Khmer Times/Jonathan Cox and Pav Suy

PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – Freight trains are to start rolling again to Battambang and on to Thailand in 2017, one decade after northern service was suspended due to derailments.

In September, the government plans to start work on $33 million in “emergency repairs” along the 386 km of track. The line was built by the French in the 1930s, with service to Thailand inaugurated in 1942. Walking the rails today, it appears that not much maintenance was done since then.

Today, Cambodia’s booming economy is clogging roads with trucks. The reopening of the northern rail line will be a boon for industry, said Chreung Sok-Tharath, Deputy Director of the Railway Ministry.

read more: http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/13893/next-stop-battambang--northern-trains-to-roll-again-/

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