Photos: All aboard the Cambodian cafe train to nowhere

Phnom Penh: Train travel has largely ground to a halt in Cambodia due to the coronavirus but railway fans can still get their fix aboard a stationary carriage converted into a hipster cafe.

The country has more than 600 kilometres of track extending from its northern border with Thailand to the southern coast, but decades of war and neglect have left vast stretches damaged and coronavirus has shut many remaining services.

A new airport rail link was closed last year and passenger trains to the seaport of Sihanoukville have been suspended since March when Cambodia was hit with the worst of its COVID-19 outbreak.

A worker making coffee in a train carriage converted into a cafe.

But a new train cafe - located at Phnom Penh railway station - has become a hub for Instagrammers and Facebookers looking for a selfie location and cold drink.

As authorities relax virus restrictions following a three-week lockdown in the capital, patrons have flocked to the cafe for impromptu photoshoots and iced coffees.

The carriage only required minor modifications including ripping out old sticky seats and replacing them with comfy chairs, said Sak Vanny, manager of passenger operations for Royal Railway Cambodia.

"We had the idea to turn a train carriage into a train cafe in order to generate some income for the company and help staff members with work during the pandemic," she said. "We did not make a lot of changes to it so that its original look wouldn't disappear... When guests come here they can have the same feeling like they are riding a train."

Women posing for a selfie at the front of a train at a railway station in Phnom Penh.

Train travel has largely ground to a halt in Cambodia amid the coronavirus pandemic but now passengers can get their locomotive and selfie fix as well as a cool drink aboard a stationary carriage converted into a hipster cafe.