First China-Laos-Thailand round-trip freight train departs
The first China-Laos-Thailand round-trip freight train departed from Kunming capital of southwest China's Yunnan province on February 8 and is expected to arrive in Bangkok in 55 hours.
This aerial photo taken on November 24, 2022 shows a freight train to enter the China-Laos Railway's Friendship Tunnel connecting Mohan in southwest China's Yunnan province and Boten in northern Laos. (Photo:Xinhua/VNA)
Hanoi (VNA)🐲 – The first China-Laos-Thailand round-tripfreight train departed from Kunming capital of southwest China's Yunnan province on February 8 and is expected to arrive in Bangkok in 55 hours.
The train was loaded with 19 cold-chain containers withabout 280 tonnes of fresh vegetables, Xinhua News Agency reported. According to the China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd, the trainwill first stop at Vientiane South Station in Laos for reloading and thenhead for Bangkok via the Thai meter-gauge railway. The route helps shorten thetravel time by about 24 hours compared to the previous route, while alsoreducing the transportation cost by more than 20%. When the train returns, it will carry seasonal fruits suchas Thai longan and durian. The 1,035 km China-Laos railway line passes through 30provinces and autonomous regions in China and creates connections with eightSoutheast Asian countries. Currently, many countries have cross-border freighttransport activities via this railway, including Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar.The variety of goods transported has expanded from 10 types whenthe railway was first opened to over 1,200 types currently. The total freightvolume on this route now exceeds 2.5 million tonnes./.
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This aerial photo taken on November 24, 2022 shows a freight train to enter the China-Laos Railway's Friendship Tunnel connecting Mohan in southwest China's Yunnan province and Boten in northern Laos. (Photo:Xinhua/VNA) 
