Yangon’s circular railway gets another train with air-con carriages

The rides on Yangon’s famed circular railway just keep getting cooler.
 
On Sunday, railway officials launched the latest addition to the track, a donated train from Japan replete with “four air-conditioners, seven fans and 16 fluorescence [sic] lamps,” state-backed newspaper the Global New Light of Myanmar reported.
 
There are also CCTV cameras.
 
The train is the fifth with air-con, according to Global New Light, and is part of overall upgrades to the circular line being carried out with the advice and support of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, or JICA.
 
JICA also wants to make the journey, which takes passengers around the city, faster by cutting the time to complete the three-hour round trip in half.
 
Yangon is one of the few cities in the world with a circular train. First built by the British, the line is a cheap mode of transport for commuters, though ridership is still far lower than it is on buses and taxis. Some 80,000 people ride it daily, according to railway officials.

Tickets on the trains vary but are all under a $1 for local residents and foreigners.
 
Photo of one air-conditioned carriage in May, 2015 / Aung Naing Soe