Where are the trains, Brunei?

Brunei has no trains of any definition, whether you include passenger railway, metro lines or no light rail. For a wealthy, modern nation in the heart of Southeast Asia, the absence of railways might initially seem surprising.

So why has Brunei, with its deep oil wealth and reputation for order and modern infrastructure, stayed off the rails?

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Let’s back track

To be fair, Brunei isn’t completely devoid of rail history. In the early 20th century, a small, narrow-gauge railway line was built to serve the Brooketon Colliery, a coal mine near Muara. The mine closed in 1924 and trains haven’t run in the country since.

So why no trains?

The main reason for the lack of trains in the country is down to size, both in terms of population and landmass. In a country where distances between towns and cities are small, aligned to the fact that the roads are mainly in excellent condition, the railways have never been a priority.

Enter the Trans Borneo Railway: a glimpse into the future?

Aside from a small line in Sabah, the entire island of Borneo is devoid of any railway network, although there are tentative plans in place to change this, with a grand Trans Borneo Railway project currently in the feasibility stage. The planned route is likely to alter many times in the upcoming years but it would link Brunei to the neighbouring Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, plus Kalimantan in Indonesia.

As you can imagine, the logistical and political challenges of building the line are likely to be substantial, but might be helped slightly when the new city of Nusantara in Kalimantan is completed, although that project is facing its own challenges.

The planned route is from Pontianak in West Kalimantan to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, via Kuching (Sarawak) and Brunei. High-speed trains are mentioned in the planning documents but a more cost-effective system is likely to get the go-ahead. It would transform Borneo in terms of connectivity and the movement of people and goods, but there are many environmental concerns of such a project.

What could a Brunei rail network look like?

Perhaps one day in the not too distance future, Brunei will have some options for the rail enthusiast. The most likely of these is probably a light-rail system within the capital city of Bandar Seri Begawan, helping alleviate some of the increasing congestion on the roads.

Beyond the capital, it’s easy to imagine a short regional line linking Bandar Seri Begawan and the next largest towns of Seria and Kuala Belait, with their oil and gas resources. Longer term, the Trans Borneo Railway might pass through the country, linking it properly with its Bornean neighbours.

Final thoughts: should Brunei get on board?

The absence of railways is largely an understandable consequence of small population centres and the country’s reliance of road transport. In the near future, it’d be great to see light rail in the capital and a simple freight and passenger line running along the coast connecting the three largest cities.

But the most important change would come from the Trans Borneo Railway and the links it would offer. In the future, Brunei will continue to look beyond its borders for an ever-changing role in the region, and the railways will surely help with that ambition.