In 2016, journalist Clare Hammond embarked on a project to study the railways of Myanmar–a transportation network that sprawls the country, rarely used and not shown on many maps, and often used at the pleasure of the country’s military.

In her book On the Shadow Tracks; A Journey Through Occupied Myanmar (Allen Lane, 2024), Clare travels the lengths of Myanmar’s railways, from the south of the country through the conflict-riven border areas, finally ending up at Naypyidaw, the nation’s planned capital.

In this interview, Clare and I talk about Myanmar’s railways, her travels along them, and how they act as a symbol for Myanmar’s governments, past and present.

Clare Hammond is a British journalist. Based in London, she works for non-profit Global Witness, investigating issues relating to natural resources, conflict and corruption. In Yangon, where she lived for six years, Hammond was most recently the digital editor of Frontier, Myanmar's best-known investigative magazine, where she oversaw daily news coverage.

You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of On the Shadow Tracks. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia.

Nicholas Gordon is an editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon.

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