New 620-mile railway connects China and Laos, beautiful trains and stations

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The China-Laos Railway is expected to begin operation within 2021​

 
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Gleaming new train arrives in Laos ahead of railway opening​


  • LAOS
  • Saturday, 16 Oct 2021
    8:19 PM MYT
1333901.jpeg

The first passenger train to be used on the Laos-China Railway arrives in Vientiane. - VT

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/Asia News Network): The first passenger train to be put into service when the Laos-China railway comes into operation in December arrived at Vientiane station in Xaythany district on Saturday (Oct 16).

The electrical multiple unit train, which has been named Lane Xang, was handed over at a ceremony at the station on Saturday attended by Minister of Public Works and Transport Viengsavath Siphandone, the Chinese Ambassador to Laos, Jiang Zaidong, General Manager of the Laos-China Railway Company, Xiao Qianwen, and other officials.

Speaking at the ceremony, Viengsavath said the railway is a strategic cooperation project under China’s One Belt, One Road Initiative and the plan to transform landlocked Laos into a land link.

“The government of Laos has scheduled the opening of the railway on National Day on Dec 2. The Laos-China Railway will be a symbol of friendship between Laos and China and will bring happiness and prosperity to the people of our two countries,” he said.

The railway is currently undergoing a thorough inspection process prior to acceptance, after which it will be put into service, signifying the fact that Laos is entering a new era of electric rail transport.

The Lao people will see a new era of transport transformation in the Lao PDR, Viengsavath said.

The train will be a symbol for the Lao people in depicting a strong and prosperous country, and will improve the quality of people’s lives, he added.

Ambassador Jiang said that in the next phase of development, Laos and China will accelerate the construction of facilities alongside the railway to help develop the Laos-China Economic Corridor. This will foster conditions for economic recovery as well as generate closer cooperation between Laos and China.

The two countries will upgrade public services by delivering tangible benefits as well as other advantages.

“Together, we have built this railway as a symbolic project of cooperation under the One Belt, One Road Initiative as well as Laos-China Friendship,” the ambassador said.

The train has been painted red, blue and white to reflect the colours of the Lao flag and can run at speeds of up to 160 km per hour. It has seven carriages with two classes of seating, providing 720 seats in total.

A notice from the Prime Minister’s Office said the historic passenger train has been named Lane Xang as this was the name of Laos when it was known as the Lane Xang (million elephants) Kingdom.

Laos and China will inaugurate the railway, which links Vientiane with the Chinese border, on Dec 2 - the day when the Lao People’s Democratic Republic celebrates its 46th anniversary.

The second passenger train that the Laos-China Railway Company plans to buy will be named Khaenlao after the khaen, which is a traditional pipe instrument whose music has been inscribed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

It is expected that the railway will cut the cost of transport through Laos by 30-40 percent compared to travel by road, thus giving a boost to trade and investment.
Construction of the US$5.986 billion (37.4 billion yuan) railway began in December 2016.

The 422.4-km railway runs from Vientiane to the Chinese border through the provinces of Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Oudomxay and Luang Namtha, passing through 75 tunnels with a combined length of 197.83km.

There are 10 passenger stations in Vientiane, Phonhong, Vangvieng, Kasy, Luang Prabang, Nga, Xay, Namor, Nateuy and Boten. There are also 22 stations for the loading and unloading of freight.

 

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Vientiane station of China-Laos Railway officially debuts in Laos.

 

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New 620-mile railway connects China and Laos​

Lilit Marcus and Shawn Deng, CNN • Updated 19th October 2021

(CNN) — China's intense railway expansion has marked a new milestone with the official opening of a new track that pushes beyond its own frontiers into its southern neighbor Laos.

The track, China's first international railway network, is the latest project under its wide-ranging Belt and Road Initiative. Previously called "One Belt, One Road," the ambitious strategy attempts to connect a number of Asian and African countries through China's economic might.

Linking Vientiane, the capital of Laos, with Kunming, capital and largest city in China's Yunnan province, the network will eventually connect a total of 45 stations between both countries, of which about 20 will provide passenger services.

According to a statement from the China Railway Group, the China-Laos train will help convert the smaller nation from "a land-locked country to a land-linked country." Both freight and human passengers will be able to go between the two countries by train by the end of 2021.

Currently, the railway has a total length of more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles). It takes about three hours to travel from Kunming to the Chinese border city of Jinghong.

China has invested heavily in building railways in the past decade, adding 37,900 kilometers (about 23,500 miles) of high-speed lines since 2008. It's also invested in railway projects in other countries, such as a controversial $3.6 billion network in Kenya.

The China-Laos train is expected to "fully operate" in December 2021, according to state media.

While southeast Asia is a popular destination for many Chinese travelers, Laos has not been very high on the list. However, the new ease of access may change that.

According to OAG, an international flight statistics and data gathering group, the fastest growing markets for Chinese tourists before the pandemic were Vietnam, Thailand and Japan.

Travelers from both Laos and China need visas in order to visit the other country.

Over 155 million Chinese tourists traveled internationally in 2019, according to China Tourism Academy, an institution under China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
From January to September in 2019, about 760,000 Chinese tourists visited Laos, an increase of 26% year-on-year, the Consulate-General of the PRC in Luang Prabang, Laos, reported.

 

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Locals in Laos gathered in crowds to watch Chinese made CR200 bullet train

 

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The Lane Xang electric multiple unit (EMU) train for China-Laos railway in 60 seconds​


 

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This girl in Laos tells us that before this new bullet train line, Lao only has one railway with the length of 3.5 kilometers.

 

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