Battambang Bamboo Train Amusement Park

Address: Rural tracks near Battambang town, Battambang Province, Cambodia

The Battambang Bamboo Train, locally known as the norry, is an informal motorized platform service on narrow-gauge railway tracks near Battambang city in northwest Cambodia. It began as a practical local transport solution and became a popular tourist experience offering short rides through rice paddies and villages.

A typical ride uses a lightweight platform built from bamboo or timber mounted on wheels and powered by a small motor. Trips run on short sections of track outside the town and are usually scheduled by local operators rather than as part of Cambodia’s formal rail network.

Historically the bamboo train emerged where road and rail infrastructure were limited, and the tourist iteration preserves that ad hoc character while catering to visitors seeking a short rural rail experience. The boarding points are located a short drive from central Battambang and rides are commonly combined with visits to nearby markets and countryside.

• Platform size: Riding platforms are improvised low bamboo or metal decks driven by small engines and typically seat around four to six passengers.

The Battambang bamboo train site is reached from Battambang town by a short local ride: take a tuk‑tuk or motorbike taxi from the town centre to the bamboo‑train village (commonly about 6-8 km and roughly 15-25 minutes depending on traffic). Battambang is served by regular buses from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap via National Road 5; once in Battambang town hire a tuk‑tuk for the short transfer to the track site.

• Go early in the day (before the midday heat and tour buses arrive) to enjoy the ride with fewer people and steadier service from local operators.
• Expect to pay in cash at the boarding point and to ride on a short, community‑run section of track; check with your guesthouse or a local guide beforehand because the route and operating hours can change.
• Treat the bamboo train as a short, informal experience-combine it with nearby village visits or Phnom Sampov to make a fuller half‑day trip rather than planning it as a long excursion.

Used as an improvised form of local transport, each car works like an old-school railway pushcart: a small flatcar of bamboo slats laid over railway-gauge wheels, driven by a deafeningly loud outboard motor and often overloaded with passengers and supplies, the occasional pig included. Where two cars meet on the single-track line, the lighter one is simply lifted off, set aside, and reassembled once the other has passed.

The passenger train from Phnom Penh no longer runs, leaving the bamboo trains with the tracks largely to themselves. Longstanding plans to relay the line to a standard gauge, linking Cambodia to Thailand and beyond, will eventually be carried out, and the operators will likely adapt their vehicles when that day comes. For now, drivers are happy to earn extra cash carrying visitors along sections of the line; ask at your hotel or the tourism office to arrange a ride.