A ground-breaking ceremony was held this week for the new Laos-China railway, the Vientiane Times reports.
Work commenced in Vientiane, marking the start of a major project that will eventually stretch 427km from the Lao capital to Boten on the Chinese border.
The single-track line will include 11 passenger stations, 170 bridges stretching a total of 69km (or 16% of the total line), and 72 tunnels totalling 183km (43% of the total line). Trains will be able to run at speeds of up to 200kph on the flat stretch of track between Vientiane and Vang Vieng.
Lao Deputy Prime Minister, Somsavat Lengsavad, was reported saying that construction of the CNY38.7 billion (US$6bn) line would take about five years to complete.
The Lao railway line will connect with the Chinese rail network up to Kunming in the north, and with Thailand’s railway network from Nong Khai, which lies across the Mekong River from Vientiane, in the south.
It will form a key part of the Kunming-Singapore Railway project, which will eventually stretch 3,000km through China, Laos, Thailand and Malaysia.
Comments are closed.