Cambodian passengers step out of a train in Phnom Penh railway station on July 4, 2018 after the train travelled from the northwestern province of Pursat using the newly restored railway. (Photo: AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)
04 Jul 2018
CNA
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia on Wednesday (Jul 4) reopened the final stretch of a railway running from the capital Phnom Penh to the border with neighbouring Thailand, the first time the line has been operational in 45 years.
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.
Cambodian transport minister Sun Chanthol said a train ran Wednesday morning from the northwestern province of Pursat to Phnom Penh, the last remaining section of the track between the two countries to be finished.
"This is a historic day for our nation," Sun Chanthol said.
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.
Much of Cambodia's railways - built by the French during their colonial occupation - were damaged by years of bitter conflict that engulfed the country during the Cold War era.
A 48km 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.
The Southeast Asian country has more than 600km of traintrack extending from its northern border with Thailand down to the southern coast.
Source: AFP/ad
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