Railways
Rail transport does not play a significant part in Laos's transport sector, since the country largely lacks the required infrastructure. A short portage railway, the Don Det – Don Khon narrow gauge railway, was built by the French while Laos was a part of French Indochina. The railway crossed over the islands of Don Det and Don Khon, enabling vessels, freight and passengers to travel along the Mekong River. The railway was abandoned and fell into disrepair, although some of the infrastructure is still in place. In the late 1920s, work began on the Thakhek – Tan Ap railway, that would have run between Thakhek, Khammuan Province and Tan Ap Railway Station, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam through the Mu Gia Pass. However, the scheme was eventually aborted in the 1930s.
Read more about this topic: Transport In Laos
Famous quotes containing the word railways:
“There is nothing in machinery, there is nothing in embankments and railways and iron bridges and engineering devices to oblige them to be ugly. Ugliness is the measure of imperfection.”
—H.G. (Herbert George)