The China-Laos Railway is a key project along the Belt and Road. It not only drives trade with countries, but also brings employment opportunities and development dividends to the people along the route. The Vientiane South Station of the China-Laos Railway is the main freight station of the Laos section, close to the border between Laos and Thailand. With its unique geographical location and advantages in logistics transshipment and distribution, it has become a dry wharf for cargo transfer from China, Laos, Thailand and other countries.

Recently, the Vientiane South Station of the China-Laos Railway was busy. Wu Aqiang completed the shipment of 1,000 tons of iron ore in just a few hours. Wu Aqiang said that the China-Laos railway transportation costs are low, the safety is high, and the single delivery volume is large.

Since the opening of the China-Laos Railway, the freight volume of enterprises has continued to grow. We formulate freight plans in advance, coordinate and do a good job in the approval of loading plans, matching of transport capacity, and the transfer of empty vehicles and empty containers, so as to create good conditions for the volume of freight. Li Tongxu, head of Vientiane South Railway Station, said.

The China-Laos Railway will open for operation in December 2021. With its advantages of safety and speed, it is favored by customers, and the freight volume continues to rise. Taking Vientiane South Railway Station as an example, the average daily loading of 28 vehicles in 2022 will be 49 vehicles per day until April 14 in 2023.

In April, Laos is in the dry season, and the refitting field at Vientiane South Railway Station presents a busy scene. One by one, the containers were hoisted from the Chinese standard-gauge train on one side of the transshipment yard, and then firmly loaded on the meter-gauge train on the other side of the transshipment yard. After the hoisting, the meter-gauge train will head south Thailand. The reloading yard of Vientiane South Station will be officially completed and put into use in July 2022. The Chinese railway network will be hard-connected with the Indochina Peninsula meter-gauge railway, and the China-Laos-Thailand railway will be interconnected.

Looking forward to the future, the picture of development has already been drawn: International trains centered on Kunming, radiating northward to Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, Xi'an and other inland logistics nodes in China, interconnected with the China-Europe corridor along the Belt and Road, to create an ASEAN-China-Europe Passage; Southward through the China-Laos Railway and the Indochina Peninsula meter-gauge railway to the ports of Thailand, Singapore and other places, forming a new international channel for land-sea combined transport.

Liu Hong, general manager of Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd., told reporters that at present, nearly 90% of cross-border goods transit Laos from China via the China-Laos Railway, and then transfer southward to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and other countries, covering more than 10 countries along the Belt and Road. and region.

According to statistics, during the period from January 1 to April 13, 2023, a total of 1,130 freight trains have been operated on the Laos section of the China-Laos Railway, a year-on-year increase of 122%, and the cargo delivery volume has exceeded 1.18 million tons. At the same time, the categories of goods on the Laos section of the China-Laos Railway have become more abundant, expanding from more than 100 categories at the beginning of its opening to more than 2,000 categories.

According to World Bank estimates, on the premise that the transit process is sufficiently efficient, the China-Laos Railway can reduce the transportation cost between Kunming and Vientiane by 40% to 50%; Shipping costs between Laem Chabang ports in Thailand will be reduced by more than 40%.

Kanlai, Governor of Luang Namtha Province in Laos, said that since the opening of the Laos-China Railway, it has promoted the development of logistics and passenger flow in Laos with safe and efficient transportation services, accelerated the pace of industrial layout and development along the line, and injected a lot of energy into the development of Laos and the improvement of people's livelihood. new momentum.

Liu Hong said that in the next step, Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd. will allocate transport capacity resources more accurately, and at the same time focus on the rich characteristics of Laos' iron ore, agricultural products, potash fertilizers and other special products, further innovate the freight organization model, optimize operation management, and continue to improve freight services experience, bringing more development opportunities and dividends to enterprises and people in China, Laos and neighboring ASEAN countries.Editor/Ma Xue