Bamboo Train Cambodia (Norry)

Video of Cambodia's Bamboo Train (known locally as a Norry) in Krong Battambang, Cambodia (previously Kampuchea).

The norries are improvised rail vehicles with open bamboo platforms, that travel through the jungle on the Phnom Penh to Poipet railway line - a one metre gauge single track railway.

The Bamboo Trains travel between the villages of Phum Ou Dambang and Phum Ou Sralau; which has souvenir shops beside the tracks.

We arrived at Bamboo Train Battambang Station on 9th November 2019, & saw bamboo platforms with motors laid on the ground beside the tracks, separated from their axles which were laid beside them. Each platform had four flat cushions on them for the passengers to sit on, & a raised bar across the back for the drivers to sit on. The train operators put the axles on the track before lifting the platforms and loading them onto their axles.

Our tour group split into groups of four before climbing on board the re-assembled Bamboo Trains, with our driver sat on a bar behind us operating the motor. Speeding along the railway track through the jungle, getting a "free bum massage", we passed through villages and across bridges over tributaries of the Sangker River. We also passed by local Cambodian children walking along the sides of the track, cattle, and villagers cycling.

Occasionally, we would slow down to pass other norry passengers and their disassembled trains that had been cleared for us to continue to our destination - which was a small village called Phum Ou Sralau with souvenir shops beside the tracks. When we arrived at the village, we were greeted by local Cambodian children who spoke good English, and were politely asking us to buy from their shops.

Our drivers removed our Bamboo Trains from the track and waited for us to have a look around the gift shops. While we were there, a large red diesel train came through the village, travelling slowly and sounding its horn. Our Cambodian Bamboo Train drivers then re-assembled our trains facing back towards the station, and we mounted the platforms for our return trip.

0:00 - Bamboo Train Battambang
0:13 - Cambodian children stand on a bridge close to the bamboo train tracks
0:24 - Cambodian villager cycling beside the bamboo railway
0:40 - Motorcycle crosses the bamboo railway
0:52 - Bamboo trains removed from the tracks to let our train pass
1:05 - Royal wave from a fellow traveller waiting for us to pass
1:26 - Local children walking beside the track
1:36 - Arriving at Phum Ou Sralau
1:54 - Watching our tour group's bamboo trains arrive at Phum Ou Sralau
2:15 - Bamboo Train removed from tracks
2:50 - Large diesel passenger train (ZZ 803) passing through Phum Ou Sralau
3:30 - Reassembly of bamboo trains onto the track for return journey
3:54 - Climbing aboard the bamboo train
4:04 - Bamboo trains lined up ready to leave
4:28 - Leaving Phum Ou Sralau
4:48 - Speeding along the Bamboo Train tracks
5:22 - Cambodian villagers swimming in the river
5:32 - Bamboo trains removed from the tracks
6:48 - Speeding Bamboo Train
7:14 - Bamboo trains removed from the tracks to let our train pass
7:24 - Cambodian children high five Bamboo Train riders
7:41 - Bamboo Train crossing a bridge over water
9:30 - Arriving back at the Bamboo Train Battambang station in Phum Ou Dambang
9:53 - Watching our tour group's Bamboo Trains arrive

For more videos of Bamboo Train Battambang, check out this playlist:    • Battambang Bamboo Train  

Where is the bamboo train?
Bamboo Train Battambang is on the Phnom Penh to Poipet railway line in Krong Battambang, Cambodia. The station is in the hamlet of Phum Ou Dambang, and the bamboo train ending point is at Phum Ou Sralau, where there are souvenir shops. At this point, the trains are lifted off the tracks before being turned around for the return trip.

How fast is the bamboo train?
The trains can travel up to 50kmh, or 31mph.

How old is the bamboo train?
The bamboo train was first used in the early 1980s as an improvised solution to rail transport after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime.

What happens when two bamboo trains meet?
Because the Bamboo Railway is a single track, when two bamboo trains (or Norries) meet, one of them has to be taken off the track so that they can pass each other. The Norry with the lighter load is disassembled and taken off the tracks so that the heavier bamboo train can pass. The bamboo platform is lifted off its axles, then the axles are tossed to the side. Once the heavier Norry has passed, the lighter train is then reassembled onto the tracks.

Filmed 9th November 2019

Norry Kamboja

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