Bamboo Train

Battambang Bamboo Train, mean Norry, or Lori (French word for lorry) is an improvised rail vehicle from Cambodia. Lonely Planet describes it as “Cambodia’s bamboo train”. 

The “bamboo train” was originally conceived as a logistical fix during the United Nations Transitional Authority of Cambodia period. It was a lorry system that operated on Cambodia’s rarely used northern rail line.

Tourists soon discovered that the improvised rail vehicles were a thrilling ride through the countryside. These vehicles often consisted of a small motor and a bamboo platform on wheels. A cottage industry sprang up just outside the provincial capital. But with plans to redevelop the railway for other traffic, the bamboo train had to go.

The trains run at speeds of up to 50 km/h (31 mph). They run on the meter gauge tracks around Battambang and Poipet. A scheduled service run by the Government also operates, but is slower at 30 km/h around 18 mph. The rest of the network was originally built by the French colonial government. It is largely abandoned. The Khmer Rouge regime effectively shut it down. In 2006, the BBC reported there was only one scheduled service a week. It ran at not much more than walking pace.

In October 2017, the bamboo train was no longer available in the original form. The change was due to the national effort. The goal was to rebuild the rail line from the Thai-Cambodia border town Poipet to Phnom Penh. The bamboo train is being rebuilt near Wat Banan. It is distant 25Km from the city to cater to the local tourism industry. The relocated site is set to open in middle January 2018. We would like to recommend taking a TukukTuk to get a new one. 

Provincial tourism authorities arranged a new home for the train, with the original operators still running the business.

The original Bamboo Train is distant 7Km from the city. You can take a TukTuk to get there. It reopens again in the same place in an Odombong village in Battambang. So it’s still using local people and also still popular for foreigners and local tourists to ride it for fun. Cost details of original bamboo train (click here)