Tomorrow you can take the train to Laos!
From April 13, you can take a train from Kunming in Yunnan Province to Vientiane in Laos.
China Times reporters learned from China National Railway Group Co., LTD. (" China Railway Group ") that on April 13, the China-Laos railway will open a two-way international passenger train from Kunming South and Vientiane stations, Kunming to Vientiane, including customs clearance time in 10 hours and 30 minutes.
At 9 PM on April 11, railway authorities of the two countries simultaneously put on sale international passenger train tickets, which were sold out within a short time.
Since the China-Laos railway opened in December 2021, passenger trains have been running in sections between Kunming and Mohan and Vientiane and Boten, but passengers have not crossed the border. However, the safe and stable operation of the Fuxing and Lancang bullet trains has won the favor of the people along the routes. As the epidemic prevention and control has entered a new stage, the demand for cross-border travel and sightseeing is growing. In response, the railway authorities of the two countries, with the strong support of the two governments, jointly organized the operation of international passenger trains on the China-Laos Railway.
At the same time, the China-Laos railway, which has already realized cross-border freight transportation, is also undergoing continuous optimization. A person in charge of China Railway special goods told China Times that on April 10, after the durian production season in Southeast Asia arrived, the first batch of Thai durians shipped by China Railway special goods backpack freezer arrived at Kunming Wangjiaying West Railway Station from Vientiane South Railway Station in Laos on the Lancang-Mekong Express Line of China-Laos Railway. Another 15 special goods backpack freezer boxes will arrive in Kunming one after another this week. This marks the formal opening of normal cross-border transport of China-Laos railway cold chain.
"The operation of the China-Laos Railway international passenger train is of great significance to facilitate the travel of people along the routes, promote the development of tourism and other industries of the two countries, promote bilateral economic and trade exchanges and jointly build high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative. Going forward, railway authorities of China and Laos will timely optimize and adjust the international passenger train operation plan according to the passenger flow situation, strengthen communication and coordination with customs authorities, constantly improve the quality of service, and make new and greater contributions to the benefit of the Chinese and Lao people and the building of China-Laos community with a shared future." State railway group relevant person in charge said.
Take the train to Laos
The opening and operation of China-Laos Railway has changed the local traffic pattern. According to the survey results, more than 60 percent of residents along the route said they saved their commuting time.
A person in charge of China Railway said that as of April 9, the average daily operation of 42 passenger trains in China section, a maximum of 65 trains in a day, sending 74,000 passengers, a total of 11.76 million passengers; The Lao section operates 10 passenger trains a day, with a maximum of 12 in a day, carrying 10,197 passengers, realizing the joint operation of bullet trains and ordinary speed trains, with a total of 2.17 million passengers.
With the opening of passenger transport between the two countries, going to Laos by train may become a "new trend" after the opening of China-Laos railway.
It is understood that the China-Laos railway international passenger train adopts the mode of morning and evening operation, one two-way train each day, the whole journey through Kunming South, Pu 'er, Xishuangbanna, Mohan, Boten, Luang Prabang, Wanrong, Vientiane 8 stations, including railway port clearance time of 10 hours and 30 minutes.
It is worth noting that the China-Laos Railway adopts the "two places and two checks" customs clearance mode for international passenger trains. Take the international passenger train from Kunming south to Vientiane as an example. The specific clearance process is as follows: after the train arrives at Mohan Station, the Chinese railway port station, the cross-border passengers must carry all their luggage into the exit joint inspection area, cooperate with the Chinese customs officers to complete the exit joint inspection, and then return to the train to continue their journey. After the train arrives at Boten Station, Laos railway port station, passengers must get off the train with all their luggage and enter the entry joint inspection area. After completing the entry joint inspection with Lao Customs officers, passengers arriving at Boten can directly exit the station. Passengers arriving at other stations in Laos can return to the train to continue their journey. The clearance process for international passenger trains from Vientiane to Kunming South is the same. It takes about 1.5 hours for passengers to go through customs at the exit and entry ports respectively, and about 3 hours for the exit and entry ports respectively.
The fruit train is in operation
Not only passenger transport is growing, but freight transport is also being optimized.
At present, China has carefully organized the operation of cross-border cargo trains, and actively explored new modes of international railway combined transport such as the Lancang-Mekong Express Line and China-Laos Railway + China-Europe Express. The cross-border cargo volume and categories have been increasing, and the China-Laos Railway has shown a strong momentum of passenger and cargo growth.
According to the relevant personnel of China Railway Special Goods, since the opening of China-Laos Railway on December 3, 2021, China Railway Special Goods Company has been fully involved in the construction of China-Laos Railway cross-border cold chain gold line. Under the condition that the designated supervision site of imported fruits at the Mohan Railway port has not been completed, it has conducted a trial and organized cross-border cold chain transportation for many times. By the end of November 2022, the supervision site was completed, and the China-Laos Railway was officially equipped with the full-rail transport capacity of inbound fruits, and the first full-rail fruit freight train on the China-Laos Railway was officially put into operation. This year, China Railway Special Goods increased the investment in China-Laos railway cold chain equipment, and signed a full-year use contract with Sinotrans, China Logistics, SF Express and other enterprises, invested 300 backpack refrigerated boxes for China-Laos railway cold chain cross-border transport, all handover completed on April 1.