Speaking Notes By Railway Department Ministry of Public Works and Transport

Speaking Notes
By
Railway Department
Ministry of Public Works and Transport
in
the 4th Meeting of the Working Group on the Trans-Asian Railway Network
Bangkok, 23-24 November 2015
Excellencies,
Distinguished Officers of ESCAP/UNCC,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen!
First of all, please allow me to express my gratitude to the ESCAP/UNCC invited me
and my colleague to attend the 4th Meeting of the Working Group on the Trans-Asian
Railway Network in Bangkok, 23-24 November 2015, Thailand.
My name is Ouk Sota, Deputy Director of Railway Department of the Ministry of
Public Works and Transport of the Kingdom of Cambodia. On behalf of the Railway
Department, I am also pleased to extend my sincere thanks to the Distinguished
Officers of ESCAP/UNCC and all Distinguished Delegates allowed me to give my
speech in this meeting today.
I take this opportunity to share my idea related to the transport infrastructure such as
road, railway, airport and seaport are integral parts of mobility for traveling and play
very crucial role as a physical connectivity to facilitate the movement of people and
cargos, to boost intra-regional trade and tourists, and to enhance cross-border
investments and to improve world transport initiatives. All countries in Europe and the
ASEAN member countries have concrete plans together to continue building and
upgrading regional physical and non-physical connectivity such as Trans-Asian
Railway Network, Asian Railway Master Plan, and Singapore-Kunming Railway Link.
, in line with the other Greater Mekong Sub region (GMS) transport framework like
GMRA Railway Links and Cross Border Transport Agreement (CBTA) etc.
Railway sector has a long history in the world for more than two century ago. Railway
services are now more importantly, become one of fundamental elements of people’s
daily life supporting socio-economic activities in each continent and the world.
Therefore, it has to maintain a certain level of services that is satisfactory to the
public.
The Meeting of the Working Group on the Trans-Asian Railway Network explores the
prospects for the railway connectivity and development. It is also to discuss the
progress and status of railway infrastructure in each of country, future governance of
railway transportation, services and operations features aiming at a full integrated
railway networks including the completion of the missing sections of the railway,
harmonized operational procedures for enabling the trains to travel from country to
country with no obstruction and common cross-border movement procedures such as
custom clearances of goods and immigration etc.
Moreover, we already knew that the full integration of the railway networks is one of
the key factors in physical and non-physical connectivity in promoting cultural
cooperation of all countries in Southeast Asia and Europe, enabling socio-economic
integration and driving the region's robust growth and development of all
Communities between Asia and Europe. To achieve the above ambiguous purposes,
besides our collective efforts and cooperation between Asian and Europe, a huge
investment, close cooperation and support from development partners and private
sectors are inevitably required. However, to leave railway services to private entities
alone may cause arbitrary activities for their own profits and is not consistent or
correlated to the people’s benefits. This issue emerges from the nature of railway
transportation services. Therefore, how to balance these two interests in publicprivate partnerships and privatizations of the railway is very important subject of the
development of railway, in particular in Cambodia case.
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
To meet the Rectangular Strategy Phase III of the Royal Government of Cambodia
and to serve the economic development of Cambodia and, in particular, its tourism
and trade industries, the Royal Government of Cambodia has a policy on Railway
Sector as one of the integrated transport mode, including (i) government is
committed to making the railway system dynamic and profitable, (ii) Government
recognizes the merit of having a well-functioning railway system as an essential
element of the national transport system, (iii) the railway will be improved so that it
makes an effective and efficient contribution to the transport sector, (iv) the railway
could provide relief to roads by carrying heavy freight and hazardous goods, (v) the
railway could offer advantages for an integrated container service with port terminals,
(vi) Private rail shippers may invest in railway, if Government commitment provides
the role and responsibility of railway rehabilitation and development to Railway
Department, and (vii) Economic principles will be used in the allocation of resources
and price determination in the railway system.
The existing railway network of Cambodia is well developed in terms of geographical
coverage but its maintenance and rehabilitation have been severely neglected. The
existing railway networks consists of two lines: Southern line from Phnom Penh to
Sihanouk Ville Port is 266km and Northern Line from Phnom Penh to Poipet (Thai
Border) is 386km. The total cost of rehabilitation project in Cambodia was USD 141.1
million including funded ADB, OPEC, Government of Australia, Government of
Malaysia, and Government of Cambodia.
The Status of Rehabilitation Works on Southern Line from Phnom Penh at Pk9+400
(Bifurcation) to the Gate of the Sihanouk Ville Port at PK264+687.765 in
approximately 255.29km of plain track was rehabilitated including (i) Major repair to
embankments, (ii) Replacement of rotten timber sleepers with new PC concrete
sleeper with fastenings, (iii) Ballasting and Tamping, (iv) Rehabilitation of sidings or
passing loops, (v) Welding of rails along SL, (vi) Construction of level crossings
across major National Road No. 4, 3, 31 and other minor roads along the Southern
Line from Phnom Penh to Sihanouk Ville. And (vii) Repair or strengthen to major
severe damaged bridges.
The Status of Rehabilitation Works on Northern Line is the completed rehabilitation of
the railway section from Bifurcation (PK9+400) to Bat Doeung (PK31), including (i)
repair to the embankment, replacement of worn out steel sleepers with fastenings,
ballasting and tamping, but except for the bridges, (ii) Approximately 48 km Missing
Link Section from Sisophon (PK338+500) to Poipet, the border with Thailand was
almost completed except for the las about 6.50km from Poipet to Border with
Thailand including the border bridge, (iii) With the assistance from Thai Government,
reconstruction of the border bridge (Bridge length is 45m, and 20t axle load) at Poipet
was commenced 15 July 2014 and now ready completed.
The Royal Government of Cambodia has a Railway Development Plan as below:
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Strongly committed to development of the Railway.
Strengthen the capacity of multi-model transport network in the country
Reduce transport cost and travel time.
Reduce road maintenance costs by diverting heavy transport from major
national roads, in particular from NR3, NR4 & NR5, NR6 and NR7.
Improve road safety by reducing the heavy load traffic from major road. Bulk
freight, containers and petroleum products will be carried by rail.
Re-introduce regular passenger services on one or both mainlines.
Providing the railway with a standard of structure.
Offering competitive and cost effective service resulting in affordable costs of
stable commodities and manufacturing inputs.
Reconnection with Thailand for faceting cross-border trade movement
between the two countries and the countries in the region.
Realizing Singapore-Kunming Railway Link (SKRL)
There are two sections in Cambodia which have regarded as Singapore-Kunming
Railway Link (SKRL).
Northern Line from Poipet to Batdoeung (354km) is the first section of Singapore –
Kunming Railway Link. The remaining section of the rehabilitation after ADB loan
(308km) is under using the annual national budget plan. The rehabilitated section of
the Northern Line is currently used P30 rails, except the section from Sisophon to
Poipet, BS80 Rails are used. Current of axle load of the track is 15 tonnes.
Upgrading the northern line to 20 axle load is the next priority.
The second section of SKRL in Cambodia is the new line from Bat Doeung to Snul.
The total distance of this new line is 258km with the bridge across Tonle Sap and
Tonle Mekong Rivers with the total length of approximately 5,000m. This new railway
line will be built with wide embankment for future expansion from 1m gauge to
standard gauge of 1.435m.
Three feasibility Studies were completed on the new railway line from Bat Doeung to
Snul (2004, 2009, 2013 and 2015) by Chinese study teams and the Royal
Government of Cambodia is looking for funding to complete the missing lines of
SKRL in Cambodia including the remaining sections of Northern Line and the new
line.
The Railway Development in Cambodia will be followed the Cambodian Railway
Network Master plan prepared by Korean study team. There are four main categories
and number of railway lines: (i) 05 main lines, (ii) 08 branches lines, (iii) 4 high speed
railway lines, and industrial access railway lines.
The Ministry of Public Works and Transport is well organized and efficient, although it
badly needs systems and procedures for monitoring the condition of the railway
network and for planning and budgeting expenditures. Most railway works are carried
out by Project Implementation Unit (PIU), which has also been deemed efficient by
international experts (such as ADB, and Consultants for Private Firms), but which
needs ample help with tendering and project planning.
Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to all organizers of 4th Meeting of the
Working Group on the Trans-Asian Railway Network, Bangkok, 23-24 November
2015 for their hard works and great support in the development of the railway and
building up the global economy throughout the continent and the world. Also, my
deep appreciation to ESCAP/UNCC for their generous support to me and this
meeting.
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Once again, I would like to thank all of the participants in this very important meeting.
I also wish a productive discussion among all of the participants including speakers
and audience for fruitful outcomes.
Thank you!