After 45 years, Phnom Penh reopens railway to Thailand
With the completion of the track, travel time is cut and new commercial opportunities can develop. In 2009, the Asian Development Bank allocated $ 13 million. Built by the French during the colonial era, most of the country's railways were damaged by conflict.
Phnom Penh (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The reopening of the final stretch of a railway running from the capital Phnom Penh to the border with neighbouring Thailand, the first time in 45 years, “is a historic day for our nation,” said Cambodian Transport Minister Sun Chanthol.
The Asian Development Bank provided US$ 13 million in 2009 to rebuild the missing link which aims to slash travel time between the two countries and boost trade.
Cambodia and Thailand still have to hash out an agreement on trains crossing the border but Sun Chanthol said the two countries hoped to strike a deal soon.
Cambodia has more than 600 kilometres of train track extending from its northern border with Thailand down to the southern coast.
Much of Cambodia’s railways – built by the French during their colonial occupation – were damaged by civil war (1968-1975) and the Cambodian-Vietnamese war (1978-1979).
A 48-kilometre portion of the railway near the border town of Poipet was destroyed by war in 1973.
The rest of link to Phnom Penh had been suspended for more than a decade due to the poor condition of the track.
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