Despite concerns that the new bamboo train was no longer 'authentic' and that it was located too far from town, it has been credited with increasing tourism for the province, with Battambang welcoming 670,000 tourists in - an 8% increase - in 2018. The line starts near the base of Phnom Banan - a hill that houses an Angkorian temple - and ends 4 km (2.5 mi) down the line at Chhoeuteal commune. In January 2018 the 'new bamboo train' was opened, now located more than 20 km (12 mi) from the city. Some families run small shops here where you can buy a cold drink or a 'Ride the Battambang Bamboo train' t-shirt.Īs late as January 2014 there was still a bamboo train ride in Pursat, which led southeast out of the city for about an hour for a fare of 20,000 ៛ riels (US$5) per person.

This was overseen by the local Tourist Police. On the outskirts a tourist service operates for $5 per person to a village that has a brick factory. In May 2011 the bamboo train was the only train operating around the Battambang area, which could be observed by the completely overgrown tracks passing through the city. Fuel was bought from villages along the route, supplied in glass jars and the flat-bedded vehicles will carry any load that will fit, including people, livestock, motorcycles and rice. Originally propelled by hand using punt poles, power was later provided by small motorcycle or tractor engines with belt drive direct to the rear axle, delivering top speeds of 40 km/h (25 mph) or more. It takes around four days to construct one of the vehicles, which have a steel frame overlaid with bamboo slats resting on wheels taken from abandoned tanks. Norry construction is a cottage industry conducted in trackside villages. These options were popular despite the obvious risks. In the 1980s and 1990s, due to the civil war in Cambodia, trains were led by an armed and armoured carriage the first carriages of the train were flatbeds used as mine sweepers, and travel on these was free for the first carriage and half-price for the second. There was precedent for the Norry's popularity. In August 2016, Norry has been developed with braking system. At the end of the line the vehicle would be lifted and turned.

Its simple construction and light weight means that a norry could be easily removed from the track – if two meet on the line, the one with the lighter load is removed from the rails and carried round the other. Norries had low fares, and were frequent and relatively fast, so they were popular despite their rudimentary design, lack of brakes, the state of the rails (often broken or warped) and the lack of any formal operating system.

Norry cad