Two Sessions: Deputy says railway opens golden corridor

The techinicians are checking the conditions of durians on the trees in Tailand (Photo/Xinhua)

"The opening of the China-Laos railway has reduced the cost of fruit transportation, and it only takes seven days for fresh durians on Thai trees to arrive in Kunming dinner tables through the China-Laos railway," said Xu Ance, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress and general manager of China Railway Kunming Group.

After landing in Kunming on the international cargo train of the China-Laos railway, the fresh fruits from Southeast Asia countries will soon be sold throughout China.

By the end of February this year, the China-Laos railway had transported more than 11.9 million passengers and 16 million tons of cargo since it was put into operation on December 3, 2021.

As a remarkable project of the Belt and Road cooperation, the China-Laos Railway has greatly reduced the time and costs in cross-border cargo transportation, and increased demand for international logistics.

The freight train of the China-Laos Railway is loaded with fresh fruit from Thailand (Photo/ Xinhua)

At present, more than 20 provinces in China have opened China-Laos international freight trains, with their goods reaching Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Singapore and more.

The railway has greatly reduced the trips between China and the Mekong countries. Now it only takes 55 hours to travel from China’s Kunming to Thailand’s Bangkok.

Xu said that the railway authorities will further connect the Lancang-Mekong express trains on the line with the China-Europe freight trains and the International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, so as to maximize the effect of China-Laos railway.

Source: Xinhua Net; Trans-editing by Mo Yingyi