According to China Railway Kunming Bureau Group Co., Ltd., on the afternoon of January 1, 2021, a train loaded with 1,000 tons of cargo slowly departed from China Railway Union Kunming Central Station and headed for Vientiane, Laos. The first international freight train of China-Laos Railway in 2022 departed smoothly.

At the beginning of December 2021, the China-Laos Railway will be fully operational, with a total length of more than 1,000 kilometers, starting from Kunming in the north, passing through the China Mohan Railway Port and Laos Boding Railway Port, into the northern region of Laos, and finally arrives at Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

"Before the opening of the China-Laos Railway, it would take about 3 days for goods to be sent from Kunming to Vientiane; after it was opened to traffic, the railway freight time from Kunming to Vientiane would only take about 30 hours." said He Hengjun, head of the Wangjiaying West Station of the China Railway Kunming Bureau Group.

Statistics from China Railway Kunming Bureau Group show that as of December 31, 2021, the China-Laos Railway was opened to traffic in less than one month, and 380 freight trains had been in operation, carrying 150,000 tons of cargo. In addition to various products around the China section of the China-Laos Railway, goods from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other places have also been transported to Laos via the China-Laos Railway.

"In the early days of the opening, the goods sent from China to Laos were mainly feed and fertilizers. Now, the categories of goods are becoming more and more abundant, including electronic products, communication equipment, Yunnan vegetables, etc., which can better meet the needs of the Laos market." China Railway Lianji Said Xu Chao, deputy general manager of Kunming branch.Editor/Ma Xue