China-Laos Railway transports over 1.7 mln passengers since launch

Aerial photo taken on Dec. 4, 2021 shows a Fuxing bullet train traveling on Yuanjiang Bridge on Jan 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo)

The China-Laos Railway has transported over 1.7 million passengers and 1.1 million tonnes of cargo since it was launched in December 2021, said the transport authorities of southwest China's Yunnan Province.

At present, an average of 23.5 pairs of passenger trains run on the railway's section in China every day, while its Lao section handles an average of two pairs every day. The safe, eco-friendly, efficient and convenient China-Laos Railway has become a favored means of transportation for passengers along the route.

Over the past three months since its launch, the railway has handled 1,500 freight trains transporting 1.1 million tonnes of goods. Among them, about 350 international freight trains delivered more than 250,000 tonnes of cargo via the railway, according to the China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd.

The China-Laos Railway connects Kunming in Yunnan Province with the Laotian capital Vientiane. It is the first overseas railway jointly constructed and operated by the two countries.

The 1,035-km railway, a landmark project of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, started operation on Dec. 3, 2021.

"With the steady growth of freight traffic volume, the cargo category of the railway has continued to expand, ranging from feed and fertilizer products to electronics, communication devices and local vegetables in Yunnan and so on, which can better meet the market demands in Laos," said Xu Chao, deputy general manager of the Kunming branch of China United International Rail Containers Co., Limited.