Trial passenger rail service to begin April 9

[geovalin]

Post Staff

Royal Railway, which has a 30-year concession to operate Cambodia’s rail network, will operate two passenger train services a day between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville during an eight-day trial period starting April 9, it announced on its website yesterday.

One train will leave Phnom Penh at 7am, coinciding with the departure of another train from Sihanoukville. The trains will complete the 266-kilometre journey in about eight hours with stops at stations in Takeo and Kampot.

Tickets for the full journey will cost $7 for all classes, though air-conditioned carriages are only available on odd-numbered days, a railway official said yesterday.

read more: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/trial-passenger-rail-service-begin-april-9

[BKKSnowBird]

8 hours? Its been a few years but I think driving is faster. Hopefully the train is safer.

[Merylhighground]

8 hours? Its been a few years but I think driving is faster. Hopefully the train is safer.

Eight hours gentle pitching and rolling through the pleasant countryside along that route, being able to kick back with a few beers, a lazy smoke, some cool tunes, as opposed to facing the increasingly white knuckle qualities of the road trip down Highway 4 which the last time I took it didn't seem to be wearing too well either and getting congested' (by Cambodian standards) seems a good alternative option.

As long as it's not like the PP - Battambang- Srisophon/Poipet route where you have to get out and push in places or get on a 'Norry' and departs both directions at a decent hour so one arrives in the destination at a decent hour and not in the middle of the night it could be a good thing.

The future for train travel in Cambodia is interesting. I know they have been looking for foreign investment on their railways for a long time now. Some serious work on the PP - Thailand line taking it through to Viet Nam could make the future of rail travel in the Mainland of SEAsia very interesting. Bangkok to Hanoi (and beyond) would be a belter of a trip.

[phuketandsee]

Did it by taxi yesterday - 5 hrs mainly due to heavy traffic by PP airport.

[Sheryl]

Drive is usually just 3-4 hours unless you hit really bad traffic.

Safety is another matter, lots of bad accidents on that highway which has a lot of steep turns.