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Four-month-old Laos-China Railway is providing a faster route than sea for ASEAN goods shipments to China, the Middle East, Russia and Europe
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The 1,000-km railway line linking Kunming City in Yunnan and Vientiane, the Lao capital, had carried about 2.25 million passengers and 1.31 million metric tons of cargo since its December launch
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Operator says products of 10 countries and regions, including Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Malaysia, Cambodia and Singapore, have been delivered by the line
Four months since its opening, the Laos-China Railway has been seen as a viable and faster way of transporting people and cargo between China and several countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to Chinese and Lao media.
As of April 3, the 1,000-kilometer-long railway linking Kunming City in the Chinese province of Yunnan and Vientiane, the Lao capital, had carried about 2.25 million passengers and 1.31 million metric tons of cargo since its inaugural run on December 3 last year, China Daily reported.
China State Railway Group deploys 47 new high-speed passenger trains that carry an average of 16,000 passengers daily. The transnational route is adapted to Chinese standards and equipment and is connected to China’s national railway network, the China Daily said.
The newspaper quoted the national railway operator as saying that the railway has cut traveling time between cities along the route. In Laos, two pairs of trains each day have transported some 224,000 passengers or about 1,800 daily, according to the CSR Group.
China State Railway also operates freighter locomotives that carry containerized and bulk cargoes on the line, improving trade prospects along the route.
Reports said businesses from ASEAN members Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar now use the Laos-China Railway to import and export goods to and from China and beyond.
Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice-president Daovone Phachanthavong was quoted by Vientiane Times as saying more goods are being shipped between China and ASEAN member countries through the railway.
“I think Laos’ economy will improve this year now that the Laos-China Railway is in use. Businesses in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar are increasingly engaged in trade with China using the railway,” Daovone was quoted as saying.
“I have been hired to transport goods between China and these four ASEAN countries. In addition, many people in ASEAN countries, particularly Thailand, want to travel on the railway and visit Vangvieng and Luang Prabang once the Covid-19 outbreak has subsided,” he told the newspaper.
The railway has also opened the possibility of extending export routes to Central Asia, the Middle East, Russia and Europe, reported Phnom Penh Post, which cited Daovone as saying many companies are considering investing in Laos because ASEAN goods can now be shipped by rail to Europe via the Laos-China Railway.
“Rice and coffee from Laos have been shipped to Europe by rail, which saves a lot of time compared with sea transport,” it quoted Daovone as saying.
Recently, Thailand recently exported its first shipment of 1,000 tons of rice to Chongqing in China using the Laos-China Railway.
CSR Group said since the railway’s launch, goods from 10 countries and regions, including Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Malaysia, Cambodia and Singapore, have been delivered by the line, strongly promoting economic and trade exchanges along its length.
A total of 2,023 cargo trains have transported since launch 1.31 million tons of goods, 427 of them internationally. The latter services carried over 310,000 tons of cargo.
The railway carried 170,000 tons in its first month of operation to 360,000 tons in the fourth month, and extends to over 100 categories.
