"10 new air-conditioned train carriages bought from South Korea will be up and running on the Mandalay-Myinkyina rail road in early March, according to the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The new air-conditioned trains will take about 17 hours to travel the Mandalay-Myitkyina route, an hour less than other trains. Myanmar Railways (MR) signed a contract agreement with the Dawonsys Company to buy 100 new modernised train carriages under the Korean loans on Dec 5,2018. The Ministry will use a US$45mil loan from Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) of the EXIM Bank to buy the train carriages. A vessel carrying the 10 new train carriages out of 100 and spare parts, bought under a loan from South Korea, arrived at the Thilawa Jetty, Yangon, on Jan 7. Works to upgrade the Yangon-Mandalay railroad is a collaboration among Myanmar, South Korea and Japan. Myanmar and Japan will also cooperate on the Hanthawaddy airport project, the ministry announced..."