"Laos-China Railway"

Operators of the Laos-China railway have recorded over 400,000 passengers in the past six months, while more than 600,000 tonnes of freight have been shipped across the Laos-China border.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has called for expeditious development of the Udon Thani-Nong Khai railway to form a link to the Laos-China high-speed rail in a move to facilitate all-important exports.

Two containers carrying 40 tonnes of durian and one container filled with 20 tonnes of coconuts entered China for the first time on a train on Sunday.

The China-Laos Railway has transported over 1 million passengers and 500,000 tonnes of cargo since it was launched in December 2021, said the transport authorities of southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The Laos-China railway will offer Thailand more opportunities and help Chumphon become an export hub very soon, Alongkorn Ponlaboot, adviser to the minister of agriculture and cooperatives, said on Sunday.

A shipment of 500 tones of broken sticky rice will leave Thailand for Chongqing in China on Wednesday via the new Laos-China railway system, Alongkorn Polabutr, adviser to the agriculture and cooperatives minister, said on Saturday.

Three northeastern provinces will be promoted as a major domestic and international destination, with a focus on luring Chinese visitors via the China-Laos railway.

Thailand on Thursday achieved "historic" success in exporting 1,000 tonnes of Thai rice to western China’s Chongqing municipality for the first time via the E-san Gateway, the newest railway linking the Laos-China rail system.

The Department of Rail Transport (DRT), in conjunction with the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), is getting ready to turn Nong Khai province into a logistics hub for the China-Laos high-speed railway.

The Department of International Economic Affairs published a statement on Thursday saying that the opening of the China-Laos Railway on December 2, marked a key milestone for the business and commercial exchange between Asean and China.

There is a Chinese saying "to get rich, build roads first." The Lao people hoped the country, with the Laos-China railway, will become prosperous soon, and become a transportation hub in Southeast Asia to drive the development in the region.

Despite the huge opportunities presented by the Laos-China railway and Vientiane-Boten expressway, Laos needs to address the challenges they pose in order to reap the full benefits they offer.