China Cross-Border Railway

The train travels at speeds of up to 160 km/h through mountains and valleys. There are eight stations along the route, which stretches over 1,000 km and takes 10.5 hours, including customs clearance.

The first cross-border train from Kunming to Vientiane is waiting for passengers at the station on the morning of April 13.

Liu Jin, 32, was on the first train with his mother, traveling to Luang Prabang in Laos. He had made eight previous trips to Laos, mostly by bus, taking more than 27 hours on winding mountain roads.

Starting today, April 13, there will be one passenger train every day from Kunming to Vientiane and another in the opposite direction.

The passenger trains are expected to boost cross-border rail travel between the two countries. The trains will only stop at major stations, with two on the Lao side in the popular tourist destinations of Luang Prabang and Vangvieng.

On the first day, the train from Kunming station carried more than 200 tourists from China to Laos for tourism.

Since its opening in 2021, passenger trains have run along the section between Kunming and the Chinese border town of Mohan, as well as the section between Vientiane and Boten, the Lao border town. 14 million passengers and more than 18.2 million tonnes of cargo have been carried since then.

The China-Laos railway project has a total investment value of more than 5.9 billion USD and is under a 50-year concession contract. Due to the high investment value, capital recovery will take a long time, but is expected to bring profits after 23 years of operation.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/duong-sat-xuyen-bien-gioi-trung-lao-dai-1000-km-chay-chuyen-dau-tien-185230413142144288.htm