Yangon's circular rail line served only 2.18 million throughout March. Compared to the city's population of 6 million, the number of rail users is shockingly low.
Another shocking fact is the line earned only Ks2.67 billion (about US$2.48 million) from ticket sales in the month.
The figures showed everything but the improvement in the service. In the 2014-15 fiscal year ending March, the number of passengers reached 28.27 million or 2.35 million a month on average while revenue was Ks28.03 billion (about $ 26.07 million) or less than Ks2.34 million a month.
The poor condition of the train services is most frequently cited as the factor that keeps away potential passengers, who should have an alternative to deal with worsening traffic congestion in the commercial city.
Khin Ma Ma Myo, a 25-year-old salaried worker, said that she regularly used the train service to avoid traffic congestion.
"If I take a bus to go to the workplace, it usually takes about one hour if I am caught in a traffic jam. But if I take a train, it usually takes about 30-35 minutes to get there. And trains are not usually packed with passengers unlike the buses. They are more convenient and it's easier to find a seat even in rush hour," she said.
However, she considered the poor service and lack of cleanliness as major hurdles for attracting new passengers. She thought foreigners hardly took the circular line due to these two reasons.
"Most of the coaches in many routes are very dirty. I don't think the staff clean the coaches every day. And almost all the ordinary class coaches and even some of the upper class coaches [of the circular line] are full of dust. I always take enough tissues to clean the seat before I sit whenever I take the train. If you want to avoid such problems, take air-con trains only. The problem is most of the staff are not helpful. It is hard to find a railway staff in your coach to ask if you do not know where to get off," she said.
Undesirable option
Train has remained an undesirable option for commuters, who sometimes need to spend two hours in a bus from their home in the suburbs to downtown. It takes another two hours to return home.
Yangon, the country's biggest city, is now coping hard with traffic congestion, as the number of vehicles has risen and more people are migrating to the city for work.
The city has constructed a number of flyovers and some are being planned, but the congestion is only worsening. The railway has been considered a promising alternative, but it is still struggling to become the people's choice.
Aung Kyaw Win, assistant general manager of Commercial Department at Myanma Railways (MR), said that the 153km (95-mile) circular rail line needs to be upgraded to improve the city's urban transport system and to reduce the congestion in downtown area.
"Yangon's traffic is getting worse day by day. It takes a lot of time to go from one place to another. As it is hard to find new solutions to deal with the congestion, taking the circular rail line will be the best means of transport for the time being," he said.
According to Aung Kyaw Win, many foreign firms are interested in investing in the Yangon circular rail line and the city's railway infrastructure projects, including the upgrade of the Yangon Railway Station and rehabilitation of the Yangon-Mandalay trunk line. The upgrading process will cost approximately $7 million and is planned to be undertaken with loan from Japan's Official Development Assistance. It is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
He said the scope of work for upgrading the circular line included replacing rail tracks; welding the existing 12m rail to 200m; replacing concrete sleepers on the whole line; repairing and replacing the turnouts; strengthening the bridges; refurbishing stations' buildings, construction of fibre optics back bone system and installation of train dispatcher system along the rail line.
He admitted that the train operation and control system currently used in Myanmar is outdated and many bridges along the rail lines across the country are very much lower than international standards. He also talked about deficiencies at the reversing track.
"Maximum permissible load needs to be reduced to 220 tonnes. Train speed is relatively low and train length is not more than 600 feet," he explained.
New investment
The upgrade of the circular line is one of the 14 priority projects proposed by the Ministry of Rail Transportation to support the Greater Mekong Subregion Strategic Framework (2012-2022).
A lot needs to be done as Myanmar is part of the Trans-Asian Railway Project, a project of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. The network now comprises 117,500km of railway lines serving 28 member countries in Europe and Asia, much like the Silk Road of yesteryears. The network along with the Asian Highway, dry ports and facilitation measures is expected to boost economic and social development, as being part of the development of an international, integrated, intermodal transport and logistics system for the region.
Aung Kyaw Win is convinced that the railway sector reforms will create a lot of job opportunities for local people. This will also help local firms produce machines and spare parts required for locomotives, rolling stocks, for maintaining tracks and for repairing and reconstructing bridges and buildings. International loan and assistance for the upgrading process will help increase skilled technicians and better services by developing in tracks, locomotives, carriages, machinery and equipment.
According to the official, the principal constraints affecting the sector include constructing new lines with low economic value and revenue prospects; lack of investment in the existing core network; and absence of a modern commercially-oriented financial management system. The barriers include lack of infrastructure, low budget, insufficient technical assistance, limited human resources, and skills shortage. At present, MR is facing severe track deterioration such as insufficient wooden and concrete sleepers, insufficient amount of ballast, very old bridges, and lack of systematic maintenance.
"Over-aged rolling stocks are a major constraint for us. For example, some of the diesel locomotives are more than 50 years old. We also have over-aged rail bus locomotive, passenger coaches, freight wagons, etc.," he said.
Challenges
According to the official, fulfilling the demands of passengers as well as companies is a challenge. A lot needs to be done to cope with demand from commuters and freight sector, from low speed, punctuality, train quality to skilled personnel.
"All levels of railway staff need to change their mindset and attitude to a people-oriented behaviour. For several reasons, train-ticket prices cannot be raised. This should be changed to cover the actual cost," he said.
"For a long time, our income could not cover the expenses. We need to get more income. For that, we need to persuade people to use railway more than ever before. To do so, we need to improve the railway infrastructure first. It is hard to improve our services without any assistance. So we invite foreign firms to invest in the sector," said Aung Kyaw Win, who added that Japan International Cooperation Agency is providing technical assistance to Myanma Railways.
According to the statistics, the state enterprise operates an average of 444 trains per day - 200 inter-city passenger trains, 215 suburban trains and 29 freight trains. Yangon's commuter network is just part of its service coverage.
The agency has so far faced a difficulty in raising the service fees. The cost of a circular-line ticket in Yangon ranges from Ks 50, 100, 200, to 400, based on the distance and the quality of the train. New air-con trains - introduced just recently to draw new passengers and tourists - cost the most in the circular line, charging Ks 400 per head.
Winning new passengers
Khin Ma Ma Myo said that it is hard for a low-salary staff to take an air-con train to get to work every day as the ticket is more expensive than bus fare.
Thura Ko Ko, 31-years old construction worker who usually takes the circular line to go to his workplace in the downtown area, blamed the ticket-control system for MR's losses.
"I have learnt from newspapers that the government is grumbling about the deficit in railway services. But it failed to monitor what the railway staff are actually doing. I usually take the circular line almost every day from Kyee Myin Daing Railway Station to Yangon Railway Station. But I rarely see railway conductors collect the train ticket. That means many people may take the train without buying tickets every day. So it is not surprising to know that they are making losses," he said.
The agency will also need to improve its service to win the heart of Naing Min Zaw, a senior clerk at KBZ Bank, who still believes that train services cannot save travel time.
"I do not think taking a train saves time. I have tried taking the circular rail line. Very often, I had to wait for a long time for a train at the station. They are not punctual. Sometimes, the train arrived 30 minutes later than the schedule. I am not that patient. How can we assume it saves time?" he questioned.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/myanmar-railway-is-on-a-wrong-track/
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