indian Ocean. It comes under the framework of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a trade and logistics passage jointly built by western Chinese provinces and Singapore.(Photo: Xinhua)
A new international railway route from Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to Mandalay, southern Myanmar, has officially started operation, with the first freight train departing from Chongqing on Monday, which will arrive in Mandalay about 20 days earlier than what it takes on traditional routes.
The new route is expected to strengthen Chongqing's connectivity with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) members, said Ba Chuanjiang, an official from Chongqing.
The train loaded with 60 TEUs of machinery equipment, electronic components, auto parts, departed from the Liangjiang New Area in Chongqing on Monday, which will head to Mandalay, passing through Lincang, in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, Chinese media outlet cnr.cn reported on Tuesday.
The successful operation of the new route opens another logistics path for exports from Chongqing and neighboring regions, as products can reach Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia through the seaport of Mandalay, according to Yuxinou Logistics, a local rail logistics company operating the Yuxinou (Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe) Railway.
Read more here.
First shipment along new China-Myanmar corridor makes it to Chengdu
On August 27, the first batch of cargo successfully arrived at Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province. This batch of goods was shipped by sea from Singapore to the Port of Yangon in Myanmar, transported by road to Lincang of southwest China's Yunnan Province, and traveled by direct railway to Chengdu. This is the most convenient new land-sea corridor connecting southwest China with the Indian Ocean, cutting the shipping time of around 20 days. It will become a new channel for China's west to directly carry out international trade and logistics from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. CGTN
Read more here.