Cambodian trains return after 14 years

Cambodian trains return after 14 years

Cambodia’s train service to the coast has resumed after a 14-year hiatus, pulling out of Phnom Penh station with Prime Minister Hun Sen on board.

The passenger rail service on Saturday was the first to run anywhere in the country for about seven years.

Hun Sen rode the train with senior ministers and a retinue of bodyguards headed for the coastal town of Sihanoukville, a popular tourist destination.

The Australian CEO of Royal Railways John Guiry said the train service, restarted at a cost of more than $US160 million ($A209.79 million), will be followed by an expansion of the line north to the Thai border by December.

Phnom Penh station – like much of the country’s rail network – was built by the French during the 1930s.

The train to Sihanoukville became infamous in 1994, when Khmer Rouge guerillas kidnapped and executed three foreign tourists, including Australian David Wilson, who were on the train.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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