Fah Thai Magazine Jan-Feb 2020

THE LOOP RIDE
Clockwise from
Below Left
Some carriages are
painted with bright
advertisements.
A steam train on
show at Yangon
Central Station.
The iconic Yangon
Central Station.
Railway siding
at the Yangon
Central Station.
Kyaw Moe Lwin, the assistant
manager for Myanmar Railways,
said the upgrade is being done in
two phases. The first, financed by
the government, entails civil work
like new platforms, footbridges,
drainage and level crossings, which
should be completed by mid-2020.
The second phase, involving newer
trains and automated signalling, is
being financed by Japan and should
be completed by around 2022.
Once that is done, more trains
will run daily, and journeys will
become significantly shorter –
cutting an hour off running the
entire loop. He added that the
station itself, which dates back to
the ’50s and is one of Yangon’s
most iconic buildings, is also slated
for major redevelopment.
The following day, I join tour
guide Myat from Yangon Urban
Adventures, US traveller Elana and
Katsu from Japan to experience the
ride. We board the train after 9am,
so it isn’t too crowded, and our
life in the slow lane begins. After
a juddering clunk, the train chugs
sedately out of the city, stopping
every few minutes to let passengers
on and off.
The carriages don’t appear
to have changed much since the
line began operating in 1954,
apart from wooden benches being
swapped for ones made of fibreglass
and the addition of some recycled
coaches from Japan that boast
cushioned seats.
The lack of air-conditioning,
functioning toilets and doors
is probably why the ride is so
cheap. It also explains why most
of the passengers are from the
lower-income bracket, with the
occasional curious foreigner like me.
Presumably office workers prefer to
travel on the newer, air-conditioned
buses, despite Yangon’s notorious
rush-hour traffic jams.
Gradually the high-rise blocks of
glass and concrete in the city centre
Many passengers sit cross-legged on
the benches or stretch out to sleep,
lulled by the rhythmic clickety-clack
of the wheels.
give way to single-storey, wooden
houses in the suburbs, with the train
rumbling past tea houses, noodle
shops, temple decoration workshops
and vegetable gardens. Farmers can
be seen standing knee deep in lush
fields and the rural traffic stops at
manually operated level crossings or
for red flags waved by railway staff.
Our attention isn’t always fixed
on what’s happening beyond the
window, as the constantly changing
cast of characters on board is just as
entertaining. Many of the passengers
sit cross-legged on the benches
or stretch out to sleep, lulled by
the rhythmic clickety-clack of the
wheels. Others chat or nibble on
snacks, while mothers feed their
babies and teenagers thumb the
screens of their mobile phones.
I quickly realise that people
in Myanmar love their snacks:
vendors who wander through the
carriages are doing a roaring trade
in everything from boiled eggs,
iced lollies, slices of watermelon
and avocados to cakes and little
betel-leaf wraps to chew on. There
is even someone offering to tell
people’s fortunes for 500 kyat (33
US cents).
Rules say peddlers are not
allowed to sell their wares on
the train, yet they are generally
tolerated. Each seller uses a
distinctive call to advertise their
wares, and the betel vendors appear
to be particularly popular.
After about an hour and a half,
the train grinds to a halt where the
northern stretch of the line is being
upgraded. All along the track, we
can see workers digging trenches for
new drainage systems, laying bricks
for platforms and shovelling stones
to lay new sleepers and tracks. There
is not a single machine to help them,
which explains why the upgrade is
taking so long.
We hop off the train and stroll
Clockwise from
Top Left
Pansodan Bridge
at Yangon Central
Station.
Myat explaining our
route from Maha
Bandula Park.
Elana catches a breath
of fresh air.
Workers at Danyingon
Station taking a break.
A painted carriage
under a new
footbridge.
Many carriages are in
serious need of repair.
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