Trans-Asian railway threatened by strained Thai-Cambodian relations

The diplomatic crisis between Thailand and Cambodia is threatening completion of a key link in the US$15 billion Trans-Asian railway running from Kunming in southern China to Singapore.

At risk is a six kilometre track needed to connect Sisophon in Cambodia to Aranyaprathet in Thailand.

A source close to the Cambodian leadership told the South China Morning Post: 'I understand that Thailand does not want to make the rail connection while the hostilities are ongoing.'

The link is for cross-border cargo transportation in the region and due for completion in 2015. The line through Vietnam and Cambodia is the central part of the project.

It provides the strategic link between all existing railway networks in the region which are crucial to the ambitious 5,300-kilometre Singapore to Kunming Rail Link, according to the Asian Development Bank's project summary on the restructuring of the railway in Cambodia.

According to a senior management official at the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), negotiations are on hold due to the diplomatic row with Cambodia and the arrest of a Thai national in Cambodia for spying.

'If we cannot construct this six kilometre section, we will not be able to run the railway regionally as wished as there will not be a completed regional railway in place. This is the only viable route in the region,' the source, who works on railway strategic planning, told The Sunday Bangkok Post.