Like Thailand, will Vietnam keep its metre-gauge tracks, or will China end up converting them all to Standard gauge? With 178 km of Standard gauge route distance and 253 km of dual gauge route distance already in operation, it begins to look as if the Chinese are very serious about extending the reach of their Standard gauge railways throughout southern Indo-China, as this region was once known. It would certainly speed up the 30 hour journey between Vietnam’s two largest cities, even without the currently-shelved high speed line.

  Standard gauge tracks may also be seen at some point in the future within both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Plans have been drawn up for 1435 mm gauge metros in those two cities (in HCMC, the line is now starting construction, with planned opening in 2020, and I did see some evidence of that in November 2014), as well as a 1435 mm gauge tram system in Hanoi (no evidence to be seen of that in late 2014). With Vietnam being still a relatively poor country, it remains to be seen just how fast these plans come to fruition.

  CAMBODIA

  Also part of French Indochina, Cambodia’s metre-gauge railways, originally built in the 1930s, are currently all but inoperative, due to lack of maintenance and investment, as well as war damage occurring during the Vietnam war, and that has yet to be fully repaired.

  But all is not lost. Australia (with funding from the Asian Development Bank) is currently undertaking some rehabilitation of Cambodia’s current two-line railway system, though it appears that there are no plans to change the gauge from its current 1000 mm. The original link with Thailand’s metre-gauge line to Bangkok will be reinstated as part of this program (and that line did appear to be in quite good shape in late 2014, from what I could see from the road that parallels it for some distance), as well as a new link to Vietnam, completing a link from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City, and enabling through running from Singapore to Kunming.

  When these lines do become fully refurbished and reinstated, this will be a huge loss for an important ‘cottage industry’ in Cambodia. The currently disused metre-gauge lines are home to what is colloquially known as the ‘Bamboo Express’.

  In the 1970s, when the Khmer Rouge was in power, the citizens of Cambodia were denied rail travel, and this was the primary reason why the country’s railways fell into disuse. But the citizens, especially those in and around Battambang, resorted to using these now-abandoned metre-gauge tracks for their own transportation purposes, primarily taking farmed products to market. They designed and built the ‘norri’ – nothing more than a bamboo platform on two axles with small flanged wheels. Originally hand-pushed, today they are powered by small petrol (gasoline) engines, with a simple drive belt connected to one of the axles. When two norris travelling in opposite directions meet, one has to yield to the other, by lifting the platform off its wheels, and then removing the axles from the track. Some sort of protocol decides who has to yield, although when I travelled on a norri, I could not figure out what that protocol was!

  Faster than the occasional train that used to venture on these long-neglected (and grossly misaligned) rails, with a typical speed of 40 km/h, the days of the norri now appear to be numbered, as the tracks are planned to be progressively rehabilitated and brought back into main-line use (a freight train service has recently begun operating on one section). And with 600 km of new line planned, Cambodia’s main-line railways do look as if they really will displace the norri. Nonetheless, the Bamboo Express is still operating as a very busy tourist attraction (December 2014).

  The norri may be forced to disappear anyway, and not just because the existing rails may be reinstated for use by main-line trains. As we saw above, both Thailand’s and Vietnam’s railways could get changed to Standard gauge at some point, if China continues to back ever more Standard gauge links with its railways. Will Cambodia’s railways follow suit?

  Cambodia is already receiving assistance from China in financing the new link to Vietnam. It would certainly suit China, in being able to extend its economic, and possibly political, reach ever further beyond its borders, and such a link is included in China’s plans for new railways within south-east Asia. Having a common rail gauge – Standard gauge – would considerably ease the movement of both goods and passengers throughout southern Indochina. Cambodia’s railways, whether they remain to metre-gauge or get converted to Standard gauge, are entering a completely new phase.

  BRUNEI

  This will be very short! Some sources state that there are no railways in Brunei – but that is not quite true. There is a 13-km long private line, to 610 mm gauge.

  Otherwise, yes, Brunei is devoid of railways.

  MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE

  Notwithstanding that both Malaysia and Singapore are very protective of their borders, and relationships between them are not always at their optimum, the railways of these two countries are almost totally integrated – in fact, Singapore’s railways are in effect an extension of those in Malaysia, and are administered by KTM, the Malaysian railway operator. Extensive and time-consuming passport controls however do not mean uninhibited travel between the two countries, and the journey between Kuala Lumpur (KL) and Singapore City can take at least six hours and as many as nine hours on the existing train service, for a distance of around 300 km.

  The ability to undertake this train journey is primarily because these two countries share the same gauge as their neighbours to the north – 1000 mm. But whether there was a common reason for selecting metre-gauge for what was then known as Malaya and Singapore is very hard to assess. Malaya’s early railways came in 1881, which was before the first railways in the country’s neighbour to the north, Thailand, although after Burma’s first railways, in the 1870s (see above).

  Malaya’s first railway was built by the British. Some say that the use of metre-gauge was Britain’s colonial standard. But that is perhaps not really true, even if British India also used this gauge (see Part 5). The British of course had already used Cape gauge – 1067 mm – extensively in other parts of the world, particularly in Japan (again see Part 5) and in Australia, as will be explored later (the use of Cape gauge in Southern Africa was actually a decision by local authorities, see Part 3). So why not use Cape gauge in Malaya?

  We know that Burma and Thailand used metre-gauge in order to connect with the metre-gauge lines at Kunming in China – but there was no such compelling reason as far as Malaya’s railways were concerned, at least at that particular point in time as far as can be discovered.

  It can only be assumed that the British saw some long term strategic value in connecting Malaya’s railways with those in Burma and Thailand. In fact, there is some evidence of the idea of a railway from Singapore all the way to Kunming, something that today is technically possible (or at least was until the railway from Vietnam into China was shut down), but not politically at the moment (see Burma above), as all countries share metre-gauge tracks.

  The fly in that ointment of course, as already noted, is what happens when China finishes converting its railways in the Kunming area to Standard gauge. With 1435 mm rails already being seen in Burma, and the subject of serious China-backed proposals in Thailand, it does look as if Malaysia and Singapore could very likely be under pressure to follow suit, if not right away, then at some time in the future.

  Standard gauge rails from Singapore city, via Kunming, all the way to London? Only time will tell for that idea (see Part 5). But while Singapore’s railways are of course also to metre-gauge, the first railway in that country was actually built to Standard gauge! A 7-km long line was built by the War Department to defend Changi, in 1928. Today it has long gone.

  In the meantime, Malaysia is certainly upping its game when it comes to maximising its existing use of 1000 mm gauge railways. It has started double-tracking much of its system, but equally as importantly is upgrading the track construction to essentially high-speed standards, with heavy continuously-welded rail, concrete sleepers (ties), and very gentle curves.

  On a number of sections of Malaysia’s railways, such as the ETS high speed line, metre-gauge trains are now running at 150 km/h and even higher (tests have already been run at 160 km/h). This is an incredibly high speed for such a narrow gauge, and lessens the pressure for Malaysia to convert its railways to Standard gauge.

  There is a funicular railway in Malaysia. Like the main lines, it is to metre gauge.

  But Standard gauge does already exist today in both Malaysia and Singapore. Like in many other major metropolitan areas, even when the main-line railways are to a different gauge, both Kuala Lumpur and Singapore City have built local and airport trains to Standard gauge. While Kuala Lumpur’s commuter lines are still to 1000 mm gauge, the city’s metro is to Standard gauge, consisting of the Kelana line, the Ampang line and the KLIA Airport/Transit network.

  Singapore’s metro spans the entire city-state over five routes, with almost 200 km of Standard gauge lines. Four routes use third rail electrical pick-up, while the North-East Line uses overhead catenary. Further extensions are being built.

  I mentioned that travel between Malaysia and Singapore, notwithstanding the common metre-gauge of their railways, was a less than speedy process. A new 300 km/h high speed line 375 km long has been agreed to between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, to be started in 2017 and completed in 2022. It will certainly not be to the default metre gauge.

  There was initially some speculation as to what the gauge of this new high speed railway might be. In fact, the original Wikipedia article on this new high speed line suggested that it could be built to an unspecified ‘broad’ gauge (and that term is still used in the Wikipedia general article on Malaysia’s railways). However, the latest Wikipedia article on this high speed line has corrected this, saying that the line will be built to Standard gauge.

  But does China have the inside track (excuse the pun!) here? Perhaps not, at least not completely. Malaysia is also courting Japan, with its over 50 years of Shinkansen experience, saying that Japan’s long history of running such fast trains will be better than China’s much more recent track record (excuse the pun again). There is even talk of a China-Japan joint venture! France and South Korea are also trying to get in on the action, offering both expertise and funding, so who might get to build this railway is still an unknown.

  There is however a lot of opposition from Singapore’s citizens towards such a high speed line from Malaysia, so it could stop at the border, notwithstanding that both countries would like to improve the current slow border process.

  So where does that leave these two countries as regards the gauge of their railways? With just 2300 km of existing 1000 mm gauge main-line railways between them, conversion to 1435 mm would be relatively swift and painless (it could be achieved in under five years), and would allow seamless connections with any new Standard gauge high speed lines (both Spain and Japan will attest to the inherent advantages here). Yet, as noted above, Malaysia is making considerable investment into its metre-gauge lines (including high-speed capability, extensions and double-tracking), so whether Standard gauge will take over or not is very much up in the air.

  THE PHILIPPINES

  Like the railway systems on the Malaysian peninsular, the Philippines’ railways are also to narrow gauge. But unlike those peninsular railways, the railways in the Philippines islands are to the Cape gauge of 1067 mm. Considering that the Philippines were under Spanish rule when their first railways were built, this is very surprising and unexpected!

  Quite why Cape gauge was chosen seems to be lost in the mists of time. Whether there was some influence from Japan – the only other major country in this part of the world using this gauge – is a possibility, but there is no evidence to support this hypothesis.

  The Philippines’ railways arrived in 1887, after the Spanish rulers decreed in 1875 that the country should have a railway system. Two lines were built, the first of which was the Bicol Railway. These two lines today constitute the main railway system, totalling 1140 km, most of it single track.

  Today there are a number of different operations on Philippine’s railways, constituting a mix of main line and commuter services in a number of metropolitan areas, as well as the reinstatement of some freight services, all to 1067 mm gauge. For example, the PNR Metro South Commuter Line serves a number of communities in the area to the south of Manilla, and shares part of its journey with the South Main Line, over which the longer distance Bicol Express runs (or did run – recent reports state that this train is currently suspended due to typhoon damage).

  We saw in Cambodia the use of ‘norris’ – small petrol-powered bamboo platforms on two flanged-wheel axles, using disused rail lines – as a mode of transport. The same mode of transport (with a slightly different design, and unpowered) is also seen in the Philippines – except the lines are very much in use by main-line trains!

  The practice is of course illegal and highly dangerous, yet is very widespread, even on busy lines in and around Manila. There must be a fair number of accidents, especially as the railway runs through shanty-towns that come right up to the track edge, and there is virtually no room in which to get the cart off the tracks and into safety when a train comes.

  Not all trains in the Philippines are to 1067 mm gauge. The famous sugar plantations once had a huge network of 610 mm gauge lines, built by the Victor Mullings Company, totalling at one time over 400 km in length. There were also other 610 mm gauge sugar plantation lines, as well as some 762 mm and 914 mm lines.

  But will the Philippines, like we have speculated in respect of the railways in the Malaysian peninsular, convert its railways to 1435 mm Standard gauge? There are already 1435 mm gauge metro lines in Manila (the Yellow, Purple and Blue lines). But the biggest push may come from, once again, China.

  The NorthRail project, an 80-km line running between the Standard gauge metro in northern Manila and the International Airport, is an existing 1067 mm gauge line that is being proposed to be upgraded and in the process be converted to 1435 mm gauge, and is being financed by China. Although on hold while a court case proceeds (and at one time was completely cancelled because of corruption issues), China is pressing for it to be completed, although it may end up being downgraded to the existing 1067 mm gauge because of budget constraints.

  Nonetheless, the Philippine Department of Transport and Communication supports the use of Standard gauge for the NorthRail project, and is currently attempting to resume construction should China help with funding shortfalls. And this would not be the first time China has funded railway construction in the Philippines. The already-completed Standard gauge Manila Yellow line (see above) was financed by China.

  One has to wonder why China is so involved with these projects. The Philippines are an island nation, with a lot of poverty, and do not appear to offer much strategic or economic benefit to China. Is China perhaps playing a long game here, and, by getting ever more countries to convert their railways to 1435 mm gauge, will be able to exert ever more influence in the world (particularly in Asia), especially in terms of marketing both its goods and expertise via the railways?

  I asked essentially the same question when looking at Area 1520 and its efforts at pushing 1520 mm gauge railways ever further into 1435 mm gauge territory (see Parts 2 and 4), and wondering whether such efforts were benign, or had a more sinister ulterior motive. Are we looking at a new clash of titans, this time via the iron road? Interesting times ahead indeed.

  BORNEO

  Railways arrived in Borneo in 1903, and were primarily to support the tobacco industry. A gauge of 1000 mm was selected by the original builders, under the command of Arthur J West, a civil engineer. No reason is given for choosing this gauge (as opposed to say the 1067 mm gauge used in neighbouring Philippines), but the close proximity of Malaya and its metre-gauge railways were no doubt a major influence.

  Today Borneo has a small railway consisting of one line stretching for 134 km. There is no word on whether this will be changed to Standard gauge, and indeed there would be no necessity to make such a change.

  INDONESIA

  While Indonesia’s neighbours, Malaysia and Borneo, used metre-gauge for their railways, Indonesia uses the same gauge as in the Philippines, as well as in Japan and parts of Australia – 1067 mm. Indonesia in the 1860s was ruled by the Dutch, when it was known as the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch rulers authorised the building of the first railway in 1864, completing it in 1867.

  That railway, on the island of Java, was built to Standard gauge – 1435 mm. However, it was a privately-owned line, and, as it was the only Standard gauge line ever built in Indonesia at that time, obviously had no bearing on the gauges of any publicly-owned Indonesian railways.

  Quite why, for the subsequent public railway development, the Dutch rulers chose 1067 mm gauge, and not the already existing Standard gauge, is today something that history does not seem to have recorded. Was it to save costs? Or, possibly, was it to obtain locomotives and rolling stock from South Africa, which by this time was ruled by the Dutch-descended Afrikaners, and whose railways were also to 1067 mm gauge (see Part 3)? Australia was not too far away, and that too used 1067 mm gauge – perhaps locomotives and rolling stock were to be sourced there?

  Whatever the reason, 1067 mm gauge was chosen, and became the default gauge for railway construction in Java, including some of the sugar plantation railways, of which there were a number. One of the most extensive of these 1067 mm gauge plantation railways was the Cepu Forest Railway, which at one time stretched for over 300 km, although today there is only about 30 km left, and is now a tourist railway.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8