If speed is of the essence, the more expensive Giant Ibis buses or a private taxi will likely get you from Phnom Penh to Kampot more quickly, if more queasily. Whilst the average speed is somewhat slower than road vehicles, the train travel time compares favorably with similarly priced buses (4.5 hours to Kampot, another two hours to Sihanoukville). Unlike buses, which often make a frustrating number of stops to pick up passengers or drop off bags of mangoes, the train is direct. Phnom Penh train station is centrally located, easy to get to, and the train cuts through the suburbs more quickly than buses or taxis.Ī Royal Railways sign at the station informs passengers “Never boarding late as the train never waits anyone.” So far, the service has proved to be pretty reliable, more often arriving early than late. Getting out of Phnom Penh by road at any time of day except very early morning is generally a hassle, due to the volume of traffic. The railway station architecture is outstanding. This is a perspective you don’t quite get traveling by road, either because you’re going too fast or you have your eyes screwed tightly shut! Closer to Kampot, limestone karsts shoot up from the flat landscape while white Brahman cows and water buffalo stare transfixed at the train. At small dusty crossings, motorbikes and oxcarts wait at the nominal red and white striped barriers. Arriving in the countryside proper, there’s a picture postcard view of Cambodia - wooden stilt houses sheltering under palms, surrounded by paddy fields stretching back to crenelated hills. Within half an hour, the train is tooting through semi-countryside, startling ducks into making a waddle for it to their lotus pond. Vendors wait for the train to pass so they can set up their stalls again, kids on doorsteps wave or put their fingers in their ears, grandmas perched at a noodle stall watch the passing carriages. Reach out a hand and you could grab the laundry off the balconies. From Phnom Penh, the train slowly chugs through communities which set up around the tracks when the idea of a reestablished train service was only a daydream. The Cambodian countryside from the window of the train.Īpart from the novelty value, the biggest attraction to riding the train in Cambodia is what you see out of the window. Passengers can stock up on boiled eggs, cut pineapple and mango, dried fish, and iced coffee at the station stops, which are usually about 10 minutes each. On board the train, the ever-smiling assistant in her Royal Railways baseball cap serves up instant Mama noodles and bottles of water to your seat on request. The train stations, shabbily delightful hangovers from Cambodian history, are also worth a second look.Īny journey in Cambodia seems to be an excuse to eat. Lingering suggestions of the original train - pull-down windows, French language plaques, oscillating ceiling fans and stencil-punched seat numbers - will please lovers of retro train chic.
#TRAIN DISPATCHER 3.5 PENN STATION SCHEDULE PORTABLE#
The toilet is clean and well provisioned - a bum gun, paper towels and the ubiquitous Glade air freshener.Īnnouncements are made in Khmer and English by a man in a high-vis jacket with a portable karaoke machine, bringing a personal touch to customer information. Carriages are air-conditioned, the padded vinyl seats are newly upholstered and the ride is surprisingly smooth. Given that the rolling stock is refurbished from the 1960s, the experience is more modern than you might expect. The seating set-up is slightly different (sideways or front-facing), but both trains are air-conditioned and tickets are the same price. To cancel a reservation, call 800-USA-RAIL, which is not available via or the app.Two trains alternate on the tracks - the Yellow Train and the Blue Train. To change reservations, log in to your account or go to Modify Trip on, or find your reservation from your account on the home screen in the Amtrak mobile app.Ī fare difference may apply to a passenger’s new itinerary. The train returns in the afternoon, with stops in Johnstown, Latrobe, Greensburg and Pittsburgh.Īll Pennsylvania trains operated by Amtrak, including those running from Harrisburg to Philadelphia, will cease operations as of Thursday, Amtrak said.Īmtrak did not say when it would resume passenger service.Īmtrak said it is waiving change fees on all existing or new reservations made before April 30. Amtrak will suspend its passenger rail service between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia beginning Wednesday and all of its passenger service in Pennsylvania will be shut down as of Thursday because of a reduction in demand for the service, the railroad said.Īmtrak runs a morning train daily between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, with stops in Greensburg, Latrobe and Johnstown.