The Railways of Burma: their past and future

The railways in Burma play a key role in providing transport infrastructure for both passengers and freight. They are also a link between the past and the future: built by the British from 1877 until Independence in 1948, and expanded over the following years by civilian and military governments. Many images of Burma today are linked to the railways: from the Gokteik Viaduct, to the flower sellers at way-side stations on the branch line from Thazi to Shwenyaung, to the crowded carriages on the Circular Railway in Yangon. This paper will take a statistical overview of the railways of Burma, concluding that the freight operations have been seriously neglected for many years. The short-term economic consequences of this are important. The paper will also highlight recent railway construction, often of poor quality but nevertheless providing a vital service to rural communities, such as on the west bank of the Irrawaddy. The railways have been neglected in the move to the new, hopefully democratic Burma, with recent emphasis only being on an improved suburban railway in Yangon and improving the line from Yangon to Nay Pyi Daw. Whilst these lines are important, the southern line to Dawei and branch lines (for example, Mandalay-Lashio or Aungban-Loikaw) are in need of urgent improvement. Rolling stock (locomotives, freight wagons and passenger coaches) needs to be upgraded. Longer term, lines linking Burma to China and India are feasible, but construction will be difficult and expensive.