There are currently no plans to have modern air-conditioned DEMU passenger trains operating on the Yangon-Mandalay route stop at Yedashe Station in Yedashe Township, Taungoo District. However, the Yangon-Mandalay No. 11 up and No. 12 down express trains will resume stopping at the station if passenger numbers on the trains currently stopping there increase, Bago Region Minister for Electricity, Energy, Industry and Transport U Kyaw Htut said in response to a question from U Tun Ko Ko, MP for Yedashe Township Constituency No. 1, at the seventh day of the third regular session of the third Bago Region Hluttaw on September 30.
MP U Tun Ko Ko asked whether there were plans for Yangon-Mandalay up and down DEMU express trains or the Yangon-Mandalay No. 11 up and No. 12 down conventional express trains to stop at Yedashe Station and, if so, when the trains would begin stopping there.
He said Yedashe Township has 64 village-tracts, including Swa, Thagara, Myohaung, Yeni and Yedashe towns. As local residents have increasingly relied on rail transport amid transportation difficulties, the lack of train stops at Yedashe Station has forced them to travel to Swa or Taungoo stations to take trains, he said.
U Tun Ko Ko said local residents had reported difficulties in returning to Yedashe after getting off trains, as Yedashe is about nine miles from Swa and about 17 miles from Taungoo. He said he therefore raised the question in response to these concerns.
In response, Minister U Kyaw Htut explained that the Yangon-Mandalay No. 11 up and No. 12 down express trains had previously stopped at Yedashe Station. However, passenger numbers averaged only about seven per day on No. 11 up and about five per day on No. 12 down. Due to the low passenger volume, the trains ceased stopping at Yedashe Station when their operating speeds were increased, he said.
Currently, Yangon-Mandalay-Yangon No. 1 up and No. 2 down mail trains, as well as Nay Pyi Taw-Taungoo-Nay Pyi Taw No. 501 up and No. 502 down trains, stop at Yedashe Station. However, the No. 501 up and No. 502 down short-distance trains also carry only about two passengers per day on average. Therefore, based on the current passenger numbers, the Yangon-Mandalay DEMU trains cannot yet be scheduled to stop at Yedashe Station, Minister U Kyaw Htut said.
He further told the Hluttaw that if passenger numbers on the trains currently stopping at Yedashe Station increase, the Yangon-Mandalay No. 11 up and No. 12 down express trains will resume stopping at the station.
