Bamboo platform
On the rails.
Marcel40chaudron — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Michal Dokoupil - User:TypeC — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gonzo Gooner — CC BY 3.0 · Christophe95 — CC BY-SA 4.0
The norry is an improvised rail vehicle Cambodians devised in years of war and neglect: a platform of bamboo slats on a steel frame, resting on two axles with salvaged wheels and pushed by a small engine. For decades it was the cheap way to move people, rice and livestock on the old line around Battambang. When regular trains returned to the main line in 2017 the original rides stopped, and the bamboo train was rebuilt for visitors on short sections of track around the city, including one near Phnom Banan that opened in early 2018. The platform runs between rice fields and villages, feeling much faster than it is on the wavy rails. The fun part is that the track is single, so when two platforms meet, the lighter-loaded one is taken apart and lifted off the rails for the other to pass, then put back in a minute. At the far end, villagers sell drinks and crafts. A seat on a shared platform costs about USD 5, per visitor guides. The heat is fierce most of the year, so go out in the morning or before sunset, with water and a hat.
On the rails.
When two meet.
On both sides.
On the outskirts of Battambang
The lighter-loaded one is taken apart and lifted off the track until the other passes, then put back in a minute.