Myanmar Railways (MR), the staterun and only one railway operator in Myanmar, has opened bidding for new coaches aiming to use for the upgraded railway that connects Yangon and Mandalay, the nation’s two largest cities.
MR opens bidding for 24 carriages and it seeks diesel-electric-type units as the country’s rail network is not electrified. Myanmar will acquire the railway coaches through a $391 million ODA (Official Development Assistance) offered by Japan.
The country is now on its halfway of implementing a large-scale project to upgrade the Yangon-Mandalay rail linkage that includes revamping and updating railway tracks and signaling systems. The adding of the new carriages is part of the project to provide the improved public service throughout the Yangon-Mandalay line. Bidding will end in March 2017 and the winner will be announced later in the year. The country is also completing the expansion of railway networks in various other parts of the country. Like in other aspects of the public transportation sector, the quality of the railway infrastructure is generally miserable in Myanmar due to the decades-long underfunding. As of 2010, Myanmar has a railway network of 5,403 km (3,357 miles) and a total of 858 stations nationwide.
