In Myanmar, construction of a railway linking China's Yunnan Province is quietly underway. The railway runs through an active conflict zone in Myanmar. Previously, due to the wariness of the Myanmar government, the new crown epidemic and the subsequent military coup in Myanmar, the construction of the railway has been in a state of long-term delay.

Recently, a Chinese state-run company has resumed preliminary work on a railway from China to the coast of Rakhine State, according to executives at the Myanmar Railways.

The China-Myanmar Railway is an important part of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, linking Kunming, Yunnan, China, and the planned special economic zone and deep-sea port of Kyaukphyu, Rakhine State, Myanmar. The project is jointly developed by China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group, a subsidiary of China Railway Engineering Group, and Myanmar Railway Company.

The China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, connecting Kunming-Mandalay-Kyaukpyu Town/Yangon, is known as the Herringbone Economic Corridor

The Burmese military exchanged fire. Since the military coup in Myanmar in 2021, armed resistance there has not stopped.

In Myanmar, the planned railway will be the first to reach the Chinese border and will replace the existing line from Mandalay to Lashio built during the British colonial period. The new line will span about 1,000 kilometers and will be divided into two sections, the first from Muse on the northern border of Shan State to Mandalay, and the second linking Mandalay and Kyaukpyu.

In 2019, China and Myanmar approved the first section of the route and conducted a feasibility study. An environmental assessment is to be completed later in 2021, with approval in 2022. However, construction preparations for the second section linking Mandalay and Kyaukpyu were stalled until late last year.

This month the project has made new progress. A senior official of the Myanmar Railway Company said recently: "A joint committee of the China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group and the Myanmar Ministry of Transport has been meeting in Myanmar to decide on the railway line, discuss where to lay the track for the Mandalay-Kyaukpyu section, and Which villages and towns the line will pass through."

The Mandalay-Lashio section of the railway built during the British colonial period, here is the iconic Gotek Railway Viaduct

The construction of the Muse Town-Mandalay section, where the project is planned to start first, may take several years, especially when conflicts in various parts of Myanmar continue and the political crisis in the country remains unresolved, there may still be variables in the project.

Advancement of construction in China

While the construction in Myanmar is slow, China is constantly promoting the construction of the domestic segment. The line between Dali and Baoshan in Yunnan was opened in July last year. What remains is 196 kilometers of track between Baoshan and Ruili, opposite the town of Muse on the Myanmar border, which is due to be completed by December this year.

According to reports, the Dali-Baoshan section of the Dali-Ruili Railway in Yunnan will open in July 2022. At the initial stage of opening and operation, 7 pairs of passenger trains and 5 pairs of freight trains will be arranged. The Dali-Ruili Railway starts from Dali City in Yunnan Province in the east and ends in Ruili City on the China-Myanmar border in the west, with a total length of 330 kilometers. It is divided into two sections from Dali to Baoshan and from Baoshan to Ruili.

The Xishan Temple Super Bridge in the Dabao section of the Darui Railway, the railway opened for operation, ending the history of no railway in Baoshan City, Yunnan Province

The Dali-Baoshan section is the first railway in China to cross the Hengduan Mountains. The geological conditions are complex, with high geothermal heat and high seismic intensity, which brings great difficulties to the construction. The Dali-Baoshan section has a total length of 133 kilometers, and it took 14 years from the start of construction to the opening.

The Lancang River Bridge in Dabao Section of Darui Railway, the red bridge is the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline bridge

But in Myanmar, railway construction is much longer. In May 2022, it was reported that freight trains were already running between Chongqing and Mandalay, with a distance of 2,000 kilometers. However, Myanmar officials said that the railway to Mandalay has not yet been built, and the transportation is actually completed in the form of road-rail combined transportation.

The Myanmar transport planning official said that works on the section from Muse town to Mandalay are expected to start in 2025. Before that, there are still several lengthy geological surveys to be carried out.

The timetable for the part from Mandalay to Kyaukpyu has not yet been determined. A memorandum of understanding on the feasibility study of this section of the railway project was signed in early 2021. Obviously, after the project from Muse Town to Mandalay becomes clear, the second project from Mandalay to Kyaukpyu Town will also be on the agenda.

Compared with economic benefits, the China-Myanmar Railway will bring more strategic significance to our country. From the perspective of regional development, for Yunnan Province, it undoubtedly opened up new trade and sea routes.

Once the China-Myanmar Railway is completed, from Yunnan to Chongqing, goods exported from southwestern China and surrounding areas can directly enter the Indian Ocean through the sea outlet of Myanmar, and then connect with countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, greatly shortening the transportation distance and transportation time, and greatly optimizing The international logistics mode and route of my country's inland areas going to sea.Editor/Ma Xue