Tanintharyi Line is a gauge railway line in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

's southernmost region,

Tanintharyi Region Tanintharyi Region (, ; Mon: or ; formerly Tenasserim Division and Tanintharyi Division) is a region of Myanmar, covering the long narrow southern part of the country on the northern Malay Peninsula, reaching to the Kra Isthmus. It borders ...

, operated by

Myanma Railways Rail transport in Myanmar consists of a railway network with 960 stations. The network, generally spanning north to south with branch lines to the east and west, is the second largest in Southeast Asia, and includes the Yangon Circular Railway ...

. The line runs from Mawlamyine Railway Station (

Moulmein Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; ; , ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), ''World Gazetteer'' southeast of Yangon and south of Thaton, at the mouth of Thanlwin (Salween) River. Mawlamyine was an ancien ...

) to the

Dawei Dawei (, ; , ; , RTGS: ''Thawai'', ; formerly known as Tavoy) is a city in south-eastern Myanmar and is the capital of the Tanintharyi Region, formerly known as the Tenasserim Division, on the eastern bank of the Dawei River. The city is about ...

area, with connections to Yangon Central Railway Station, it is under construction extending towards Myeik from the current terminus of Thayetchaung Station, which lies just after Dawei Station. Current section in operation includes the part from Mawlamyaing Station to Thayetchaung. It is expected to become a part of a pan-Asian railway network, allowing spur connections specifically to

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. A spur connection (95 km

as the crow flies The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points. Etymology The meaning of the expression is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in the Charles Dickens novel ''Oliver Twist'' (1838): ...

) between the SRT rail head at Nam Tok railway station in

Kanchanaburi Province Kanchanaburi (, ) is the largest of the western Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. The neighboring provinces are (clockwise, from the north) Tak province, Tak, Uthai Thani province, Uthai Thani, Suphan Buri province, Sup ...

to Dawei Station through mountains is planned by Thai interests backed by Japanese funding, though other rail connections are certainly possible.

History

1994 saw the start of construction of the initially isolated Ye-Dawei (Tavoy) railway, completed March 1998. It was built using forced labor, drawn up from surrounding communities. This was later joined to the route north at Ye by the new road/rail bridge across the

Ye River The Ye River is a river of Burma. It has its source in the Tenasserim Hills and drains into the Andaman Sea along the Mon State Mon State (, ; ) is an administrative division of Myanmar. It lies between Kayin State to the east, the Andaman Sea ...

, opened November 2003. In April 2008, the tracks were extended across the

Thanlwin Bridge Thanlwin Bridge (Mawlamyaing) was the longest bridge in Myanmar before the construction of the Pakouku Bridge and it connects the city of Mawlamyaing with Mottama. Constructed at the confluence of the Thanlwin River, the Gyaing River and the ...

, a road/rail bridge located in

, provision having been made in its design when it was opened a few years earlier. This allowed the long isolated section south to Ye and later Dawei (Tavoy) to receive trains from the north of the country. A 20-mile extension to Thayetchaung Station was opened to traffic in June 2011.

Stations

* Yangon Central Railway Station via Mawlamyaing Station. *''

Thanlwin River The Salween is a Southeast Asian river, about long, flowing from the Tibetan Plateau south into the Andaman Sea. The Salween flows primarily within southwest China and eastern Myanmar, with a short section forming the border of Myanmar and Tha ...

Bridge (Mawlamyaing Bridge)'' *(24) Mawlamyaing (Old Station) 178 *(25)

Mawlamyaing Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; ; , ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), ''World Gazetteer'' southeast of Yangon and south of Thaton, at the mouth of Thanlwin (Salween) River. Mawlamyine was an ancien ...

182 1/4 *(26) Kawt Kha Ni 185 3/4 *(27) Hpar Auk 189 *(28) Hmein Ga Nein 194 *(29) Mudon 197 1/2 *(30) Taw Ku 202 1/2 *(31) Ka Mar Wet 206 *(32) Ka Lawt Thawt 209 *(33) Kun Hlar 213 1/2 *(34)

Thanbyuzayat Thanbyuzayat (; , "Reid, Robert and Grosberg, Michael (2005) ''Myanmar (Burma)'' (9th edition) Lonely Planet Publications, Footscray, Victoria, Australiapage 159 ) is a town in the Mon State of south-eastern Myanmar. It is the administrative cente ...

217 1/4 ''(Junction to Payathonzu)'' *(35) Pa Nga 223 1/4 *(36) Ka Yoke Pi 226 *(37) An Khe 229 1/2 *(38) Htin Shu 233 1/2 *(39) Ah Nin 239 1/2 *(40) Hnit Kayin 246 *(41) Lamaing 252 *(42) Taung Bon 258 *(43) Paing Wan 261 1/4 *(44) Pa Yan Maw - *(45) Pa Laing Kee 266 1/4 *(46) Ye 271 1/2 *''

Bridge'' *(47) Chaung Taung 272/11 (''with very small ? Ø 20 feet turntable'') *(48) Kalawt Kyi - *(49) Koe Maing 279/19 *(50) Pauk Pin Kwin 288/5 *(51) Nat Kyi Zin 296/23 *(52) Sein Bon 299.62 *(53) Yae Ngan Gyi 301.77 *(54) Sin Swei 303.17 *(55) Min Tha 308/22 *(56) Hsin Ku 309.70 *(57) Ein Da Ra Za 318/22 *(58) Gan Gaw Taung 320 *(59) In Hpya - *(60) Kalein-Aung 333/0 *(61) Yae Pone - *(62) Hein Ze 341/20 *(63) Tha Ke Kwa 350/6 *(64) Dauk Lauk - *(65) Yebyu 362/19 *(66) Nyin Htway 365/13 *(67) Maung Mei Shaung 368/? *(68) Za Har 371/0 *(69)

373/12 * Thayetchaung Station 393

Under construction

* Myeik Station

References

{{Rail transport in Myanmar Metre-gauge railways in Myanmar