On April 13, international passenger trains on the China-Laos Railway between the Kunming South Station and the Vientiane Station, set off and arrived at their final destination on the same day. China and Laos railway services started selling tickets for the new line on April 11.
Since the opening of the China-Laos Railway in December 2021, CR has earnestly implemented the spirit of the important speech made by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the China-Laos Railway. CR partnered with the Lao railway departments to conduct epidemic prevention and organize transport to effectively manage the China-Laos Railway. Passenger trains are operating in the Kunming-Mohan and Vientiane-Boten sections, among which the safe and steady Fuxing and Lancang units are favored by the people along the route. CR also carefully organized the operation of cross-border freight trains to explore the “Lancang-Mekong Express,” and the “China-Laos Railway plus CRE,” as well as other new modes of international railway transport, increasing the volume and categories of cross-border cargoes. On the whole, both passenger traveling and cargo transport on China-Laos Railway are flourishing. As of April 9, the China-Laos Railway has made a total of 13.93 million passenger trips and transported 18.38 million tons of cargo, including 3.59 million tons of cross-border cargo, playing an active role in building a golden corridor between China, Southeast Asia and the China-Laos Community.
As epidemic prevention and control enters a new stage, the demand for cross-border travel and outbound tourism is rising. In order to meet the wishes of the Chinese and Laotian people, relative departments of both countries agreed to jointly organize the operation of international passenger trains on the China-Laos Railway and to continue building a road of development, well-being, and friendship for the two peoples.
The international passenger trains on the China-Laos Railway depart in the morning and arrive in the evening, with one train running in each direction every day. The train will stop at eight stations - Kunming South, Pu’er, Xishuangbanna, Mohan, Boten, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, and Vientiane, taking 10 hours and 30 minutes in both directions, including the time for customs clearance at railway ports. Among them, the train D887 from Kunming South Station to Vientiane Station starts at 8:08 Beijing time and arrives at Vientiane at 18:38 ; the train D888 in the opposite direction departs at 9:08 Beijing time and arrives at Kunming South Station at 19:38.
The international passenger trains running on the China-Laos Railway are the power-concentrated “Fuxing” and “Lancang” EMU, with a maximum speed of 160 kilometers per hour and nine carriages, including a powered vehicle, a first-class carriage, a dining carriage, and six second-class carriages, with a total capacity of 720 passengers. The trains are equipped with power sockets of both Chinese and Lao standards under each set of seats, and passenger information displays, broadcasts, and service identifiers are in Chinese, Lao, and English. In the early period of its operation, the railway departments of both countries will adjust the number of cross-border carriages and non-cross-border carriages according to the cross-border passenger flow and sell tickets according to the corresponding sections.
Cross-border passengers on the train traveling on the China-Laos Railway will have to go through customs clearance once at each port. Take the international passenger train from Kunming South to Vientiane as an example, when the train arrives at Mohan Station, the Chinese railway port, cross-border passengers must enter the joint exit inspection area with all their luggage, and return to the train after being inspected by Chinese customs officers, when the train later reaches Boten Station, the Lao railway port, passengers must cooperate with Lao customs officers and repeat the process. After the second inspection, passengers to Boten can leave straight away, and the others return to the train to complete their journey. The customs clearance process for international passenger trains from Vientiane to Kunming South is the same. Passengers spend about 1.5 hours at each port station each time, a total of about 3 hours for clearances.
At exactly 9 o’clock Beijing time on April 11, tickets for international passenger trains were released online and offline in China and Laos. Passengers who wish to purchase cross-border tickets of international passenger trains departing from Kunming South can purchase through the CR 12306 website or the ticket windows of the Kunming, Kunming South, Pu’er, Xishuangbanna, and Mohan stations. For those who purchase tickets online, passengers must bring their valid passports they used to buy tickets to exchange for paper tickets at the five designated station ticket windows mentioned above before traveling. Passengers going to purchase cross-border tickets of international passenger trains departing from Vientiane can purchase through the LCR Ticket APP and the ticketing windows of the Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, and Boten stations. For those who purchase tickets online, passengers must bring their valid passports they used to buy tickets to exchange for paper tickets at the four designated station ticket windows mentioned above before traveling. Cross-border passengers are required to verify their paper tickets when entering or exiting the station, and when getting on or off the train at the ports. For passengers with non-cross-border tickets, the Chinese Section issues e-tickets, while passengers must use paper tickets in the Lao Section.
To ensure the safe and smooth operation of international passenger trains on the China-Laos Railway, the railway departments of the two countries have conducted a comprehensive inspection of the equipment and facilities along the China-Laos Railway, carried out safety appraisals and pilot runs on the entire line, formulated safety precautions, and systematically trained railcar drivers, transportation schedulers, equipment maintainers, and cross-border passenger crews, with passenger crews able to provide services in both the Chinese and Lao languages. At present, the quality of equipment and personnel fully meet the operational standards of international passenger trains on the China-Laos Railway.
The operation of international passenger trains on the China-Lao Railway facilitates the travel of people along the route, propels the development of tourism and other industries in the two countries, and promotes the economic and trade contact between the two countries as well as the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative. The next step for the railway departments of China and Laos will be to optimize and adjust the operation plan of the trains according to passenger flow, enhance communication and coordination with the customs authorities, and continuously improve the quality of service, so as to make new and greater contributions to the two countries and to build a community of a shared future between China and Laos.
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