BANGKOK, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Thailand handed over a diesel-engine locomotive to Cambodia for the joint operation of cross-border train service between the two neighboring countries, an official said.
According to Acting Governor of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) Worawut Mala, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Monday presided over the signing ceremony of the cross-border train service, the handover ceremony for the diesel-engine locomotive and the opening ceremony for Ban Khlong Luek railway station.
The Thai-Cambodian train service was first opened in 1942 and terminated in 1974. In 2015, the Thai and Cambodian governments signed a memorandum of understanding on the return of the cross-border train service for which a joint working committee was set up.
Thailand's Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith and Cambodia's Public Works and Transport Minister Sun Chanthol on Monday signed the bilateral agreement on the joint passengers and cargo train service.
During the official handover ceremony, Prayut and Hun Sen took the diesel-engined train from Ban Khlong Luek railway station to Poi Pet railway station.
The train service is designed to accommodate and promote bilateral cross-border trade and Mekong Subregion's economic development.
