China-Laos railway sees robust growth in passenger, freight throughput in 2024

The cross-border China-Laos Railway registered robust growth in both passenger and cargo throughput in 2024, official data show.

The China-Laos Railway handled 19.11 million passenger trips and transported 19.64 million tons of goods in 2024, up 15 percent and 10.5 percent respectively, according to the data released by China Railway Kunming Bureau Group Co., Ltd., which oversees operation of the China-Laos Railway.

In the year, the largest single-day passenger train trips handled by China-Laos Railway reached a record high of 98, with the number of passenger trips exceeding 100,000.

Currently, cross-border cargo transportation on the China-Laos Railway has covered all the 31 provincial-level regions in the Chinese mainland, as well as 19 other countries and regions, including Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.

The 1,035-km railway, a flagship project within the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, connects China's southwestern city of Kunming with the Laotian capital of Vientiane. It started operation on Dec. 3, 2021.

Chinese stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.05 percent to 4,134.02 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.86 percent higher at 14,283.00 points.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.32 percent to close at 3,328.06 points.

The ChiNext Index, together with the Shenzhen Component Index and other indices, reflects the performance of stocks listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.