Following the success of a Khmer New Year trial run earlier this month, Royal Railway will begin offering regular weekend service between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville on Saturday, with stops in the provinces of Takeo and Kampot.
Royal Railway restarted passenger service between the capital and the coast on April 10 after a 14-year hiatus and sold 2,250 tickets over the course of an eight-day trial period, according to CEO John Guiry.
Pleased by the popularity of the route—which is slower, but cheaper than other overland transport options—the company will on Saturday commence regular weekend and holiday service, Mr. Guiry said.
“The short and long of it is that it seems the public is warming to the idea,” he said, adding that he was confident that demand for rail travel would remain high.
“We did the numbers and determined that between first timers traveling down to the coast for the first time, and those who will use the service regularly, that it will work.”
While the trains will run from Saturday through Monday this coming weekend to accommodate the Labor Day holiday on Monday—Prime Minister Hun Sen is expected aboard late King Norodom Sihanouk’s wood-paneled “royal car” on Saturday—they will operate from Friday through Sunday in the future.
“We have sold lots of tickets for Saturday without really advertising, and most people probably don’t know Hun Sen is traveling,” Mr. Guiry said.
Most weekends, the company’s two trains—one air-conditioned, one fan-cooled—will depart Phnom Penh at 7 a.m. on Friday and make four trips along the 266-km line each.
Tickets from Phnom Penh to Takeo, Kampot and Sihanoukville will cost $4, $5 and $6, respectively.
Nou Sophal, director of the Preah Sihanouk provincial tourism department, said the announcement of regular rail services was good news for Sihanoukville, whose beaches and bars are popular among both domestic and foreign visitors.
“With the prime minister coming by train for the first time, it represents that it is a safe way to travel and shows that it is a good service for tourists,” he said.
