Yangon does already have its circular railroad. It has been in operation since 1954 and now needs renovation badly. The railroad features 39 stations, transports about 70,000 passengers per day and is about 46 km long. It serves the Yangon metorpolitan area and connects satellite towns and suburban areas to the city.
The Chinese company suggested two options. The first one is to use the existing railway network and give it a major upgrade including construction of 24 new stations. While the estimated cost of this project is lower than that of a construction of totally a new elevated railway track that will in major part follow the route of the existing overland commuter network, it involves acquisition of land for building of the new stations from scratch, and in Yangon it is a huge problem. Hence the second project, considerably more expensive, still looks more feasible.
If the project of the elevated circular railway is approved, the new transportation thoroughfare will be able to efficiently transport about 90,000 passengers a day and accommodate trains that travel at 80 km/h.
A New Circular Railway for Yangon?
News in Asia
A member of the Yangon Region Hluttaw’s Transportation, Communications, Construction and Industry Committee revealed a plan put forward by China Railway Engineering Co Ltd (CREC) to construct a new circular railway in Yangon.