Early construction

Rail transport was first introduced in Burma in May 1877, when Lower Burma

Lower Burma

Lower Burma is a geographic region of Burma and includes the low-lying Irrawaddy delta , as well as coastal regions of the country ....

 was a colony of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and a part of British India, with the opening of the Rangoon

Yangon

Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...

 to Prome

Pyay

Pyay is a town in the Bago Division in Burma. It has an estimated population of 123,800 . Pyay is positioned on the Ayeyarwady River and is northwest of Yangon....

 line by The Irrawaddy Valley State Railway. This line, 163 miles long, tracing the course of the Irrawaddy river, was built over three years with labor imported from India, particularly from the areas affected by the Bihar famine of 1873–74

Bihar famine of 1873–74

The Bihar famine of 1873–1874 was a famine in British India that followed a drought in the province of Bihar and the neighboring provinces of Bengal and the North-Western Provinces and Oudh; it affected an area of and a population of 21.5 million...

. In 1884, a new company, The Sittang Valley State Railway, opened a 166 mile line along the Sittang River

Sittang River

The Sittaung is a river in south central Myanmar in Bago Division. The Pegu Range separates its basin from that of the Irrawaddy. The river originates at the edge of the Shan Plateau southeast of Mandalay, and flows southward to the Gulf of Martaban...

 from Rangoon

Yangon

Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...

 to the town of Toungoo

Taungoo

-Administration:*Taungoo District Peace and Development Council - List of Six Townships*Taungoo Township Peace and Development Council*Taungoo Ward Peace and Development Council - 22 Wards*Taungoo Municipal*District and Township Immigration Dept...

 via Pegu. While the Irrawaddy line was considered to be of commercial importance because it could be used to move rice from the valley to the main port at Rangoon, the Sittang line was of considerable strategic importance because of the proximity of Toungoo to the border with Upper Burma

Upper Burma

Upper Burma refers to a geographic region of Burma , traditionally encompassing Mandalay and its periphery , or more broadly speaking, Kachin and Shan States....

, then a part of the Ava

Ava

Innwa is a city in the Mandalay Division of Burma , situated just to the south of Amarapura on the Ayeyarwady River. Its formal title is Ratanapura , which means City of Gems in Pali. The name Innwa means mouth of the lake, which comes from in , meaning lake, and wa , which means mouth...

 kingdom. This became evident at the start of the Third Anglo-Burmese War

Third Anglo-Burmese War

The Third Anglo-Burmese War was a conflict that took place during 7–29 November 1885, with sporadic resistance and insurgency continuing into 1887. It was the final of three wars fought in the 19th century between the Burmese and the British...

 a year after the opening of the railway and during the unrest that followed the war. The construction cost for the two lines was £1,926,666 and the railway was profitable by 1888 returning more than 5% on the capital expenditure.

With the annexation of Upper Burma

Upper Burma

Upper Burma refers to a geographic region of Burma , traditionally encompassing Mandalay and its periphery , or more broadly speaking, Kachin and Shan States....

, the railway was extended by 220 miles from Toungoo to Mandalay

Mandalay

Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Located north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of one million, and is the capital of Mandalay Region ....

, the fallen capital of the Ava

Ava

Innwa is a city in the Mandalay Division of Burma , situated just to the south of Amarapura on the Ayeyarwady River. Its formal title is Ratanapura , which means City of Gems in Pali. The name Innwa means mouth of the lake, which comes from in , meaning lake, and wa , which means mouth...

 kingdom with the extended railroad opening in 1889. Following the opening of this section, the Mu Valley State Railway was formed and construction began on a railway line from Sagaing

Sagaing

Sagaing is the capital of Sagaing Region in Myanmar. Located on the Ayeyarwady River, 20 km to the southwest of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river, Sagaing with numerous Buddhist monasteries is an important religious and monastic center. The pagodas and monasteries crowd the numerous...

 to Myitkyina

Myitkyina

Myitkyina is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar , located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese it means "near the big river", and in fact "Myitkyina" lies on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River, just below from Myit-son of its two headstreams...

 and connected Mandalay to Shwebo

Shwebo

Shwebo is a city in Sagaing Division, Myanmar, located 113 km northwest of Mandalay between the Irrawaddy and the Mu rivers. The city, also called Ratanasingha , was the capital of Myanmar from 1752 to 1760 during the Konbaung period....

 in 1891, to Wuntho

Wuntho, Burma

Wuntho is a town in Katha District, Sagaing Division, Burma . It is the administrative seat of Wuntho Township. While not the capital, it gave its name to the native state of Wuntho which was formally annexed to Burma by the British in 1892...

 in 1893, to Katha

Katha

Katha may refer to:* The Sanskrit for "speech, narration, story, fable", see Katha * The Kaṭha or Caraka-Katha school of the Black Yajurveda** Katha Upanishad, a Hindu text associated with the Katha school...

 in 1895, and to Myitkyina

Myitkyina

Myitkyina is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar , located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese it means "near the big river", and in fact "Myitkyina" lies on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River, just below from Myit-son of its two headstreams...

 in 1898. With the opening of this railway, a continuous 724 mile railway line ran from Rangoon to Myitkyina through the Kachin Hills

Kachin Hills

The Kachin Hills are a heavily forested group of highlands in the extreme northeastern area of the Kachin State of Burma. It includes the Kumon Bum Mountains of which the highest peak is Bumhpa Bum with an elevation of .-Geography:...

 except for a ferry crossing of the Irrawaddy at Sagaing

Sagaing

Sagaing is the capital of Sagaing Region in Myanmar. Located on the Ayeyarwady River, 20 km to the southwest of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river, Sagaing with numerous Buddhist monasteries is an important religious and monastic center. The pagodas and monasteries crowd the numerous...

. The Inwa Bridge at Sagaing, the only one across the Irrawaddy River in Burma, was opened in 1934, with two decks, one for road traffic and one for rail traffic. Destroyed by the British during their retreat from Burma in the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 it was rebuilt in 1954 after Burmese independence.

The Burma Railway Company

In 1896, before the completion of the line to Myitkyina, the three companies were combined into the Burma Railway Company as a state owned public undertaking. Between 1898 and 1905 another 278 miles of railway was constructed. A 110 branch line from the Rangoon-Pyay railroad connected Bassein

Pathein

Pathein , also called Bassein, is a port city with a 2004 population estimated at 215,600, and the capital of the Ayeyarwady Region, Burma. It lies on the Pathein River , which is a western branch of the Irrawaddy River....

 in the Irrawaddy delta to Rangoon and the Mandalay

Mandalay

Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Located north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of one million, and is the capital of Mandalay Region ....

 - Hsipaw

Hsipaw

Hsipaw , is a town in Shan State, Myanmar on the riverbank of Myitnge River. It is 200 km northeast of Mandalay.-Shan Saopha:Hsipaw is perhaps one of the most well known and powerful saopha states of Shan State...

-Lashio

Lashio

Lashio is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about northeast of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Nam Yao river. The population grew from around 5000 in 1960 to 88,590 in 1983. It is currently estimated at around 130,000.Lashio is the...

 railway traversed 117 miles through the Shan Hills almost all the way to the border with China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. The latter railroad included the Gokteik viaduct

Goteik viaduct

The Goteik viaduct is a railway trestle in Nawnghkio, western Shan State, Myanmar . The bridge is between the two towns of Pyin U Lwin, the summer capital of the former British colonial administrators of Burma, and Lashio, the principal town of northern Shan State.It is the highest bridge in...

, a 2260 feet long, 320 feet high viaduct across the Gokteik gorge near Nawnghkio

Nawnghkio

Nawnghkio, variously spelt Naunghkio, Naungcho or Nawngcho, is a town in northern Shan State, Burma. It is connected to Mandalay, Pyin U Lwin, Kyaukme, Hsipaw and Lashio by road and rail and by road to Taunggyi via National Road 43. Asia World Company, led by Tun Myint Naing, won the contract to...

. When built, it was the longest such viaduct in the world. The track rises a continuous 1:40 gradient throughout its length and the viaduct, designed by Alexander Rendel & Sons and constructed by the Pennsylvania Steel Company was considered an engineering marvel at that time. The Mandalay-Lashio railway was to extend to Kunlong

Kunlong

Kunlong is the principal town of Kunlong Township in Shan State. its coordination is 23 25' 00" N and 98 39' 00" E.It is the home of KunLong Bridge over the Salween River...

 on the border, and then on to the Yunan

Yunan

Yunan may refer to:in fictional characters* King Yunan, a character in One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk talesin places...

 province in China but the plan was abandoned because of the difficult terrain.

In 1907, a line was opened connecting Pegu and Moulmein

Mawlamyine

Mawlamyine is the fourth largest city of Burma , situated 300 km south east of Yangon and 70 km south of Thaton, at the mouth of Thanlwin river...

, the original capital of British Burma (before the Second Anglo-Burmese War

Second Anglo-Burmese War

The Second Anglo-Burmese War was the second of the three wars fought between the Burmese and the British Empire during the 19th century, with the outcome of the gradual extinction of Burmese sovereignty and independence....

). The line went up to Martaban

Mottama

Mottama, formerly Martaban, is a small town in the Thaton district of Mon State, Myanmar. Located on the north bank of the Thanlwin river, on the opposite side of Mawlamyaing, Mottama was the first capital of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries, and an entrepôt of international...

 on the Gulf of Martaban

Gulf of Martaban

The Gulf of Martaban is an arm of the Andaman Sea in the southern part of Burma. The gulf is named after the port city of Mottama . The Salween Sittaung and Yangon rivers empty into it....

 at the terminus of the Salween River

Salween River

The Salween is a river, about long, that flows from the Tibetan Plateau into the Andaman Sea in Southeast Asia. It drains a narrow and mountainous watershed of that extends into the countries China, Burma and Thailand. Steep canyon walls line the swift, powerful and undammed Salween, one of the...

 and passengers had to take a ferry to cross over to Moulmein. (It was not until the Thanlwin Bridge opened in 2006 that it was possible to go from Rangoon to Moulmein by rail.) Sometime after the First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, a line was constructed between Moulmein and Ye

Ye

Ye can refer to:* Ye , a form of the second-person, personal pronoun "you"* Ye , a Chinese surname* an archaic spelling of the definite article "þe" , used by early printers when the obsolescent letter "þ" was not available...

 at the northern end of the Mergui Archipelago

Mergui Archipelago

The Mergui Archipelago is an archipelago in far southern Myanmar . It consists of more than 800 islands, varying in size from very small to hundreds of square kilometres, all lying in the Andaman Sea off the western shore of the Malay Peninsula near its landward end where it joins the rest of...

. Meanwhile, the last major rail line constructed in Burma was between 1914 and 1918 when a line was built from Thazi

Thazi

-Mandalay Region:*Thazi Township, in Meiktila District**Thazi, Meiktila, Mandalay Region, a town in Thazi Township-Sagaing Region:*Thazi, Kale, a village in Kale Township*Thazi, Monywa, a community in Monywa Township...

 on the Rangoon-Mandalay line to Kalaw

Kalaw

For the bird locally known as Kalaw see Rufous HornbillKalaw is a hill town in the Shan State of Burma. It is located in Kalaw Township in Taunggyi District. The town was popular with the British during colonial rule. Kalaw is the main place of the novel by Jan Philipp Sendker, "Das...

, a hill station in the hills of the Southern Shan State

Shan State

Shan State is a state of Burma . Shan State borders China to the north, Laos to the east, and Thailand to the south, and five administrative divisions of Burma in the west. Largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km², almost a quarter of the total...

.

In 1928, the Burma Railway Company was dissolved and the railways were brought directly under the government and renamed Burma Railways and, around this time, the railways began to lose money because of competition from road transport. With the return on capital declining, Burma Railways became the single biggest debt item when the financial separation of India and Burma took place in 1937. The coal, the rolling stock, engines, were all imported either from India or from Britain.

The Siam-Burma Railway

The British had long planned to construct a railway line connecting India with Siam

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 (now Thailand) and China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and British companies had surveyed the possibility of building a railway from Rangoon to the Yunan province to link up with a second line from Bangkok to the Yunan province but were unable to find financial backing for the project. When the Japanese conquered Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 and Burma, they decided to build a railway connecting their South East Asian territories with Burma, partly to facilitate the movement of troops and supplies for the planned invasion of India. Since the Yunan was in the hands of the Chinese under Chang Kai-shek, they looked for a southern route to Burma from Thailand and settled on a line from Ban Pong

Ban Pong

Ban Pong may refer to:*Amphoe Ban Pong, a district in Ratchaburi Province, Thailand**Ban Pong, central town of Ban Pong district, Thailand*Ban Pong, tambon of Phrao District, in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand...

 to Thanbyuzayat

Thanbyuzayat

Thanbyuzayat is a town in the Mon State of southeastern Burma . It is the administrative center for Thanbyuzayat Township. Thanbyuzayat is about south of Mawlamyine and miles south-east of Kyaikkami ....

 across the mountains that separate the two countries. Since Thanbyuzayat was on the Moulmein - Ye railway line, and Ban Pong connected to Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

 via Kanchanaburi

Kanchanaburi

Kanchanaburi ) is a town in the west of Thailand and the capital of Kanchanaburi province. In 2006 it had a population of 31,327...

, the line would provide a direct connection (with a ferry ride from Moulmein to Martaban) between Bangkok and Rangoon. The Japanese built the lines partly using allied POWs and it is estimated that 15,000 allied prisoners of war and 150,000 others lost their lives during the construction of the 245 mile railroad (at about 675 deaths per mile). The construction is partly memorialized in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai

The Bridge on the River Kwai

The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William...

.

After independence

In 1942, the country had 3313 route-km of meter-gauge track, but during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 the Japanese

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

removed about 480 km. By the end of the conflict only 1085 route-km was operational, in four isolated sections. After Myanmar gained independence from the UK in 1948, the rail network was rebuilt. By 1961 the network extended 3020 km, and then remained constant until the opening of a 36 km line from Kyaukpadaung to Kyini in October 1970. This marked the start of a construction and track-doubling boom, and by 2000 MR operated 5068 track-km divided into 11 operating divisions. Most of the routes are single track although large parts of Yangon-Pyay and Yangon-Mandalay routes are double-track.

Rail network extension activity

1988:

• Thaton-Myaingalay (36.3 km) - New Line

1989:

• Dabeyin - Hle Lawin (34.6 km) - New Line

1990:

• Mandalay Circular Railway Modernization (21.8 km)

1992:

• Shwenyaung - Yauksauk (60.3 km)
• Construction of Tada-U - Myingyan line (99.8 km) including the line to Mandalay International Airport

1993: Three Lines Including

• Aungban - Loi-kaw (164 km), (Kayah State)
• Chaung-U - Tawkyaungyi (23.4 km) (part of 406.3 km Chaung-U - Pakokku - Kalaymyo Line)
• Minywa - Pakokku (54 km)

1994: Two Lines Including

• Tada-U - Mandalay International Airport (11.8 km)
• Pakokku - Myaing - Myozoe (55.7 km)

1995: Three Lines Including

• Myozoe - Zipyar (44.2 km)
• Namsang - Moe-Ne (44.3 km) First isolated section of eastern extension of Thazi - Shwenyaung line
• Tavoy - Yephu (17.2 km) (part of 177 km Mawlamyaing - Ye - Tavoy line)

1996: Four Lines Including

• Gangaw - Natchaung (110.8 km)
• Myitkyina - Nantpaung- Airport (11.7 km)
• Taunggyi - Phamon - Banyin (54.3 km)
• Pyay - Myade/Aunglan - Satthwa (145.4 km) (Alternative Stretch of line to Bagan)

1997: Two Lines including

• Shwenyaung - Taunggyi (33.5 km)
• Kyaukpadaung - Bagan
• Kaloggyi - Yephu (141.6 km) (part of 177 km Mawlamyaing-Ye-Dawei line)
• Taungdwingyi - Magwe (83.8 km)
• Ye-U - Khin-U (25.7 km)

1998:

• Construction of Ye-Dawei with the total distance of 100.8 miles (162.222 km) started

2003:

• Okkphosu - Thilawa- Deep Sea Port (14.8 km)
• 26 November 2003: Opening the railway bridge across Ye river on Ye - Dawei railway line.

2004: Two Line including

• Hsinbyushin- Chindwin river (1.5 km) - part of Mandalay to Pakokku
• Moderniztion and double tracking of Yangon - Mandalay

2005:

• Opening of Ye - Dawei Railway with the total distance of 100.8 miles (162.222 km)

2006:

• Opening of Thanlwin Bridge and Mawlamyine Railway station - connecting the railway line in the southern bank of Thanlwin river (Salawin river) with the rest of the country.
• The construction of Kyangin-Pakokku railroad with total distance of 300 miles (482.803 km.) started

2007:

• November 2007: Pyinmana - Myohaung double tracking - part of Yangon-Mandalay double tracking to serve the new capital of Naypyidaw.

2008:

• 1 January 2008: The construction of Katha - Bhamo railway (95 miles - 152.687 km) started
• 1 March 2008: Kyangin - Okshippin (63 km), part of Kyangin - Pakokku (515 km)
• 1 December 2008: Pyawbwe-Phayangasu (26 km), part of Yangon-Taunggyi via Thazi
• 6 December 2008: Construction of Dawei- Myeik railroad with total distance of 127.62 miles (205.384 km) started

In December 2008, Myanmar Railways has total track of 5125 km, including Double track section on Yangon - Mandalay)

Ongoing projects

Projects begun in 2009:

• Tavoy(Dawei) - Mergui-(Myeik) [Taninthayi Region] (211.2 km)
• Namsan-Kengtung [Shan-State] (375.2 km)
• Pyawbwe-Natmauk-Magwe (152 km)