The Friendship Tunnel, with a total length of 9.59 kilometers, connects the Boten Railway Station in Laos to the Mohan Railway Station in China. Boten Railway Station is approximately 5 kilometers from the Chinese border land port, serving as the first station for the China-Laos Railway to enter Laos.
This year's Spring Festival marks the third Spring Festival that Li Wenbiao, the head of the Boten Train Inspection Station, has spent in Laos. When the reporter met him at Boten Railway Station, he was inspecting trains with his colleagues. The Boten Train Inspection Station employs 9 Chinese staff and 24 Laotian staff, responsible for the inspection and maintenance of international freight trains at the Boten port station, as well as conducting initial inspections and maintenance operations for freight trains heading towards Vientiane.
On Chinese New Year's Eve, a total of 42 international freight trains were waiting for inspection, prompting Li Wenbiao and his colleagues to start work earlier than usual. "This year is the first Spring Festival rush after the opening of international passenger trains on the China-Laos Railway, so there are more passengers and more cargo, resulting in a significant increase in inspection tasks." From the beginning of this year to February 9, the Boten Train Inspection Station has safely inspected and dispatched 1,515 freight trains, a year-on-year increase of over 200%.
"Normal inspections produce crisp sounds when tapping, while a dull sound indicates a malfunction," said Li Wenbiao. Holding inspection lights and hammers, workers from both China and Laos climb onto the trains or crawl underneath, carefully inspecting components such as couplers and wheel brakes to ensure the safety and smooth operation of every train.
As night fell, Chinese and Laotian workers who had completed their maintenance tasks began pasting Spring Festival couplets, hanging lanterns, and preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.
"Look, those are fireworks from Mohan!" Following Li Wenbiao's finger, the workers looked towards China with excitement. "Although the view isn't very clear, the feeling is wonderful!" Li Wenbiao said.
Li Wenbiao's colleague, Wang Haoxuan, is a train driver at the Boten turnback station. Every day, he shuttles repaired trains from Laos to China and then transports Chinese goods back to Laos. On New Year's Eve, Wang drove an international freight train from Boten Railway Station to Mohan Railway Station, where he briefly met his father, who works at the Ning'er Railway Station on the China-Laos Railway, before returning to Laos to continue his duties.
Under a drizzle, the mountainous Laotian city of Luang Prabang felt cool and comfortable. "The rainy season of this year came early, posing a challenge to flood prevention along the China-Laos Railway," said Du Yonghui, director of the Maintenance and Management Center of the China-Laos Railway in Luang Prabang.
Laos, located in a tropical region, receives heavy rainfall, with an average precipitation of 1843.2 millimeters in 2023. "We began flood prevention inspections before the Spring Festival," Du Yonghui explained. The Maintenance and Management Center formed two specialized flood prevention inspection teams comprising 30 key personnel from both countries to improve inspection coverage and efficiency.
The Maintenance and Management Center, known as the "steward" of the Laos section of the China-Laos Railway, is responsible for the maintenance and management of railway infrastructure such as power supply, communication, signaling, and vehicles. During the Spring Festival, most workers of the center from both countries remained at their posts to ensure the safety of this golden passage.
With bridges and tunnels accounting for 62.8% of the Laos section of the China-Laos Railway, inspection and maintenance of tunnels and bridges are key to ensuring railway safety, alongside flood prevention.
Take the example of the Luang Prabang Mekong River Super Bridge, with a total length of 1458.9 meters. Considering the deep waters and swift currents of the Mekong River, this bridge is the most challenging and technologically complex bridge along the entire route, as it spans the Mekong River with 5 main piers located in the river. The average age of the Chinese and Laotian employees responsible for the maintenance of this bridge was less than 28 years old. However, they showed no sign of slackening in their inspection and maintenance of the bridge.
They constantly used small hammers to tap for "diagnosis," and the tapping sound echoes through the valley. "The sound of intact bolts differs from that of broken ones, just as hollow concrete differs from solid concrete." Bridge and tunnel team leader Yi Yongdi, who has worked for many years, has long mastered the skill of "diagnosing by sound." Though they must complete the "physical examination" of 34 piers within one day, they have to climb down to carefully inspect each one. This high-intensity work is also a huge challenge for these young men.
"The workers are stationed along the thousand-mile railway line. They identify problems, eliminate hidden dangers, and guard the China-Laos Railway to safeguard the travel routes of countless passengers," said Du Yonghui.
From Kunming to Vientiane, the 1035-kilometer-long China-Laos Railway closely connects China and Laos, continuously enhancing the well-being of the people of both countries and the region.
French tourist Léon, accompanied by two children, took photos of the entire station with his mobile phone as soon as he entered the waiting hall of Vientiane Railway Station. "I bring my children to Laos for tourism, and we have visited places like Vientiane, Vang Vieng, and Luang Prabang. Laos has such a modern train system, which is amazing. Traveling by train here is convenient and cheap, and the children say it's very comfortable."
"Every month, I take the train from Vientiane back to Meuang Xay to visit my grandmother. It used to take a day and a night by car, but now it only takes a few hours to get home. My grandmother is over 90 years old, and she recently took the train with my family to Vientiane, fulfilling her wish to ride the train," said Anqiao, a Laotian girl working in Vientiane.
Since its inauguration in April 2023, the China-Laos Railway international passenger trains have been operating one pair daily. As of December 2023, a total of 110,900 international passengers have been transported, making the cheap, convenient, and comfortable mode of travel the first choice for many cross-border tourists, students, and business travelers.
Thonglou, editor-in-chief of the Vientiane Times, said that Laos used to have inconvenient transportation, but the opening of the China-Laos Railway has provided great convenience to tourists from various countries. This year is Visit Laos Year 2024, and the China-Laos Railway "is expected to propel Laos's tourism industry to a new height."
Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, in an interview with our reporter, said that the China-Laos Railway greatly facilitates people's travel, promotes the export of goods, attracts a large number of tourists, and "achieves both economic and social benefits, playing an important role in promoting connectivity, enhancing regional economic and trade exchanges, and driving economic prosperity along the route."
(Xinhua News Agency, Vientiane)
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