China-Laos Railway to start operation on Dec. 3

VIENTIANE, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) — After five years of construction, the China-Laos Railway, a docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos’ strategy to convert itself from a land-locked country to a land-linked hub, will start operation on Friday.

In the initial period, the railway’s Lao section may only provide container transportation, but will offer 24-hour customs clearance convenience, and will meet domestic transport needs in Laos and cross-border transportation demands.

The China-Laos Railway, with a length of 1,035 km, connects Kunming of southwestern China’s Yunnan Province and Lao capital Vientiane.

The electrified passenger and cargo railway is built with the full application of Chinese management and technical standards. The construction of the project started in December 2016.

The railway is expected to slash the land travel time between Kunming and Vientiane to less than one day.