Yangoon - Mandalay rail journey questions

Hi,

Has anyone taken this rail journey ? I searched pages here but dont see any discussions on train journey in thorntree, is it not popular ?

Anyone has taken the journey ? Is it scenic ? Some websites mentioned part of the trip is one of the greatest rail journey.

A search on other websites mentioned it takes 15 hours and no overnight train but a train schedule website showed they have more overnight express compared to day ones.

Anyone know ?

seat61.com/Burma

there HAVE been reports on this (compared to bus) quite recently. filter out Myanmar only and then you can easily find hem. note that seat61 is VERY heavy biased to rail travel and promotes it at the cost of never mentioning the non-pleasant aspects, check what they say on KTMB.
BOTH bus and rail are UNcomforatble, a normal malay cannot imagine how much. there are No more nighttrains, (check DATE of website!!) they all lve at ridiculour times like 3.30 or so, and are always hours delayed on arr. even though they use the best cars on this line, the rails are not good and this makes like a funfair swing+sway all the time. and they cost at least double as bus, you pay the do-lah
I always grossly distrust people who say its 'the best' It may simply be the only 1 theyve ever been to/on.
Buses are private and vary enormously between comps, but westerners usually take the very best (leo or Lion or so), overnight and the bus is 2nd hd ex JPN and may even have working AC. but the roads are NOT good and thus its also a very bumpy ride.

As you can see in seat 61 there are some trains that arrive at night in Mandalay, but the classic overnight trains leaving at 4-5-6 in the afternoon and then arriving after sunrise do not exist anymore.

I have done that trip several times, as the whole or in parts, day time and night time.

To me the train is more comfortable as the bus, as you can walk around, go tot the dining car for some fired rice and cold beer, toilets, etc. Plus the upper class reclining seats are large with lot of leg room, sure more comfy than any bus in Myanmar.
It still is a bumpy ride however (even if this has improved a lot in the past decade).

Prices are much higher than buses however as one pays a fare for foreigners which is much higher than the one for locals.

Scenic? Not really, it's mostly flat left and right, paddie fields, villages, the mountains in the distance.
Other routes are more scenic, like Thazi-Kalaw-Inle and Mandalay-Pyin Oo Lwin- Hsipaw, those two are the most interesting ones regarding the scenery in my opinion.
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The timetables in Man in Seat 61 are up-to-date. There were changed towards the end of last year. The main train between Yangon and Mandalay leaves at 4.00 a.m. and takes sixteen hours. If there is a night train, it no longer has a sleeper car. The terrain is flat for most of the way with no spectacular scenery, but a good way to see the countryside. If you want a spectacular rail journey in Myanmar go from Mandalay to Hsipaw. BMTA is right - trains are much more expensive than buses for foreigners. I am biased too, as I love train travel - just sitting and watching the world go by, interacting with other people on the train, particularly in the restaurant car if there is one. Have a great time. Ken.

Thanks all.

One of my guidebook for South East Asia dont cover Myanmar but just found out from my Lonely Planet copy that it did. The Mandalay - Hsipaw journey is what I read that is interesting. Have anyone of you did it ? Is it really so stunning views ? Since this is not part of the Mandalay - Yangoon, then I might as well do Mandalay - Yangoon by bus or river trip. How about by river ? Is it interesting ?

I prefer a rail journey as I always feel romantic in a rail journey but too bad that the 2nd class is so much more expensive than by bus and so much slower too. So unless the journey is more scenic, I rather take bus. Agree that train has more space to move around is a plus but if the bus journey do give breaks at small towns, it's more interesting.

I am from KL and made numerous trips to Singapore or Butterworth but only once by train. The Malaysian train is an horrible experience and I dont expect the nearby countries to be much better. In Thailand, I always take the bus too.

But for my Europe trip under plan, I think train journeys are more useful and more scenic.

If you think the Malaysian train is an horrible experience I would not recommend trains in Myanmar...They are certainly not better...

Nicest stretch is Thazi-Kalaw in my opinion followed by Kalaw-Inle and Mandalay-Hsipaw.

Long distance buses do not stop often, they usually are full from beginning and then stop only for food and toilets. Typically on teh way to Mandalay they might stop two or three times, and as thsoe are usually nightbuses, those stops are at night.
You would have to hop along from destination to destination using local buses during day.
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I did the reverse trip late last year, and yes it is a bumpy rocking and rolling ride. But there is heaps of legroom and if you organise the booking properly you don't have anyone beside you.(One side of the train has single seats and the other doubles). Not sure about the price difference but I prefer trains to buses anyway - it's much easier to move around and stretch the legs. As others have noted it is mainly flat flood plain country.

I took the train from Yangoon to Hsipaw. It was a bit rough, but I loved that my two travel companions and I were the only foriengers on the train. I like to immerse myself among the locals, and had a great time. We also went in April, during the water festival which was a total blast.

Have a wonderful time. The country is beautiful, the people awesome. The government, however, is atrocious. Support the locals when you can - buy directly from them to avoid supporting the regime.