China-Laos Railway fully opened for operation

December 3

Connecting Kunming and Vientiane

The whole line adopts Chinese standard

China-Laos Railway fully opened for operation

Laos has since entered the era of railway transportation

As a landmark project of the “Belt and Road” and China-Laos friendship, the China-Laos Railway will provide strong support for accelerating the construction of the China-Laos Economic Corridor and building a community with a shared future for China and Laos.

The total length of the China-Laos Railway is 1,035 kilometers. The Kunming-Yuxi section is 106 kilometers long and is a double-track electrified railway with a designed speed of 200 kilometers per hour. It was completed and opened to traffic in December 2016. The newly built Yuxi-Mohan section is 507 kilometers long and is a double-track and single-track electrified railway with a designed speed of 160 kilometers per hour. It is constructed by China Railway Kunming Bureau Group Co., Ltd. under the China Railway Group. The newly built Mohan-Vientiane section is 422 kilometers long and is a single-track electrified railway with a designed speed of 160 kilometers per hour. It is constructed by the Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd., a joint venture established by China Railway International Co., Ltd. under the China Railway Group and other Chinese shareholders and the Lao National Railway Company, and is constructed in a BOT mode.

The China-Laos Railway is an international railway directly connected to the Chinese railway network. The line starts from Kunming in southwest China in the north, passes through Yuxi City, Pu'er City, Xishuangbanna Autonomous Prefecture in the south, crosses the Mohan Railway Port in China and the Mohan Railway Port in Laos, enters the northern region of Laos, and continues south through Luang Namtha Province, Oudomxay Province, Luang Prabang Province, Vientiane Province, and reaches Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

The China-Laos Railway passes through many mountain ranges and water systems. The geological structure along the line is complex and has characteristics such as high geothermal heat, high ground stress, high seismic intensity, active neotectonic movement, active geothermal water environment, active exodynamic geological conditions, and active shallow slope transformation process, making its construction extremely difficult.

The construction of the newly built Yuxi to Mohan section started in December 2015, and the Mohan to Vientiane section started in December 2016. The builders from China and Laos overcame various difficulties and the impact of the epidemic, coordinated resources, strengthened construction organization, innovated technology and methods, and promoted the project construction in a scientific, orderly, high-quality and efficient manner. They have penetrated 167 tunnels including the Anding Tunnel, Sencun No. 2 Tunnel, and Friendship Tunnel, and built 301 bridges including the Luang Prabang Mekong Bridge and the Yuanjiang Double-track Bridge. The total length of new tunnels and bridges is 712 kilometers, accounting for 76.5% of the total length of the new line; 38 new stations and 32 traction substations were built, and 1,677 kilometers of electrified railway contact networks were erected.

The construction of the China-Laos Railway has always adhered to the concept of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. From planning and line selection, construction management, to operation and maintenance, it has strictly implemented ecological and environmental protection measures, effectively avoiding environmentally sensitive areas such as the core area of ​​the Luang Prabang World Heritage Area, Vangrong Karst Tourist Scenic Area, and Olive Dam Scenic Area, and specially set up migration corridors and protective fences for wild Asian elephants; reasonably optimized earth excavation plans to minimize the impact on ground vegetation, reclaimed and reused temporary land, and leveled and restored nearly 5,000 acres of land; comprehensively used advanced technical means such as soil and water conservation, waste slag utilization, energy-saving and environmentally friendly materials, and the total greening area of ​​the entire line reached 3.07 million square meters, building a green and environmentally friendly railway.

During the construction of the China-Laos Railway, the governments of China and Laos strengthened risk prevention and control, established a clean system guarantee system, and carried out joint supervision and discipline inspection, achieving the goal of "high-quality projects and excellent cadres". The builders of China and Laos worked together to overcome difficulties, deepened the friendship between China and Laos, and participated in public welfare actions such as emergency rescue, medical assistance, and donations to support education. The construction of the project has driven 110,000 local jobs in Laos, helped Laos build nearly 2,000 kilometers of roads and canals, and purchased more than 5.1 billion yuan of local materials and supplies in Laos.

The "Lancang" EMU put into operation on the China-Laos Railway was purchased through bidding organized by the Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd. and jointly manufactured by enterprises affiliated to China CRRC Corporation Limited. During the design and manufacturing process, the China Railway Group organized the winning bidders to rely on the mature technology of China's Fuxing centralized power EMU and made adaptive improvements based on the cross-border transportation environment and line conditions. It has the characteristics of advanced technology, safety and reliability, large passenger capacity, comfortable ride, and economical operation.

The name "Lancang" comes from the ancient name of Laos, the "Lancang" Kingdom, and the Lancang River that flows through China and Laos, implying the good neighbors, good friends, good comrades, and good partnerships between the two countries. The "Lancang" EMU has a streamlined appearance and is painted in the Laotian national flag colors of "red, blue, and white", implying the "beauty of the national flag". The interior of the EMU adopts two themes of "Champa Heavenly Fragrance" and "Splendid Rivers and Mountains".

The maximum operating speed of the "Lancang" EMU is 160 kilometers per hour. It consists of 9 cars, including 1 power car, 1 first-class car and dining car, 6 second-class cars, with a capacity of 720 people. When needed, two trains can be connected for operation. The EMU carriages are spacious and bright, the air-conditioning temperature can be adjusted intelligently, the seats are ergonomically designed, and each group of seats is equipped with Chinese and Laotian standard power sockets. Passenger information display, broadcasting and service signs are in Chinese, Laotian and English, and are equipped with barrier-free seats, blind signs and other facilities.

Before the opening of the China-Laos Railway, China and Laos carefully organized various preparatory work, installed monitoring and early warning systems such as rainfall, strong winds, and foreign object intrusion at key locations along the line, and took the initiative to prevent various natural disasters; orderly completed the project's static acceptance, dynamic acceptance, operation test, equipment test, and safety assessment, and carried out comprehensive fine-tuning of equipment and facilities to ensure that the line is fully ready for operation; installed computer-networked ticketing, passenger service and other information systems at major passenger stations in the Laos section, and scientifically designed entry and exit lines to provide the Lao people with a convenient and warm travel experience; carefully selected and equipped more than 1,100 operation management and equipment maintenance personnel, including more than 500 Chinese employees and more than 600 Lao employees, all of whom have undergone rigorous training and examinations and are qualified to take up their posts.

In the early stage of the opening of the China-Laos Railway, the Laotian section was operated and maintained by China Railway Kunming Bureau Group Co., Ltd. entrusted by the Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd. The railway departments of China and Laos have formulated a train operation plan under the conditions of epidemic prevention and control. Between Kunming and Vientiane South, two pairs of cross-border freight trains are operated daily; between Vientiane and Boten and Kunming and Mohan, point-to-point EMU passenger trains are operated. Among them, two pairs of EMU trains are operated daily between Vientiane and Boten, and a maximum of 17.5 pairs of EMU trains can be operated daily between Kunming and Mohan. The two sides will dynamically adjust the passenger and freight train operation plan according to the epidemic prevention and control situation and changes in passenger and freight demand. After the China-Laos Railway is put into operation, Kunming to Mohan can be reached in 5 hours and 20 minutes at the fastest, and Boten to Vientiane can be reached in 3 hours and 20 minutes at the fastest. Including the customs clearance time at the port, passengers can reach Vientiane from Kunming in about 10 hours at the fastest.

In the initial stage of operation of the China-Laos Railway, 25 stations including Kunming, Yuxi, Yuanjiang, Pu'er, Xishuangbanna, Mengsai, Luang Prabang, Vangrong, Penghong and Vientiane were put into operation along the entire line, presenting the distinctive feature of "one station, one scene". The architectural style of the stations fully integrates the regional culture and is equipped with advanced and complete service facilities, which can provide high-quality services for passengers or cargo transportation. Among them, Pu'er Station is designed with the concept of "Ancient Tea-Horse Road, Yunnan-Dian Post Station", with 5 platforms and 8 lines, and is known as "a station with the fragrance of tea"; Xishuangbanna Station is equipped with 5 platforms and 7 lines, and its roof is shaped like a dancing peacock with its tail spread out, perfectly presenting the design concept of "peacock dancing in colorful clouds, smart Banna"; Luang Prabang Station is located in the "Pure Land on Earth and the Ancient Capital of Upper Laos", with 2 platforms and 4 lines, and is designed with the "human"-shaped roof of the Xiangtong Temple in Laos as the image, and is the station with the most exquisite and complex architectural structure; Vientiane Station is known as the "City of Sandalwood and Capital of Forests", with 3 platforms and 5 lines, and is the largest passenger station in Laos, with a station building area of ​​14,500 square meters, which can accommodate up to 2,500 people waiting for trains at the same time; Vientiane South Station is the Lao-Thai Railway Hub Station, with 5 arrival and departure lines, and the function of changing trains with railways of different gauges; Mohan and Mohan Stations adopt integrated design and cross-border interconnection key technologies, with domestic and international train arrival and departure lines, and are port stations that can realize fast customs clearance functions.

Passengers can take the China-Laos Railway EMU train to conveniently experience the unique natural scenery and cultural customs along the route. After leaving Vientiane Station, you can reach the Pha That Luang, Arc de Triomphe and other places of interest by car within half an hour; get off at Luang Prabang Station, and take a car within half an hour to appreciate the atmosphere of the thousand-year-old ancient city of Luang Prabang and visit the famous Xiangtong Temple and the Royal Palace Museum; near Vangrong Station, you can enjoy the beautiful landscape, and you can also go rafting and adventure on the Nansong River; from Xishuangbanna Station, you can take a car to the Wild Elephant Valley, Olive Dam and other nature reserves and scenic spots within 1 hour; arrive at Pu'er Station, and take a car within half an hour to experience the ancient Southern Yunnan Tea Horse Road and enjoy the original ecological tea garden scenery.

The opening and operation of the China-Laos Railway has opened up a new era of railway transportation in Laos, profoundly changed the transportation pattern of Laos, and realized Laos' long-cherished wish of changing from a "landlocked country" to a "land-linked country". It will greatly facilitate people's travel, promote the development of tourism, agriculture, water conservancy and other resources and urbanization along the line, and help the development of economic parks such as Vientiane Saysettha Comprehensive Development Zone and China-Laos Mohan-Mohan Economic Cooperation Zone. It is of great significance to strengthen the economic, social and cultural cooperation and exchanges between China and Laos, accelerate the construction of the China-Laos Economic Corridor, and build a community of shared future between China and Laos. As an important backbone of the Pan-Asian Railway, the China-Laos Railway will also become the "golden key" for Laos to connect to China in the north and to ASEAN countries such as Thailand and Malaysia in the south, and have a positive impact on the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation.

Where exactly is the China-Laos Railway being built?

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Photos: Provided by Kunming Railway Group Co., Ltd., Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd., Chen Chang, Xu Delin, Xu Zhangwei, Yang Lin, Yang Yongquan, etc.

Editor: Xie Qi

Source: China Railway