Kunming–Singapore railway
Kunming–Singapore railway | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Status |
|
Locale | |
Technical | |
Line length | 3,900 km (2,400 mi) |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge (Kunming–Vientiane) 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge (Indochina) |
Electrification | 25 kV 50/60 Hz AC (Kunming–Vientiane section and KTM ETS) |
The Kunming–Singapore railway is a network of
The network consists of three main routes from
The railway network is expected to increase regional economic integration and increase China's economic ties with Southeast Asia.
History
Colonial railways
The British and French Empires first proposed building a railway from Kunming to Singapore in 1900 as Russia was completing the
In 1918, the southern line of the
In 1936,
In 1942, the railways of Thailand and Cambodia were connected linking Bangkok and Phnom Penh, but this trans-border connection has long since fallen into disuse. The Japanese Empire built the infamous Thailand–Burma railway using prisoners of war to connect Bangkok and Yangon, but the entire line never entered commercial operation and is now partially submerged by the reservoir behind the Vajiralongkorn Dam.
A continuous metre-gauge rail line from Kunming to Singapore via Hanoi, Saigon, Phnom Penh, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur was not realized as the French never built the "missing link" between Phnom Penh and Saigon, choosing to build a highway instead.[9]
21st century revival
In 2000, ASEAN proposed completing the Kunming to Singapore railway, via Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), Phnom Penh, and Bangkok.[7][10][11] This 5,500 km (3,400 mi) route is now known as the eastern route. In 2004, ASEAN and China proposed the shorter western route, which instead of running east through Vietnam and Cambodia, would go west from Kunming to Myanmar and then to Bangkok.[12] In 2007 ASEAN and China proposed building three routes, the Eastern, Western and a central route via Laos.[13]
Overview
Note that a grouped column before multiple lines denote lines that span the same origin and destination, but run along different speed or gauge.
Country | Line | Description | Designed Speed (km/h) |
Length (km) |
Gauge | Open Date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
China | Kunming–Yuxi | Part of the Kunming–Yuxi–Hekou main railway, upgraded in 2016. | 200 | 106 | Standard
|
1993 | |
Yuxi–Mengzi–Hekou | Part of the Kunming–Yuxi–Hekou main railway. Connects the border town of Hekou with its Vietnamese counterpart at Lào Cai. | 140 | 282 | Standard
|
2014 | ||
Vietnam | Lào Cai–Hanoi | Colonial-era metre-gauge railway running between Hanoi and the China-Vietnam border at Lào Cai; part of the Kunming–Haiphong railway | ~60 | 296 | Metre
|
1902 | |
Hanoi–Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam's north–south railway and main railway backbone; metre-gauge | ~60 | 1726 | Metre | 1936 | ||
(high-speed)
|
A proposed high-speed line for the north–south railway | Unknown (High-speed) |
~1726 | Standard | Unknown | ||
Ho Chi Minh City–Phnom Penh | Missing but proposed railway section connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh | Unknown | ~250 | Unknown | Not built | ||
Cambodia | |||||||
Phnom Penh–Poipet | Rebuilt railway connecting Phnom Penh with the Cambodia-Thailand border town of Poipet | ~90 | ~386 | Metre | 2018 | ||
Thailand | Poipet–Bangkok | Thailand's Eastern railway line | ~100 | 261 | Metre | 1907 |
Country | Line | Description | Designed Speed (km/h) |
Length (km) |
Gauge | Open Date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
China | Kunming–Yuxi | Part of the Kunming–Yuxi–Hekou main railway upgraded in 2016 | 200 | 106 | Standard | 1993 | |
Yuxi–Mohan | Line connecting Yuxi with the China-Laos border at Mohan | 160 | 507 | Standard | 2021 | ||
Laos | Boten–Vientiane | First railway line in Laos spanning the country, between the Chinese border at Boten to the capital Vientiane near the Thai border | 160 | 422 | Standard | 2021 | |
Vientiane–Nong Khai | First international railway line to Laos, across First Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge to Thanaleng, Vientiane Prefecture. The 9-km extension to Khamsavath station opened in 2023. | ~100 | 14 | Metre | 2009 | ||
Vientiane–Nong Khai | A new high-speed standard-gauge line (Phase 3) (including a new Mekong bridge which is 50 meters from the current one) | 250 | 16 | Standard | Unknown | ||
Thailand | Nong Khai–Bangkok | Thailand's Northeastern railway line to Mekong River )
|
~100 | 627 | Metre | 1958 | |
Nong Khai–Nakhon Ratchasima | A new high-speed standard-gauge line (Phase 2) | 250 | 356 | Standard | Unknown | ||
Nakhon Ratchasima–Bangkok | A new high-speed standard-gauge line under construction, connecting Bang Sue Grand Station (Phase 1)
|
250 | 253 | Standard | 2027 |
Country | Line | Description | Designed Speed (km/h) |
Length (km) |
Gauge | Open Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
China | Kunming–Guangtong–Dali zh |
Upgraded and double-tracked line from Dali
|
200 | 328 | Standard | 2018 |
Dali–Baoshan | Part of the Dali–Ruili railway | 140 | 134 | Standard | 2022 | |
Baoshan–Ruili | Part of the Dali–Ruili railway, under construction | 140 | 196 | Standard | c.2025 | |
Myanmar | Muse–Lashio | Proposed line extending Myanmar's existing railway to the Chinese border at Muse | Unknown | ~120 | Unknown | Not built |
Lashio–Mandalay | Part of Myanmar's national railway system
|
~24 | 441 | Metre | 1905 | |
Mandalay–Yangon | ~24 | 620 | Metre | 1889 | ||
Yangon–Mawlamyine | ~24 | 286 | Metre | 1907 | ||
Mawlamyine–Thanbyuzayat | ~24 | 64 | Metre | 1924 | ||
Thailand | Thanbyuzayat–Nam Tok | Part of the old Burma Railway, now disused. | Unknown | ~285 | Metre | Abandoned |
Nam Tok–Bangkok | Part of the old Burma Railway, rehabilitated by 1957. | Unknown | 194 | Metre | 1957 |
Country | Line | Description | Designed Speed (km/h) |
Length (km) |
Gauge | Open Date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thailand | Bangkok–Hat Yai–Padang Besar | Thailand's Southern railway line and branch line to the Malaysian border at Padang Besar | ~100 | 974 | Metre | 1918 | |
Malaysia | Padang Besar–Gemas | Malaysia's West Coast Line, initially completed around 1896, fully electrified and run by the KTM ETS service since 2014 | 140 | 755 | Metre | c.1896 | |
Gemas–Johor Bahru | Malaysia's West Coast Line, currently run by KTM Intercity, to be electrified and run by the KTM ETS service by 2025 | 110 | 197 | Metre | c.1896 | ||
Singapore | Johor Bahru–Singapore | Shuttle Tebrau service running between Johor Bahru and Singapore
|
110 | ~4 | Metre | 1903 | |
Johor Bahru–Singapore
|
RTS Link service between Johor Bahru and Singapore, projected to open in 2026. | 110 | 4 | Standard | 2026 |
Sections
Eastern route
In China
- (via Yuxi and Mengzi, completed in 2014).
- metre gauge railway parallel to the newer railway, from Kunming to the Hekou Yao Autonomous Countyon the border with Vietnam (completed in 1910).
In Vietnam
- Lao Cai, on the border with China, to Haiphongvia Hanoi (completed in 1910).
- North–South railway of Vietnam, metre gauge railway from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City (completed in 1936).
- Vietnam's National Assembly Sessionas Vietnam's economy is growing much faster, thus significantly decreasing the project's cost / GDP ratio.
- Ho Chi Minh City–Phnom Penh railway, 250 km (160 mi). This stretch of railway has never been built, and has been agreed to for feasibility studies by transport ministers from both Cambodia and Vietnam in 2020.[14]
In Laos
- Danang in Vietnam, and give landlocked Laos an outlet to the South China Sea.[16]
In Cambodia
- The Phnom Penh–Poipet railway, next to Aranyaprathet on the Thai border, was rebuilt and reopened on July 5, 2018. The original railway was destroyed in 1973 during the Cambodian Civil War.[17]
- The disconnected rail link from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City is being reconsidered. The cost for construction is estimated around US$600 million and the Chinese government will fund most proportion of construction. The Cambodian government will deal with the relocation of people who will be affected by the proposed new railway construction.
In Thailand
- Thailand's Eastern Line railway connects the border town Aranyaprathet with Bangkok.
Central route
The central route including the Bangkok to Singapore section is approximately 3,900 km (2,400 mi) in length.[18] A trip from Kunming to Singapore will take 30 hours in 2022, and 18 hours when completed in 2040. (compared to 80 hours from Vientiane to Singapore in January 2019).[19][20] The line will be used to transport both passengers and cargo.[21][22]
The central route consists of the following sections:
In China
- Kunming–Yuxi railway, from Kunming to Yuxi (completed in 1993, upgraded in 2016).
- Yuxi–Mohan railway, 503 km standard gauge railway from Yuxi to Mohan at the border with Laos. This line was originally planned to begin construction by the end of 2010, but was delayed. Construction of a railway logistics hub in Mohan began in early 2011.[23] Construction began in 2016 and was completed in 2021.
In Laos
This line was originally planned as a high-speed rail joint-venture between the Laotian government and the
The loan finance arrangement for this line was criticized by economists in the West as too expensive for Laos.
In October 2014, Radio Free Asia reported that China had made a new pledge to finance the project as talks between the two countries continued.[34]
In January 2016, Singapore's Straits Times reported that ground was broken on the project in December 2015.[35]
The first multiple unit train (EMU) was delivered to Vientiane on October 16, 2021, and the line opened on 3 December 2021.[36]
In Thailand
- Northeastern Line (Thailand), a metre gauge railway connecting Bangkok with Nong Khai. Currently in operation.
- Bangkok–Nong Khai high-speed railway, a planned high-speed railway from Bangkok to Nong Khai on the border with Laos. As of 2020, 2 of the contracts for the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima section is under construction, while the Nakhon Ratchasima–Nong Khai have yet to enter the bidding phase. Costs of this section was to be determined by February 2016 with construction starting in May 2016. When completed, eight-car, 613 passenger CRH2G[37] passenger trains will run on the line at a maximum speed of 250 km/h. At a speed of 180 km/h, it is estimated that passenger trains will run from Bangkok to Nong Khai in 230 minutes. HXD3B and HXD3C electric locomotives will be used to power freight trains travelling the line at 120 km/h.[24]
Planning for the high-speed line began during the administration of Prime Minister
On 19 November 2013, the
On 30 July 2014, Thai army
In November 2014, after a meeting between Li Keqiang and Prayut Chan-o-cha, China agreed to lend Thailand funds to build dual-track standard gauge mid-speed railways on the Bangkok-Nong Khai, Bangkok-Map Ta Phut, and
As of December 2015, China and Thailand have agreed to build the 845 km double-track rail routes connecting Bangkok–Kaeng Khoi–Nakhon Ratchasima–Khon Kaen–Udon Thani–Nong Khai and a second section connecting Kaeng Khoi–Map Ta Phut. The two parties have not yet reached agreement on financing for the project.[24]
In March 2020, the Thai government committed to a US$21 billion railway expansion plan that will include a high speed rail from China to Singapore through Bangkok via the Laotian border near Vientiane.[47]
As of March 2021, the proposed completion of the high speed section from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima is early 2027. The section from Nakhon Ratchasima to Nong Khai has not been bid. However, the lines do lie along an existing line primarily used for freight so no additional land will need to be appropriated.[48]
Western route
The western route consists of the following railway sections:
In China
- Guangtong(completed in 1971)
- Guangtong to Dali(completed in 1998), and
- Dali–Ruili railway, 336 km (209 mi) from Dali to Ruili on the border with Myanmar (under construction since 2011, Dali-Baoshan section has been completed in July 2022, while Baoshan-Pupiao section started construction in 2022 and will be followed by the final sector, Pupiao-Ruili.
In Myanmar
- Kunming–Yangon railway (Myanmar section), from Muse in the Shan State on the border with China to Yangonwith maximum train speeds of 170–200 km/h.
The Kunming–Yangon high-speed railway forms a portion of the 1,215 km (755 mi) high-speed railway from Kunming to Rakhine State on the Bay of Bengal.[49]
In late November 2010, Chinese state media reported that the railway would begin construction in about two months.
In the summer of 2018, plans for the China-Myanmar railway were resumed. [52]
- Yangon–Myitkyina railway, from Yangon to Myitkyina, near the border with China (existing railway).
In December 2013, the Myanmar government began to discuss the upgrade of the existing Yangon-Myitkyina railway with the Asian Development Bank and the government of South Korea.[53]
- Yangon–Mandalay railway, from Yangon to Mandalay (existing railway).
In December 2013, Japanese media reported that the Myanmar and Japanese governments had reached an agreement to upgrade this line.[53]
- Former Burma Railway
In May 2012, the railway Minister Aung Min of Myanmar announced that a feasibility study would be undertaken to rebuild the 105-km stretch of the
In Thailand
- Parts of the Burma Railway are still in operation, connecting Nam Tok in western Thailand with Bangkok.
Bangkok–Singapore section
In Thailand
- Southern Line (Thailand), a metre gauge railway connecting Bangkok with Hat Yai, with a branch line leading to Padang Besar on the Thailand-Malaysian border. Currently in operation.
In Malaysia and Singapore
- KTM West Coast railway line, a metre gauge railway connecting Padang Besar with Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru, stretching across the entire Malaysian west coast. A shuttle service links Johor Bahru and Singapore's Woodlands Train Checkpoint.
The
According to PLANMalaysia, a northern high-speed rail corridor will be built along
Cancelled high-speed rail plan
In 2013, the governments of Malaysia and
See also
- High Speed Rail
- Trans-Asian Railway
- High Speed Rail in China
- Kuala Lumpur–Singapore high-speed rail
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