News: September 2023

Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway to become operational on Oct 1, Laos-China Railway purchases new train, ECRL project reached 52.9 pct completion, Lao Cai-Ha Noi-Hai Phong-Ha Long railway proposal

Sep 30, 2023

Welcome to the Southeast Asia Railways Newsletter. This newsletter goes out on the last day of the month, so this edition is going out the day before one of the biggest stories in Southeast Asia railway history. If all goes to plan, the Jakarta Bandung High-Speed Railway starts on October 1. This is the first high-speed railway in Southeast Asia. No doubt there will be plenty of articles to sort through for next month. I will be posting about it at the

Future Southeast Asia

newsletter, so if you want updates related to transport and urban development in SE Asia then subscribe there as well.

I started writing about my rail-themed trip to Sumatra, and there are 3 articles this month.

Here are the main news stories of the month for railways in Southeast Asia.

News

🇰🇭 Cambodia

• Phnom Penh – Samrong weekend railway service extended to meet demand

• Phnom Penh to Battambang by train: Embracing slow travel

🇮🇩 Indonesia

• Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway to become operational on Oct 1

• Indonesia's first high-speed train to be named 'Whoosh'

• I posted a series of articles about the railways of Sumatra at Nomadic Notes:

- Kualanamu Airport Rail Link: The Medan airport train

- How to get from Medan to Lake Toba by train and bus

- Sumatra Railways: A guide to every train line in Sumatra

🇱🇦 Laos

• Laos-China Railway purchases new train to boost passenger travel

• Laos-Vietnam Railway set to open for service in 2028

The purpose of this railway is to connect Vientiane to the Vung Ang Port in Vietnam (the closest seaport to landlocked Laos). Normally you should ignore these estimated completion dates, but then the Laos-China Railway was completed on time so who knows?

• ‘We have clients all year round’: New railway line brings Chinese travellers to ancient Laos town

🇲🇾 Malaysia

• ECRL project reached 52.9 pct completion

• Gemas-JB electrified double-tracks to complete by 2025

The train from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru (for connections to Singapore) requires getting the electric train to Gemas and then switching to the diesel train for the rest of the journey. Once the Gemas-JB electrified double-track project is completed, there will be no need to change trains.

• KTM Komuter Utara expects additional 2,000 passengers per day on Ipoh-Butterworth route

• Abang Johari says Sarawak is embarking on trans-Borneo railway study and development project

• KTMB witnesses remarkable surge in post-pandemic rail travel

🇲🇲 Myanmar

• Blood on the tracks: The war over Myanmar’s railroads

“The resistance is increasingly targeting the railway network as the regime revamps it to transport troops and supplies, while civilian passengers risk getting caught in the crossfire.”

• Kohima-Myanmar rly connect in the offing

“The Transport Ministry has instructed the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) to speed up the handover of land needed for the high-speed rail (HSR) project that would link three airports serving the Greater Bangkok region, so construction can begin.”

• SRT wants B50bn for rail projects

”The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is to ask the cabinet to approve more than 50 billion baht to finance the building of the double-track railway section from Khon Kaen to Nong Khai and Red Line electric train extensions.”

• Book: Bangkok Station

“Experience the heartbeat of Bangkok’s iconic Hua Lamphong Railway Station through the lens of Tim Russell in “Bangkok Station” .”

🇻🇳 Vietnam

• PM seeks Japan's assistance in developing North-South hi-speed railways

• China Railway Group expresses interests in building Việt Nam's railways

“Lào Cai-Hà Nội-Hải Phòng express railway linking with the Kunming-Hà Nội-Hải Phòng economic corridor.”

• Planning underway for 440-kilometer railway linking Hanoi with northern provinces

"Designed for a speed of 160 kilometers per hour, the railway will start in Lao Cai Province, traverse Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, Hanoi, Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Haiphong, and end at the Cai Lan Port in Quang Ninh."

• 1,000 years of history sandwiched between Red River and Mekong delta on the Reunification Express through Vietnam

• Things to know about one of the world's most incredible train journeys in Vietnam

• The station is more than 120 years old in Hai Phong