Chea Vannak / Khmer Times  Wednesday January 14, 2019

Passengers in the western rail line. KT/Mai Vireak

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – The railway networks in Cambodia and Thailand will be officially connected in March, the Transport Minister recently announced.

The tracks on both sides of the border have already been finished, said Sun Chanthol, the Minister of Transport and Public Works.

“We will ask Prime Minister Hun Sen to preside over the official ceremony connecting both railway networks,” he said.

. .

“The rail tracks on both sides have been completed, and we have already negotiated a cross-border transport agreement with Thailand,” Mr Chanthol said. “Now the only thing left to do is for Thailand to sign the bilateral agreement.”

Named ‘western rail line’, the railroad connecting Phnom Penh and Poipet city, in the border with Thailand, was completed last year. It stretches over 386 kilometres, and will soon be connected to Thailand’s Arranyapratet province.

Once the railway systems are connected, passengers and goods will be able to travel from one country to the other in trains. This is seen as a key element in boosting trade with Thailand, with the governments of both countries aiming at $15 million in bilateral trade by 2020.

https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50568497/rail-connection-with-thailand-to-take-place-in-march/

From: THE KHMER TIMES (Cambodia) Wednesday January 14, 2019

Published by Asean Digest

View all posts by Asean Digest