Technicians work at the construction site of the first China-Laos Railway T-shaped concrete beam in Lao capital Vientiane, Dec. 2, 2018. The successful erection of the first simply supported T-shaped concrete beam marks that the construction of China-Laos railway has been transferred from substructure to superstructure and it will become the milestone in the history of the construction of China-Laos railway, according to China Railway No.2 Engineering Group (CREC-2) .

The operating speed of trains on the route is designed to be 160 km per hour. The railway is expected to be fully operational in December 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Jianhua)