The China-Laos Railway handled over 8.5 million passenger trips and transported 11.2 million tonnes of cargo since its launch a year ago, the railway's operator has said.

The railway has provided a convenient and efficient means of travel for residents from both countries, and also helped smooth logistics between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.

The section in China has handled 7.2 million passenger trips since its launch, with the number of daily passengers reaching up to 50,000. Meanwhile, the section in Laos has handled 1.3 million passenger trips in the period, with the number of daily passengers reaching up to 8,200, said the company.

Among the cargo transported, the cross-border transportation volume has reached 1.9 million tonnes, comprising over 1,200 kinds of goods such as fertilizers, electrical appliances, photovoltaic products and cold-chain fruits.

Reviving tourism in Laos

The latest report issued by the Tourism Development Department under the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism at the end of August suggested the outlook for the country's tourism industry is positive.

The full operation of the China-Laos Railway, and the appeal of the scenic Vangvieng, the Luang Prabang World Heritage Site and the low value of the kip (Lao currency), are among the main attractions for visitors from neighboring countries, said the report.

Deputy Head of Luang Prabang province's Information, Culture and Tourism Department Chansamone Thipphavanh told local media recently that in the first 10 months of 2022, 335,794 tourists, comprising 85.27 percent of the total, arrived in Luang Prabang by train.

Boosting cross-border trade

The total quantity of freight transported by the China-Laos Railway had exceeded 10 million tonnes as of November 7, according to China Railway Kunming Bureau Group. Among the total, the cross-border cargo transportation volume topped 1.8 million tonnes, with its value hitting 12 billion yuan (about $1.7 billion), it said.

Xu Jiefeng, director of the marketing department of Kunming East Railway Station, said international freight trains on the China-Laos Railway make the logistics of transportation between the two countries fast and cost-controllable, adding that since the opening of the railway, its freight transportation volume has increased month by month.

During a recent exclusive interview with China Media Group, Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith said Lao people are proud of the railway.

"Laos is a landlocked country, and this railway enables the country to develop a logistics network leading to other countries in the region. It will attract more investors and tourists to Laos," said Sisoulith.

"I believe the China-Laos Railway will extend beyond Laos to other ASEAN countries. By then, our mutually beneficial relationship will see greater development," the president added.

Read more:

China-Laos Railway facilitates trade between China, ASEAN countries

So far, 25 provincial-level regions in China have operated international freight trains on the China-Laos Railway, and freight transportation has covered countries and regions including Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Singapore.

Promoting friendship, providing development opportunities

The China-Laos Railway's Lao section has led to the creation of more than 110,000 jobs for Lao people since its opening and has drawn the interest of numerous Chinese and local young talents who pursue their professional careers on the railway.

"Because we speak different languages, it was a bit difficult to communicate with each other at first, but our Chinese colleagues are very kind. They patiently teach us without hesitation everything we need to know to do our jobs. That's what impressed me the most," Sida Phengphongsawanh, a 23-year-old woman who worked as a locomotive maintenance engineer, told Xinhua in an interview.

She added that working and spending time together have brought her and her Chinese colleagues closer.

Sida Phengphongsawanh was one of the over 1,000 Lao trainees on a series of courses on train driving, scheduling and maintenance and railway operation organized by the Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd. (LCRC), a joint venture based in Vientiane, Laos, that is responsible for the operation of the railway's Lao section.

Also, as part of the larger infrastructure project, 40 people from Laos are now receiving training on railway technology in China's Kunming, as the country is in great need of specialists in the field.

"We've learned a lot here in terms of both Chinese language and railway knowledge. The school has arranged a Chinese peer for each of us to help with the language learning. And apart from theoretical studies, there are also simulated training courses to adopt skills," Khamphout Xayyakhouthong, one of the trainees, told CGTN.

Upon the completion of the two-year program, the trainees will work as teachers at a railway vocational school in their own country, contributing to the better operation of the cross-border railway.

The China-Laos Railway connects Kunming in Yunnan Province with the Lao capital Vientiane. The 1,035-kilometer railway, a landmark project of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, started operation on December 3, 2021.

Read more: Graphics: China-Laos railway illustrated

(With input from Xinhua)