News: April 2024

Hello from Yogyakarta! I am halfway through a rail trip across Java, which began with the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway. I finally got to ride it after missing the opening last year. I have been on high-speed railways in France, maybe Germany and Spain (I forget how fast) China, and Japan. I never would have suspected that Indonesia would be next on the list. Full reports coming soon!

April has been a month of train travel. I went from Nha Trang to Da Nang, Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru, walked the old Singapore rail corridor (20 km!), and rode. section of the South Sumatra railway. I’ve been taking lots of notes and processing photos, so once this trip finishes it will be time to publish. As usual, I will be posting travel guides at Nomadic Notes and infrastructure notes at Future Southeast Asia.

News

🇧🇳 Brunei

• No company appointed for Trans Borneo Railway project, says Brunei govt

🇰🇭 Cambodia

• Cambodia plans to transform existing railways into high-speed railways and build two more between 2028-2033

This is a summary of what has already been proposed before. The media keep using the term “high-speed railway” though it isn’t high-speed.

• Kingdom mulling high-speed railway link with Lao

This one has also been proposed before, but once again it is light on details. Is the railway going through Southern Laos, or is it going via Thailand? And once again, they keep referring to a high-speed railway, even though the Laos-China Railway is not high-speed (at 160km/h it is semi-high-speed).

• Old Japanese train cars get new life in Cambodia

“Japanese rail diesel cars taken out of service will get a second life in Cambodia.”

🇮🇩 Indonesia

• Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway marks 6-month operation with 2.56 mln passengers

• Indonesia, China to form team for Jakarta-Surabaya train project

• No talks yet on Brunei’s Trans-Borneo rail project: Jokowi

• Indonesia's longest elevated railway to be ready by Sep: Minister

“The construction of Indonesia's longest elevated railway at Joglo intersection, Solo, Central Java, has been running according to plan and is targeted to be completed by September 2024, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has said.”

🇱🇦 Laos

• China-Laos Railway expands international passenger service with additional train pair

"The newly added pair of trains run between Xishuangbanna of China and Luang Prabang of Laos".

• Guiyang-Laos tourist train set to debut

"The first tourist train running from Guiyang in Southwest China's Guizhou province to Vientiane in Laos will set off on its debut journey on May 8."

🇲🇾 Malaysia

• RM70bil for high-speed bullet train project? [BTTV]

"The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (KL-SG HSR) project might tally up to about RM70 billion, a notable decrease of around 30 to 35 percent from the previously reported RM110 billion, according to market insiders."

• ECRL to be completed by end-2026, operation from January the following year

• Borneo railway project only a proposal: Malaysia

• Sarawak unlikely to be part of Trans Borneo Railway Project proposal - Abang Jo

• Over 100-year-old railway track between Penang and Ipoh is now a trekker’s haven

• Extension of Kota Kinabalu Railway to Sepanggar Port in the works

🇵🇭 Philippines

• Construction of NSCR’s Metro Manila leg expected to begin in October —PNR

• PNR trains on halted Metro line moving to S. Luzon, Bicol routes

• Philippines wants US, Japan to build rail network after dropping Beijing as ties sour over South China Sea frictions

• Recto: PPP, ODA being eyed for Mindanao rail funding

• New body formed to fix right-of-way delays in rail projects

🇸🇬 Singapore

• Rail Corridor’s Buona Vista node now open; ideas sought for former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station

🇹🇭 Thailand

• 2nd phase of Thai-China rail gets nod

• Some 6.5 million people travelled by train during Songkran holidays

🇻🇳 Vietnam

• Government says high-speed rail route to China priority

“The government has decided to prioritize the construction of two high-speed railroad lines in the north before 2030, including one connecting with China.

They are the Hanoi - Lang Son line, which will extend to the Chinese border, and a line connecting Hanoi with Lao Cai Province, home to Sa Pa City, passing through the port city of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh Province, home to Ha Long Bay.”

• High-quality HCMC-Da Nang train service launched

• Vietnam’s Da Lat treats tourists to romanticized nighttime rail service