Due to a powerful earthquake that occurred on 28 March, two major airports -Nay Pyi Taw International Airport and Mandalay International Airport, roads, and railway sections, suffered collapse and damage, and the transportation and communication services were affected to a certain extent. The Ministry of Transport and Communications conducted maintenance with proper manpower, reserve materials and effective supplies.

In the rail transport sector, the Myanma Railways repaired 60 rail tracks and 11 railway bridges on the Yangon-Mandalay railway. On 3 April, the trail section using one mail train coach and four cargo coaches was conducted on the Bago-Toungoo section and Nay Pyi Taw-Thazi section. On 4 April, three coaches of down train operated to Yangon from Nay Pyi Taw and Toungoo railway stations, the uptrain from Toungoo, Nay Pyi Taw and Tatkon stations to Mandalay for trial.

Starting from 5 April, No 7 uptrain DEMU will leave from Yangon to Nay Pyi Taw at 1 pm, while the No 8 down DEMU train will from Nay Pyi Taw to Yangon at 12:30 pm, No 28 down express train from Mandalay to Nay Pyi Taw at 6 am, No 27 up express train from Nay Pyi Taw to Mandalay at 1:30 pm, No 11 up train from Yangon to Mandalay at 5 am, and No 12 down train from Mandalay to Yangon at 5 pm. The tickets are sold at the railway stations and ticket counters in advance.

In the aviation sector, the runway of Mandalay International Airport was repaired, and the rescue flights were allowed to resume operations starting on 2 April while the domestic flights were on 4 April. Therefore, the domestic airlines operated 12 flights yesterday. Similarly, the control tower and aviation communication system infrastructure of Nay Pyi Taw International Airport were repaired, and they were reopened for rescue flights starting on 29 March. The Union minister, deputy ministers and relevant officials inspected the facilities at the airport on 4 April, and the domestic flights will resume operations starting from 5 April.

In the waterway transport sector, the arch beams of Sagaing Bridge (Inwa) on the old Mandalay-Sagaing Road collapsed and transport was suspended temporarily. Meanwhile, the Inland Water Transport-owned ferries and private vessels transport the trucks and rescue machinery free between Mandalay (Shwekyatyet) jetty and Sagaing jetty. From 31 March to 3 April, they transported 869 passengers, 461 trucks and machinery, 222 vehicles and 12 motorcycles.

In the communication sector, 6,730 mobile communication stations in quake-affected areas were destroyed and the communication failed. Due to the timely maintenance, 4,500 stations are now in good condition. Moreover, the temporary mobile communication poles were arranged in key places in Nay Pyi Taw Council Area and Mandalay Region. Free on-net mobile calls and SMS services were provided from 29 March to 10 April.

Therefore, the Ministry of Transport and Communications exerts efforts to restore the road, waterway, aviation and communication services to normal operations as soon as possible.

Ministry of Transport and Communications

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