ASIA-TRANSPORT: Railway Network Plan May Get on Track – This Time

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Teena Gill

BANGKOK, Apr 23 1996 (IPS) - Thirty years after it was initially mooted, the idea of linking the region through an extensive railway network is back on the agenda of Asian leaders seeking to boost inter- and intra-regional trade and tourism.

In the north, the sub-divided network would straddle the Central Asian nations of the former Soviet Union down to the Korean peninsula, while in the south it would stretch from Iran to Sri Lanka. The other sub-divisions would link the Indochina countries with South-east Asia.

When it was first floated in the 1960s, the idea of a trans- Asia railway project did not get on track largely because the region remained mired in a Cold War divide. Also, Indonesia faced political instability that culminated with the 1965 abortive coup that carried incumbent President Suharto to power.

In today’s changed political and economic climate, Asian governments are again contemplating the ambitious project and they are getting encouragement from the European Union (EU) which sees the potential of an eventual link across Eastern Europe and into the West.

The issue came up during the Asia-Europe heads of government meeting in Bangkok last month when Malaysia was nominated to act as coordinator in pursuing further project studies.

“The return of peace to Asia has made it possible for countries to think of the railway project once again,” says M. Rahmatullah, head of the Transport, Communication and Tourism Division of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

It was ESCAP which first mooted the idea of having both a trans- Asian railway and a highway.

Studies carried out by experts from ESCAP divide the trans- Asian railway project into three main sub-regions: a northern corridor linking the Korean peninsula with China, Mongolia, Kazakstan and the Russian Federation; a southern corridor linking Bangladesh, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka; and the other covering Indochina and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Many Asian countries already have extensive railway networks domestically, but which are poorly connected to neighbouring countries thus preventing cross-border movement of people and freight. One of the major tasks of the trans-Asian railway project will be to bridge the ‘missing links’.

The most important gaps in the railway network identified so far are between India and Burma (also known as Myanmar), Burma and Thailand and between Iran and Pakistan. Links between China and Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam are also crucial to the success of the project.

Another problem that has to be addressed is the issue of different widths of railway tracks that are in vogue in different parts of Asia. ESCAP experts say this could be overcome by using technologies available for quickly transferring freight from one set of railway tracks to the other at the junction points.

Among the major benefits that the railway network is expected to bring is the shortening of transport routes between various Asian countries as well as with Europe. The distance by rail between South Korea and Europe for example is estimated to be about half as long as the sea route between them.

The trans-Asian railway is also planned to become a major attraction for tourists who could travel all the way from Europe to the remotest corners of Asia and vice-versa.

While shortage of investment funds and various logistical problems are likely to delay much of the project for quite some years, new railway links are expected to spring up quickly in some Asian regions.

The Indochina countries for example have emerged as a prime target for investment from both private companies and governments which sense great business potential in developing the region’s railway systems.

Rich in natural resources and strategically located between rapidly growing China, and the developed economies of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, Indochina is seen in the short-term as the most commercially viable option for investment in railway infrastructure.

Construction work is already on for linking Thailand’s north eastern border town of Nong Khai to the Laotian capital Vientiane just 26 kms away.

Over a ten year period, more than 2.4 billion dollars is expected to be spent on connecting Thailand to various parts of Laos and in the construction of a domestic railway network within the landlocked nation.

There are also plans a foot to link this network further to other Mekong River basin areas like the southern Chinese province of Yunnan and neighbouring Cambodia and Vietnam.

But with prospects of trade and tourism being the driving force behind the revival of the railway project, social action groups and environmentalists worry that its impact on the less developed Asian nations could be culturally and ecologically damaging.

“Much of the official approach to development work in the Mekong River basin area is top-down and only re-inforces the ongoing process of ecological destruction in the area,” says the ‘Towards Ecological Recovery and Regional Alliance (TERRA)’ — a Bangkok based environmental group studying problems in Indochina.

The construction of extensive railway networks, like that of large hydro-electric projects is also being done without any consultation of local communities in the area who are likely to be affected by the sudden spurt in tourism and trade, TERRA says.

“It is the local community groups and not technocrats, dam consultants, multi-lateral donor agencies and industrialised country governments that should set the development agenda in the area,” a TERRA spokesman commented to IPS.

Apart from accelerating the depletion of natural resources, the new railway network is also likely to damage local cultures by bringing in tourists into the hitherto isolated areas, say non- governmental social workers.

The numerous hill tribes living in Laos, Vietnam and Yunnan are expected to be particularly affected like in neighbouring Thailand where tourism is blamed for the spread of prostitution and drug addiction among tribal communities.

“There is no doubt that an environmental impact assessment needs to be done before the trans-Asian railway project is carried out,” acknowledges Dr. Rahmatullah. This, he says, would be the responsibility of individual countries where the railway networks are being constructed.