Laos-Thailand cross-border passenger train service begins operation

The Laos-Thailand cross-border passenger train service officially started operation on Friday, enhancing rail connectivity between Vientiane and Bangkok while linking up with the China-Laos railway.

The first train on the rail line set off Friday night from the Bangkok Apiwat Station in the Thai capital and arrived at Khamsavath Station in Vientiane after a 10-hour trip covering a distance of 634 kilometers.

A welcome ceremony for the first group of passengers was held Saturday morning at Khamsavath, just 17 kilometers away from the Laos-China Railway Vientiane Station.

In the past, the railway link between Thailand and Laos spanned only 3.5 kilometers and mainly operated freight trains. The commencement of the cross-border passenger service means not only that Thai travelers can venture deeper into Laos to experience the country's beautiful scenery, but can even conveniently transfer to the China-Laos railway line for a journey to China.

The ticket prices range from 281 to 874 baht (about 7 to 24 U.S. dollars). Railway staff told China Central Television (CCTV) that the tickets were quickly sold out.

"When we learned the new railway line was opening, our family came here to experience it. We want to see the Patuxai Victory Gate in Vientiane and taste local cuisines. We learned that we can continue to take a train from Laos to Kunming, China. We are very interested in this. We will consider traveling to China via the China-Laos railway on our next trip," said a tourist from Thailand.

Officials and railway operators said the new train service, as part of the cooperative projects between the two governments to facilitate cross-border travel, is expected to enhance regional connectivity and bolster economic, trade, and tourism cooperation.

"We have prepared shuttle buses for passengers heading for Vientiane Station on the China-Laos Railway. They can continue to take the train to China. Some passengers choose to travel across Laos along the China-Laos Railway line. We will provide quality services for all of them," said Daochinda Siharath, director-general of Lao National Railway State Enterprise.

"The Thai-China high-speed rail project is underway. And today, the passenger train between Thailand and Laos is launched. Tourists can take this train and change to the Laos-China Railway route to enter China. It forms a two-way exchange. This is the result of the cooperation in promoting rail connectivity among Thailand, Laos and China," said Surapong Piyachote, Thailand's Deputy Minister of Transport.

Laos-Thailand cross-border passenger train service begins operation

Laos-Thailand cross-border passenger train service begins operation

Laos-Thailand cross-border passenger train service begins operation

Laos-Thailand cross-border passenger train service begins operation

Laos-Thailand cross-border passenger train service begins operation

The ongoing China-ASEAN Expo serves as a bridge for China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to boost trade flows, helping both sides reap shared development dividends.

Scheduled to run from Sept 17 to 21 in Nanning City of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the event draws more than 3,400 exhibitors from over 70 countries and regions.

This year, Timor-Leste is participating for the first time as a full ASEAN member and a co-host of the expo, with participants noting results have exceeded expectations, bolstered by China's vast market.

"I brought 60 packages of 250-gram coffee, which would be sold out in one day. Now I'm thinking that China market is open for everybody and it's very huge," said an exhibitor from Timor-Leste.

Participants also hailed the construction of China's Pinglu Canal, which officially opened to traffic on Wednesday.

The 134.2-km-long canal runs from Hengzhou, a county-level city in Guangxi, to the Beibu Gulf, the closest maritime outlet for much of southwest China.

The canal becomes a cost-competitive river-sea intermodal shortcut connecting ASEAN producers with the vast consumer market in southwest China, said the participants.

"In the past, shipments into the southwest China usually went by sea to Guangzhou and then overlands. Too many handover made it hard to keep products fresh. Losses were high and transit time was unreliable. Now that the canal is open, we can enter [the] Guangxi [Zhuang Autonomous Region] directly from the Beibu Gulf and move on to Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan restaurants, faster onto the supermarket shelves and tables in the southeast [part of China]," said an exhibitor from Vietnam.

With the formal signing of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) 3.0 Upgrade Protocol in Oct 2025, bilateral cooperation has expanded beyond economic and trade areas to emerging fields such as the digital economy and the green economy.

"I am looking for an investor to develop agriculture and integrated tourism with us in Malaysia," said an exhibitor from Malaysia.

Economic ties between China and ASEAN have continued to deepen. Bilateral trade topped 1 trillion U.S. dollars for the first time in 2025, totaling 1.05 trillion dollars, up 7.4 percent year on year. In the first seven months of 2026, trade between the two sides reached 744.41 billion dollars, an increase of 24.7 percent year on year and accounting for 21.8 percent of China's total foreign trade.

China has remained ASEAN's largest trading partner for 17 consecutive years, while ASEAN has been China's largest trading partner for six successive years.

China-ASEAN Expo boosts bilateral cooperation, delivers shared dividends