Laos railway news
News about railway and urban rail infrastructure, operations, policy and the supply industry in Laos.
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In depthLaos: Nascent link fosters tourist and cargo trade
Travel on the Laos – China Railway is booming as tourists are keen to visit and locals are eager to ride. Peter Janssen reports.
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NewsAgreement signed to develop Vietnam – Laos railway
ASIA: An agreement has been signed to study the construction of a 555 km railway between Vietnam and Laos.
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NewsLaos – China passenger service starts running
INTERNATIONAL: Regular cross-border passenger services began running between Kunming and Vientiane on April 13. The 1 024 km standard gauge route linking Laos and China was opened in December 2021, but the line could only be used by freight trains because of Chinese restrictions on international ...
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NewsTranshipment facility opened at Laos-Thailand break-of-gauge
LAOS: The Vientiane South freight transhipment yard opened on July 1, at the break of gauge where the standard gauge railway from China which opened in December last year meets an extension of the metre-gauge line which enters Laos from Thailand. The first traffic was a ...
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In depthSoutheast Asia: Tackling the break of gauge
Passenger and freight facilities are being developed in both Vientiane and Nong Khai to facilitate increased rail traffic across the Laos-Thailand border.
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NewsFreight-only launch for Laos – China rail link
LAOS: The 418 km railway linking Vientiane and the Chinese border at Boten was formally opened for revenue services with a ceremony on December 3, marking the 46th anniversary of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The government hopes that the line will help to stimulate the ...
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NewsTunnel breakthrough marks progress in China – Laos link
Photo: Xinhua Construction teams celebrate completion of the Koulong tunnel in Laos earlier this year. CHINA: On August 13 construction teams holed through the 14∙5 km Duoji tunnel in the Mojiang Hani district, northeast of the town of Pu’er Simao. The tunnel is one of the most ...
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Country profileMalaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam & Laos - country map
Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam & Laos: national rail network map
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Organisations
Lao National Railway Authority
The first railway in Laos, a 3·5 km line from Nong Khai (Thailand) north over the border Friendship Bridge to Thanaleng southeast of Vientiane, opened in March 2009. It is operated by State Railway of Thailand. See Vientiane city map. Plans to extend the line beyond Vientiane were dropped in ...
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News
Rail agreements reached at the Belt & Road Forum
INTERNATIONAL: Railway projects were included in the ‘283 concrete results’ announced by the hosts following the Second Belt & Road Forum for International Co-operation, which was held in Beijing on April 25-27. The forum was organised by the Chinese government to bring together heads of government and other senior figures ...
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NewsConstruction starts on China – Laos railway
LAOS: Ceremonies were held in the northern city of Luang Prabang on December 25 to mark the launch of construction of the 414·3 km rail link from the Chinese border to Vientiane. Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith formally turned the first sod and struck a gong to mark the start ...
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NewsLaos railway construction contracts awarded
LAOS: Laos-China Railway Co Ltd has awarded China Railway Group subsidiaries contracts for the civil works on sections I, II and III of the Boten – Vientiane railway. The three contracts awarded to China Railway No 5 Engineering Group, China Railway International Group and China Railway No 8 Engineering Group ...
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NewsCeremony launches Laos railway construction
LAOS: A groundbreaking ceremony in Vientiane on December 2 marked the formal start of construction of a Chinese-backed standard gauge main line running north-south through Laos from the Chinese border to the Thai frontier at Nong Khai. Lao President Choummaly Sayasone ceremonially dug into a pyramid of sand, telling assembled ...
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NewsTrans-Laos railway construction could begin in November
LAOS: Construction of the planned standard gauge corridor running north-south through Laos could begin next month, according to officials in Vientiane. The railway would be an extension of China Railways’ existing line running south from Kunming in Yunnan province towards Vietnam. The Chinese and Lao governments agreed to develop ...
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NewsDesign work starts on east-west Laos rail corridor
LAOS: Preparatory works are underway to construct a 220 km double-track electrified railway between Savannakhet on the Mekong river and the Vietnamese frontier at Lao Bao. The project is being undertaken under a PPP concession worth up to US$5bn, which the Laotian government awarded to Malaysian contractor ...
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NewsMalaysian firm to build east-west corridor in Laos
LAOS: Watched by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Laotian Deputy Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, a contract was signed in Vientiane on November 5 for construction of a 220 km railway running east-west across Laos from the Thai to Vietnamese borders. Under an agreement with the ...
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NewsChinese loan agreements revive trans-Laos project
LAOS: Vientiane has agreed to accept US$7bn of loans from China to restart construction of the stalled 420 km north-south railway linking the capital to China’s Yunnan province via Phônhông, Vangvieng, Luang Phabang, Oudomxay and Louang Namtha. The cross-border project dates back to 2009, when an agreement ...
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NewsCross-border line to reach Vientiane
LAOS: Within a budget of 495m baht, the cross-border railway between Nong Khai in Thailand and Tha Na Laeng in Laos is to be extended to the capital Vientiane, where a station and railway offices would be built. The 7·8 km extension should be completed ‘within two ...
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NewsLaos cross-border freight hopes
ASIA: A senior official at State Railway of Thailand has raised hopes that freight services may be introduced later this year over the Friendship Bridge to the Laotian railhead at Tha Na Laeng. 'Hopefully this year we can run the first freight service', Voravuth Mala, Director of Marketing at SRT ...
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NewsInaugural train begins Laos royal visit
LAOS: Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand presided over the inaugural cross-border rail journey into Laos on March 5. Following a ceremony at Nong Khai station, the princess travelled across the Mekong to Tha Na Laeng, where she began a two-day official visit to Laos. The Thai-Lao Friendship bridge ...