A China-Laos international freight train packed with cargo departed from the container center in Kunming, the capital of Southwest China’s Yunnan Province, for Laos’ capital Vientiane.
With the train’s departure, the total volume of cargo transported via the China-Laos Railway reached 80 million metric tons, among which more than 18 million tons of commodities were carried across the borders, thereby significantly promoting the regional economic growth.
Seventy-one thousand freight trains have run on the China-Laos Railway since it went into operation. The daily train number has risen to up to 23 from the initial two, and the trains’ traction tonnage has increased to 2,800 tons from 2,000 tons. The railway has thus become a “golden channel” connecting China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and thereby facilitating the building of a China-Laos community with a shared future and promoting regional development.
The “Lancang-Mekong Express” international freight train on the China-Laos Railway was opened to serve the market’s needs and cooperate with other trains, such as the China-Europe Railway Express and the Kunming Dry Port train. China-Laos Railway also scheduled two China-Central Asia freight trains able to run at 120 km per hour and another six at 80 km/h in order to align the regional industrial chains and increase the cross-border cargo volume. To date, over 20,000 international freight trains have operated on this railway.
The cargo volume transported via the China-Laos Railway has increased year by year since the railway started operation. In 2026, the cargo volume reached 5.64 million tons, including 1.37 million tons of cross-border cargo.
So far, the China-Laos Railway has extended to 19 countries and regions, including Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Bangladesh. In addition, the types of commodities transported have also become more diverse, increasing from the initial dozen to more than 3,800.
(Executive editor: Zuo Shihan)
