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Logistics firms seek China-Cambodia train connection
Thirty local logistics firms – members of the Cambodian Logistics Association – are seeking the possibility of a train service between China and Cambodia connecting Laos and Thailand.
The Cambodian delegation of logistics attended a meeting held this week in Laos on a project to discuss high-speed rail links including China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia to facilitate transportation in the Mekong region, said its president Sin Chanthy, who led the delegation.
The meeting was attended by delegates from Vietnam, Thailand and Laos to discuss the high-speed rail project in Mekong countries between China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia, he said.
The meeting of the ASEAN Trans-Rail Link Project is very important, he said, adding that if implemented smoothly, it will benefit and facilitate the transportation, especially the transit of goods from Cambodia to China, while currently, water transport between Cambodia and China takes between 10 and 15 days.
“If we consider the transportation time from Kunming, China, to Laos, and then to Thailand and Cambodia, which we need to discuss clearly for the connection, especially the cost of delivery,” he said.
Cambodia and Thailand connected the rail tracks in 2019, 45 years after the two countries terminated cross-border train service.
The Cambodian government is considering upgrading several train lines to promote trade and increase the mobility of its population, particularly to improve transport connections with neighbouring countries and promoting the movement of goods and people.
Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chantol said recently that the high-speed railway plan would undergo a feasibility study.
“We are looking at transforming current routes into high-speed lines running from Poipet to Phnom Penh, and from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville and its port,” he said.
Cambodia has two train lines covering 612 kilometres. The first route is from Poipet town – opposite Aranyaprathet district in Sa Kaeo province – to Phnom Penh. The other runs between the capital and the port in Sihanoukville.
The current trains run at a maximum speed of only 30 km per hour.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501099313/logistics-firms-seek-china-cambodia-train-connection/