Train services between Mawlamyine and Yangon have been temporarily suspended after a freight train struck a landmine near Kalekyun village in the Moekaung village tract, Thaton Township, Mon State, according to officials at the Mawlamyine Railway Station.
The incident occurred around 8:00 a.m. on May 25, when a 19-car stone cargo train, which had departed from Theahpyukone Station in Paung Township heading toward Taungoo, hit a mine near milepost 124/3 along the Yangon-Mawlamyine railway line.
As a result of the blast, four wagons (train cars 4, 5, 6, and 7) derailed, and car 8 was left tilted off the tracks. Approximately 200 feet of railway track were also damaged, according to a station official.
“Four wagons derailed, and another became unstable. Around 200 feet of rail on both sides was destroyed,” the official confirmed.
Due to the damage, all Yangon–Mawlamyine train services have been temporarily halted. Railway maintenance teams are currently working to repair the damaged section as quickly as possible.
This incident follows a similar mine attack earlier this month. On the morning of May 6, a railway bridge between Hninpale and Taungsun stations near Thintawgyi village in Bilin Township was bombed, destroying around 40 feet of the bridge. That attack forced the temporary suspension of all trains on the Yangon–Mawlamyine route from May 6 to May 10.
