Mandalay–Lashio Railway () also known as Northern Shan State Railway () 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 ...

Shan State Shan State (, ; , ) is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha Province, Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai Province, Chia ...

, operated by Myanma Railways. The line runs from Mandalay Central Railway Station to Lashio Railway Station in 11 hours, it is under proposal extending towards the

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

border from the current terminus with dual gauge rails. The section from

Lashio Lashio ( ; Shan: ) is the largest city and the capital of northern Shan State, Myanmar, about north-east of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Yaw River. Loi Leng, the highest mountain of the Shan Hi ...

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

and Yunnan is expected to be interoptable with both Chinese and Myanmar trains. There are a number of spur lines. There is another proposed project to allow Chinese trains to run 900 km from

Kunming Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...

all the way to

Kyaukpyu Kyaukphyu ( ; also spelt Kyaukpyu) is a major town in Rakhine State, in western Myanmar and it is informally addressed to be the second capital of Rakhine State.It is located on the north western corner of Yanbye Island on Combermere Bay, and is ...

under Build-Operate-Transfer. Major stops in

Pyin Oo Lwin Pyin Oo Lwin or Pyin U Lwin (, ; Shan: , ''Weng Pang U''), formerly and colloquially referred to as Maymyo (), is a scenic hill town in the Mandalay Region, Myanmar, some east of Mandalay, and at an elevation of . The town was estimated to have ...

, Kyaukme,

Hsipaw Hsipaw (; Tai Nuea: ᥔᥤᥴ ᥙᥨᥝᥳ), also known as Thibaw (), is the principal town of Hsipaw Township in Shan State, Myanmar on the banks of the Duthawadi River. It is north-east of Mandalay. Hsipaw contains 11 wards, including Sout ...

. The line is in poor condition and on many sections the ride is extremely rough. The carriages with open windows serve to trim the trackside vegetation as it moves and attendants sweep away the debris regularly during the journey. On the descent down to

Mandalay Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. It is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 mi) north of Yangon. In 2014, the city had a population of 1,225,553. Mandalay was founded in 1857 by Ki ...

there is a back and forth switch back.

History

The Northern Shan Railway was originally built in order that British industrialists could obtain access to southern China, via Kunming. The line is still incomplete and has not extended past the northern Shan city of

. It did provide access to the ancient Chinese silver and lead mines in Bawdwin, which were a major source of wealth for future US President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

. The

Goteik viaduct The Goteik viaduct (, MLC Transcription System, MLCTS: ''gu.hti.ta.aa.'', also known as Gohteik viaduct or Gok Hteik viaduct) is a railway Trestle bridge, trestle over the Goteik Gorge of the Myitnge River in western Shan State, Myanmar (also know ...

, a trestle bridge which at the time of its construction, was the longest such span in the world was completed in 1900 in record time. At the time, it was considered to be an engineering triumph.

Stations

* Mandalay Central Railway Station via Myo Haung junction. *(4) Myo Haung 382 3/4 *(24) Thoe Gyan 385 1/4 ''(Junction) to Tha Ye Ze'' *(25) Tonbo 392 3/4 ''Spur Line to the quarry'' *(26) Sedaw 396 1/4 ''Spur Line to the quarry'' *(27) Sa Tu Ta Lun Hto 400 1/4 ''Zig Zag railway'' *(28) Zi Pin Gyi 405 *(29) Thondaung 411 *(30) Anisakan 415 *(31)

Pyin U Lwin Pyin Oo Lwin or Pyin U Lwin (, ; Shan: , ''Weng Pang U''), formerly and colloquially referred to as Maymyo (), is a scenic hill town in the Mandalay Region, Myanmar, some east of Mandalay, and at an elevation of . The town was estimated to have ...

422 1/2 *(32) Pwe Kaul 427 3/4 *(33) Wet Wun 433 1/2 *(34) Sin Lan Su 438 1/4 *(35) Hsam Ma Hse 444 *(36) Nawnghkio 456 *(37) Gokteik 463 '' Gokteik Viaduct'' *(38) Nawngpeng 472 1/4 *(39) Sa Khan Tha 482 *(40) Kyaukme 490 *(41) Loi Hkaw 496 *(42) Taw Gyi 504 *(43)

509 1/2 *(44) Ta Hpa Le 521 *(45) Sun Lon - *(46) Se-eng 529 1/4 *(47) Man Sam Ye Da Gun (Man Sam Waterfall) 537 1/4 *(48) Man Pwe 543 *(49) Thi Ri Shan Hkai 545 1/4 *(50) Nam-yau 547 3/4 ''(Junction) to Namtu Mine Railway'' *(51) Lashio Railway Station 560 3/4

under proposal

* Muse Station

References

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