"Myanmar Railways (MR) has been variously criticized for its low efficiency and increasing costs. Solutions are needed. Since the country’s independence, the British colonial era meter gauge rail system has not been modernized much. Antiquated semaphore signals and manual blocking systems are still broadly in service, suggesting both the limited capacity of lines, and the poor maintenance of tracks. Rolling stock operates at significantly reduced speed, only 40km/hr on average. It takes trains about 15 hours to complete the 620 km journey between Mandalay and Yangon, much slower than buses, which can make the trip in as little as 8 hours depending on the type of bus in question. Unsurprisingly, then, MR’s share of land transport in Myanmar has been dropping in the last three decades and the company faces rising deficits. Naypyidaw is aware of the challenge, but it has the same dilemma other Southeast Asian countries face: whether to upgrade the existing meter gauge system for practicality’s sake, or to establish an entirely new standard gauge system for higher speed connection with China. Based on Myanmar’s financial capacity, upgrading the existing system is already a difficult ask, not to mention building an entirely new rail network. However, thanks to Japanese and Chinese capital, upgrades to the existing system are ongoing, and a standard gauge system is likely to be built. Tokyo has financially and technologically modernized the MR network, mainly the Yangon circle line and the trunk line between Yangon and Mandalay, in addition to improving five MR maintenance sites. These projects are scheduled to be finished by 2024, after which MR passenger services will reach a top speed of 100 km/hr, and more than double of the amount of service. Furthermore, more efficient freight services will contribute to Myanmar’s blooming inland dry port projects, a considerable factor for import and export costs..."