And in Cambodia, a railway linking the capital Phnom Penh and the western border town of Poipet reopened last month. The government is now preparing to connect it to the Thai capital Bangkok and link up with a high-speed line between the southern Chinese city of Kunming and Singapore. Tony Cheng tells more.

The airport express leaves Phnom Penh station. It's only a short trip to the airport, but this is a practice run. After several decades, the Cambodian rail network is back on track and soon it will be taking passengers across the country. Inside the ticket hall, a lick of paint but little else has changed. Cambodia's rail network is essentially the same as it was when first built.

TONY CHENG SISOPHON "This old steam train dates back to the turn of the last century when the French colonialists built Cambodia's rail system. Since then it's fallen into disrepair and for the last 20 years the whole system completely shut down."

But there are ambitious plans afoot. Once the two working lines are fully functioning, new lines will be added, to the North and East. And a link all the way to Bangkok is being finalized. But the basic logic for re-opening the trains is simple.

CHREUNG SOK-THARATH DEPUTY DIRECTOR, MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS & TRANSPORT "Railway transportation is the cheapest, and the most economical is railway networks. And also, the most green transportation is the railways".

Two hundred kilometres away in Sisophon, they've been waiting for the train for 48 years because of civil war, and disrepair, but the wait is finally over, twice a day a service runs between Battambang and Poipet on the Thai border. The rolling stock is pretty basic, an old diesel engine and 2 carriages. The driver keeps a constant hand on the horn. People are still unaccustomed to seeing anything on the tracks. And the last few months have seen several mishaps, they're being put down to teething problems. But for some the passengers, a chance to rekindle glories past. 71 year old Saroeun last traveled on the train in 1963. Now he's returning from a visit to his children in Poipet.

VANN SAROEUN CAMBODIAN RESIDENT "This is my first time. I feel very happy."

For others, a glimpse of what opportunities exist in a new Cambodia.

MON KOSAL CAMBODIAN RESIDENT "This is my first time since I was a child I never rode the train. I'm impressed that here in Cambodia the train is back on track!"

That track could even lead Cambodia to join the high-speed network currently being built from Kunming to Singapore. But for the moment, more sedate progress as the Battambang express chugs through the lush rice fields, Tong Cheng, CGTN Sisophon, Western Cambodia.