China-Laos Railway’s International Freight Train Makes First Departure

On October 14, the first international freight train fully loaded with imported bananas from Laos departed from Wangjiaying West Station in Kunming, Yunnan Province, speeding north toward Pinggu District in Beijing. This marked the official launch of the China-Laos Railway's international cold chain freight service, as well as the “Beijing-Yunnan Lancang-Mekong Line” international freight train, opening up a new international logistics channel connecting Beijing, Yunnan, and Southeast Asian countries.

The train started from Vientiane South Station in Laos, arriving in Kunming after an overnight journey. From there, it continued north and will finally arrive at Mafang Station in Pinggu District, Beijing, covering a total distance of 4,000 kilometers. The 390 tons of Laotian bananas on board will be distributed from the Beijing-Pinggu Comprehensive Logistics Hub to serve the supply needs of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

China imports approximately 700,000 tons of bananas from Laos each year. With the launch of the "Beijing-Yunnan Lancang-Mekong Line" international freight train, light industry and fast-moving consumer goods, mechanical and electronic products, modern agriculture, and other advantageous industries in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region will also use this service for goods import and export distribution to Laos, Thailand, Singapore, and other countries and regions along the "Belt and Road." This will increase the volume of "road-to-rail" transportation and reduce air pollution caused by truck deliveries into Beijing.

"The freight train uses containerized transportation with end-to-end refrigeration, maximizing the benefits of multimodal transport, effectively ensuring the quality of cargo transport, providing enterprises in partner countries and regions with more convenient and efficient logistics services, further stimulating market vitality, promoting deep integration of supply chains and industrial chains, and driving high-quality regional economic development," said Wang Xiaojing, Deputy Director of the Freight Department at China Railway Kunming Group.

Since the opening of the China-Laos Railway, several international freight train services have been successfully launched, including the "Shanghai-Yunnan Lancang-Mekong Line," "Guangdong-Yunnan Lancang-Mekong Line," "Hunan-Yunnan Lancang-Mekong Line," and "Beijing-Yunnan Lancang-Mekong Line," covering major provinces and cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Hunan, and Yunnan. The operation of these trains has not only promoted comprehensive cooperation between China and Laos in economic, trade, and cultural fields but has also brought tangible benefits and welfare to the people of both countries.

Source: Yunnan Daily

<https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1812981020980083121&wfr=spider&for=pc>

Translated by LiWei