A new round-trip freight train between Kunming and Bangkok was launched on Tuesday, extending the China-Laos Railway into Thailand. The train carries 19 cold chain containers, able to hold 286 metric tons of fresh vegetables, and the trip takes 55 hours.
China Railway Kunming Group Co Ltd, the operator, said the train runs first to Vientiane in Laos, where the cargo is transshipped, then on to Bangkok. Against the old combination of rail and road, the journey is a day shorter and costs at least 20 percent less. Heading back, the train is to carry a full load of seasonal fruit such as longan and durian.
One network from customs to finance
Xiao Kunman, chief executive of the Southeast Asia branch of ZTO Express, said the service ties together customs clearance, cold chain transportation, logistics guarantee, supply chain and financial services. He described it as efficient, stable, convenient and low-cost rail logistics between China and Southeast Asia.
Xu Chao, deputy general manager of the container center at Kunming Railway, one end of the route, said staff are tightening the organization of cold chain goods and working with customs to shorten clearance times. “The China-Laos-Thailand round-trip train carries goods both ways, greatly cutting time and costs,” he said.
Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, called trade between China and Thailand “highly complementary.” The train, he said, should lower logistics costs and give more stable transport, which lets companies plan production in advance. He also said it supports the revival of the China-ASEAN economy.
The wider railway
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership pact took effect in January 2022, and industry experts say demand for cross-border logistics has risen since. The China-Laos Railway, a landmark Belt and Road project, serves cargo bound for Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Singapore. The range of goods it carries has grown from 10 to more than 1,200 types, and official data show it has moved more than 2.5 million tons of cargo.
