• Burmese
Thursday, July 10, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
29 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Photo

To Avoid Gridlock, Commuters Take to Rangoon’s Circle Train

San Yamin Aung by San Yamin Aung
April 30, 2014
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
To Avoid Gridlock

Commuters board Rangoon’s circle train. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy)

7.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — As many as 100,000 passengers are now riding Rangoon’s circular train line every day, as residents increasingly shun the city’s growing traffic jams and overfull buses.

Traffic congestion has grown significantly since the Burmese government lifted car import restrictions in October 2011. With the increase in vehicles on the roads, journeys in the former capital can take twice as long as they used to.

“Riding the buses is really tiring. All the buses are always overcrowded…and the traffic congestion on the roads is heavy,” said Thet Thet Oo, from North Okkalapa Township, as she waited for a train at the city’s Central Railway Station.

RelatedPosts

Martyrs’ Day Openly Commemorated by Thousands Nationwide

Martyrs’ Day Openly Commemorated by Thousands Nationwide

July 19, 2016
17.3k
Migrants’ Hopes and Fears in Little Burma

Migrants’ Hopes and Fears in Little Burma

July 16, 2016
10.3k
YCDC Takes to the Streets to Sterilize Stray Dogs

YCDC Takes to the Streets to Sterilize Stray Dogs

July 15, 2016
7.4k

She chooses the train, she said, even though it takes an hour and 15 minutes to travel from her home to downtown, a quarter of an hour longer than it takes on the bus.

“Although the train takes a little more time than buses, I prefer the circle line because it is more comfortable. No overcrowding, no traffic jams and also the air is really cold,” she said.

Thet Thet Oo has taken advantage of the recent addition of air-conditioned carriages, which are gaining popularity as temperatures soar this hot season.

“In the past, I would not usually ride the circular train. But I started riding this month because there are new air-conditioned and upper-class trains on the circular railway,” she said.

Rangoon’s circular train line began operation in 1964. It stops at 38 stations along the 29.5-mile route connecting satellite towns and suburban areas with downtown, according to Htun Aung Thin, general manager of Myanma Railways (Lower Myanmar Administration).

He said the number of passengers was rising, and according to official figures, between 90,000 and 100,000 people were now using the circle train daily.

Fares are 100 kyat (about US$0.10) for a seat in a regular cabin, 200 kyat for a seat in a special cabin, 300 kyat for upper-class trains and 400 kyat for air-conditioned trains.

“Upgrade operations began at the start of last year. We extended the number of circular trains running up to 215 per day, the two new upper-class trains and one air-conditioned train began running on the circle line in late 2013,” said Htun Aung Thin.

He added that there is a plan to further upgrade the railway with the help of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), but he said he was not sure when it would be implemented.

The trains were run at a loss, he said, but they provide an invaluable service to people.

“We made the extensions to be more convenient for all commuters, mainly for lower- and fair-income commuters who mostly use the train for transportation and also because the demand of the circular train is increasing due to traffic congestion.”

Among the circle train’s passengers are more than 100 foreigners every day, many simply riding the train for pleasure.

San Htay, an officer of the ticket counter at the Central Railway Station, said that the number of tourists riding the circle line is going up, with visitors from America, Germany, Australia, Japan and Korea using the trains for sightseeing.

Since April 1, the ticket price for foreigners has been the same as the price for locals. Foreigners were previously charged $1, he said, adding that tourists appeared to be happy with the change.

“The number of the tourists is ranging from just over 100 to 200 in the past two years. It didn’t even reach 100 in the past,” he said.

“The number of tourists who ride the circular train is increasing year by year, together with an increase in the number of tourists coming to Burma,” said Ma Thidar, a tour guide who takes tourists on the circle train.

Tourists enjoy the chance the train gives them to view different parts of the city, and different aspects of city life, she said.

“It is my first time here in Burma,” said American tourist Catherine Peterson, who tried out the circle train recently.

“I am going to take the half-day tour on the circular train to experience how the transportation works in Yangon, and to see the local people’s life,” she said.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Multimedia
San Yamin Aung

San Yamin Aung

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

A Chronology of the Kachin Conflict
Military

A Chronology of the Kachin Conflict

by The Irrawaddy
November 20, 2014
42.8k

On Wednesday, the Burma Army shelled a Kachin rebel base killing 22 cadets, making it one of the deadliest incidents...

Read moreDetails
Astrologists Tell the Future
Photo Essay

Astrologists Tell the Future, Offer Hope in Burma

by San Yamin Aung
September 26, 2013
4.7k

Fortune-tellers around the world tap into a natural desire to know what’s in store next, and the Burmese seem to...

Read moreDetails
The Last of the Old Irrawaddy Flotilla
Photo Essay

The Last of the Old Irrawaddy Flotilla

by Tim Willasey Wilsey
March 4, 2013
12.4k

If you go on Burma’s Irrawaddy River you can find 70-year-old, Scottish-built paddle steamers still plying the waters—the last of...

Read moreDetails
Iron Cross
Photo Essay

Iron Cross, Burma’s Biggest Band, Rocks Mae Sot

by The Irrawaddy
January 14, 2013
4.3k

After two decades as Burma's hottest rock band, Iron Cross plays its first concert for an appreciative crowd of thousands...

Read moreDetails
8888 Remembered: Archival Images Offer Glimpse of Burma’s Uprising
Military

8888 Remembered: Archival Images Offer Glimpse of Burma’s Uprising

by The Irrawaddy
August 8, 2015
27.7k

The Irrawaddy revisits the 1988 pro-democracy uprising with this series of archival images.

Read moreDetails
Kengtung—Shan State’s Hidden Gem
Photo Essay

Kengtung—Shan State’s Hidden Gem

by Hseng Noung Lintner
June 7, 2012
4.6k

The picturesque eastern Shan State town of Kengtung lies just three hours from the Thai border and is becoming a...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Cambodia Tentatively Agrees to Boatpeople Plan

Cambodia Tentatively Agrees to Boatpeople Plan

Obama Reassures Allies

Obama Reassures Allies, but Doubts over ‘Pivot’ to Asia Persist

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

37 Years and Counting: Why Has Myanmar’s Democracy Struggle Taken So Long?

37 Years and Counting: Why Has Myanmar’s Democracy Struggle Taken So Long?

7 days ago
1.3k
China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

2 days ago
716

Most Read

  • Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Starves Last Rakhine Strongholds as AA Closes In

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Top Russian Arms Supplier Tosses in Quake ‘Donation’

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.