Yangon Area Railways

This article was first published in January 2013. Further visits to Yangon later in 2013 and again in 2014 have exposed some errors or misunderstandings which I've tried to correct in this revised version. There are still plenty of unanswered questions. Please regard this as a historical record: since 2014, the railways around Yangon have been subject to modernisation which is outlined in more recent posts. There is an index of all my posts about railways in Myanmar here which will hopefully extend as I write about these changes.

Introduction

Yangon Central (shown as a black square on the map below) is an important rail hub. A 30-odd mile long double-track 'Circle Line' serves the city. At Da Nyn Gone (left side of map) the line towards the west diverges. At Mahlwagone (a little to the right of Yangon Central) the double-track route to Bago diverges. At Bago, the main line continues north to Mandalay and a single line to Maylamyine and the south diverges.

Route Map of Yangon Division (from Myanmar Railways)

List of stations on the Circle Line

Stations are listed in a clockwise direction, starting at the northern part of the Circle Line. Burmese words can be Anglicised in various ways, so alternative spellings of at least some of names may be found.

Golf Course
Kyait Ka Lei
Mingalardon Market
Mingalardon
Wai Bar Gi
North Okkalapa
Pa Ywet Seit Gone
Kyauk Yae Twin
Tadalay
Yaegu
Parami
Kanbe
Bauk Hlaw
Tarmwe
Myittar Nyuni
Mahlwagone (#1)
Pazundaung
YANGON CENTRAL
Pha Yar Lan
Lanmadaw
Pyay Road
Shan Road
Ahlone Road
Pan I Daing (or Pann Hlaing)
Kyee Myin Daing
Hanthawaddy
Hledan
Kamaryut
Thin Myaing
Oakkyin
Thamine
Gyogone
Insein
Ywa Ma
Phi Taw Thar
Phaw Khan
Aung San
Da Nyn Gone (#2)

#1: Before Mahlwagone the line from the north and east converges with the Circle Line.
#2: Beyond Da Nyn Gone the line to the west diverges from the Circle Line to Golf Course.

History

In the post Railway Signalling in Burma: Part 3 - Control of Trains I quoted a brief description of the signalling arrangements at the main station in the 1930s when the city was called Rangoon:-

The passenger station yard is controlled by three principal signal boxes, two of which have about a hundred levers each, and the third about seventy-five The Western Electric system of train control is installed throughout the Rangoon area and interlocking is very complete. All signal lamps are electrically lit.

After the Second World War, the signalling of the whole area around Yangon has been modernised with colour light signals, track circuiting and motor operation of points.

Equipment supplied by Westinghouse Brake and Signal Company

According to [reference 1], in January 1946, an order was placed with Westinghouse Brake and Signal Company for two Style 'L' miniature lever frames for Burma Railways, intended for 'Rangoon' and 'Kemmendine'.

The Rangoon lever frame order called for 143 levers made up of 42 point levers, 76 signal levers, 6 spare levers and 19 spare spaces. The Kemmendine lever frame order called for 47 levers made up of 12 point levers, 28 signal levers, 6 spare levers and 1 spare space. The Yangon miniature lever frame remains in use and is described here. What happened to the other frame remains a puzzle at present.

General view of the Westinghouse Power Frame at Yangon from the front.

Yangon Central Station

'Rangoon' is now known as 'Yangon' and the Central Station is currently signalled by a fairly elderly system of 2- and 3-aspect colour lights with power operation of points. Controlled signal numbers are prefixed 'R' (for Rangoon).

Typical signals Left: 2-aspect signal R140 Right: 2-aspect signal R141 (with subsidiary aspect R139). The station pilot (DD517) with a raft of vans stands on the Up Goods (also called Shunting Neck East, according to the signal box diagram).

Kyee Myin Daing

'Kemmendine' is now usually known as 'Kyee Myin Daing' and remains controlled from two manual signal boxes, although colour light signals have replaced semaphores on the main line.'

Pazundaung

Pazundaung Station, showing rear of two 3-aspect signals, each with two 'line-of-lights' route indicators.

Pazundaung station is situated on the four-track section to the east of Yangon Central (Up/Down Main and Up/Down Local). It has colour light signals and motor points. Signal numbers in the area are prefixed 'P' and I believe a separate signal panel is situated in the station building (probably like the one I photographed at Da Nyn Gone).

Mahlwagone

Left: Signal M25 (with subsidiary aspect) on the line from Bago. Right: Signal M24 (with line-of-lights route indicator) on the Circle Line.

Mahlwagone is situated near the convergence of the Circle Line with the line from Bago and has colour light signals and motor points. Signal numbers in the area are prefixed 'M'. I'm told this area is now controlled from Mingalardon.

Pa Ywet Seit Gone

View looking north at Pa Ywet Seit Gone (or, as the nameboard shows, Paywet Seik Kone) showing locomotive running round its train prior to returning to Yangon. Note 2-aspect main signal 3RM and subsidiary aspect 33R (normally out, displays two white, one above the other, to authorise 'shunt ahead'.

This station on the Circle Line is remotely controlled but of interest because there are trailing crossovers at each end of the station allowing a locomotive to run round its train. I travelled on an anti-clockwise Circle Line train which used this facility and continued as a clockwise Circle Line train.

Automatic signals

3-aspect Automatic signal A79 between Pa Ywet Seit Gone and Mahlwagone (clockwise). The associated location case can just be seen beyond the signal.

On areas of the Circle Line around Yangon which are not controlled from a signalling panel, there are a number of signals with numbers prefixed 'A' arranged for automatic operation. There are also automatic signals on the four-track section between Mahlwagone and Pazundaung.

Books

[reference 1] 'The Style L Power Frame' written and published by J. D. Francis 1989 (ISBN 0 9514636 0 8).

Wikipedia Links

Yangon Central Railway Station.
List of railway stations in Myanmar

Related posts in this blog

Exploring Yangon's railways.
The Circle Line Revisited (2012).
The Circle Line, Yangon (2008).
Railway Signalling in Burma - Part 2: Colour Light Signals & Motor Points.
All my Myanma Railways posts.

My Pictures

Cab Ride on the Circle Line (2014).
The Circle Line, Yangon (2013).
Circle Line Revisited (2012).
The Circle Line, Yangon, Myanmar (2009).
Burma: Colour Light Signals & Motor Points.
Yangon Central Station.
Railways in Myanmar (2008).
All my Myanma Railways Pictures.

[Revised 4-Jul-2014: Link to Index added 22-Jan-2020]