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Laos
Boten–Vientiane railway
Operation
National railway	Lao National Railway State Enterprise
Major operators	State Railway of Thailand Laos-China Railways Company Ltd.
System length
Total	434 km
Electrified	422 kilometres (262 mi)
Track gauge
Main	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge	422 kilometres (262 mi)
1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge	12 kilometres (7.5 mi)
Electrification
Main	25 kV 50 Hz AC
422 kilometres (262 mi)

Laos has 422 km (262 mi) of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge railways, primarily consisting of the Boten–Vientiane railway, which opened in December 2021. It also has a 12 km (7 mi) metre gauge railway with two stations in Vientiane, Khamsavath and Thanaleng, both of which are connected to Thailand's railway system. There are a total of 22 stations in Laos - 20 on the Boten–Vientiane railway, and 2 linking to the State Railway of Thailand.

History

Due to the mountainous geography of Laos, the country had no substantial railway infrastructure, thus traditionally rail transport has not played a significant part in Laos's transport sector.

A short portage railway, the Don Det–Don Khon narrow gauge railway, was built by the French while Laos was a part of French Indochina. The railway crossed over the islands of Don Det and Don Khon, enabling vessels, freight and passengers to travel along the Mekong River, avoiding the Khone falls which prevented navigation. The railway was abandoned in the 1940s and fell into ruin, although some remnants of the infrastructure are still in place.

In the late 1920s, work began on the Thakhek–Tan Ap railway, that would have run between Thakhek, Khammouane province and Tân Ấp station, Quảng Bình province, Vietnam through the Mụ Giạ Pass. However, the scheme was eventually scrapped in the 1930s.

It was only after the 2009 opening of the railway link from Vientiane to Thailand, as well as the 2021 opening of the Boten–Vientiane railway, connecting Vientiane to major cities in northern Laos and across the Chinese border to Kunming, that rail transport came into prominence in Laos. The railways both lie on the major railway corridor of the Kunming–Singapore railway's central line, and are also a key developmental project in Laos's national goal to become a "land-linked" economy.

Link to Thailand

The First Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge, opened in 1994, was built with provisions for a future railway included. In January 2007, work began on a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) extension of the metre-gauge State Railway of Thailand network across the Friendship Bridge to Thanaleng railway station, a new passenger and freight terminal in Dongphosy village, 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Vientiane. Test trains began running on 4 July 2008, and Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand formally inaugurated the line on 5 March 2009.

As of November 2010, Lao officials plan to convert the station into a rail cargo terminal for freight trains, allowing cargo to be transported from Bangkok into Laos more cheaply than via road. The Vientiane Logistics Park opened in December 2021. From 2009 to 2024, a shuttle train ran twice a day between Nong Khai railway station and Thanaleng station, with occasional services by the Eastern and Oriental Express.

This rail link expanded closer to Vientiane city, with services to the new Khamsavath railway station in Vientiane Prefecture. The station's inauguration ceremony took place on 31 October 2023. The express train runs from Bangkok to Vientiane officially opened on 19 July 2024.

Link to Vietnam

A line between Savannakhet and Lao Bảo (Vietnam) has been planned since 2012. A line between Vientiane and Vũng Áng port in Hà Tĩnh province (Vietnam) via Mụ Giạ Pass has also been discussed since 2007.

In July 2022, the Lao government announced a feasibility study into the Laos-Vietnam Railway Project. This would involve the construction of a rail line in two phases. The initial phase would connect Thakhek and Vũng Áng seaport in Vietnam, a distance of 139 kilometres. The second phase would connect Thakhek with Vientiane with a 312-kilometre rail line.

Link to China

Laos has a long history of negotiating with China regarding the possibility of a joint railway project. After many years of delays and negotiations, by 2015, both countries had agreed upon a revised plan and would jointly finance and operate the railway under a build-operate-transfer arrangement. Construction work worth US$1.2 billion was awarded to the China Railway Group in September 2015.

The railway was planned to link the capital Vientiane with the town of Boten at the border with China. Construction began at Luang Prabang on 25 December 2016, and the line was officially opened on 3 December 2021. The cost of the project is estimated at US$5.965 billion or RMB 37.425 billion. The railway is 60% funded with debt financing ($3.6 billion) from the Export-Import Bank of China, and the remaining 40% ($2.4 billion) by a joint venture company between the two countries, in which China holds a 70% stake.

See also

• Boten–Vientiane railway
• Kunming–Singapore railway
• Transport in Laos

References

1. Osborne, Milton E. (2001). The Mekong : turbulent past, uncertain future. Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-615-0. OCLC 59501616.
2. The only railway (ever) in Laos The International Steam Pages
3. "Transforming Lao PDR from a Land-locked to a Land-linked Economy". World Bank. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
4. Brian King. "Chinese railway could put Laos on the tourist map". CNN. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
5. "Railways in Laos".
6. "Laos link launched". Railway Gazette International. 1 March 2007.
7. "Testing takes train into Laos". Railway Gazette International. 7 July 2008.
8. "Inaugural train begins Laos royal visit". Railway Gazette International. 5 March 2009.
9. Andrew Spooner (27 February 2009). "First train to Laos". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
10. Rapeepat Mantanarat (9 November 2010). "Laos rethinks rail project". TTR Weekly. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
11. rst: Laos/Thailand: New Border Crossing Thanaleng-Nong Khai. In: IBSE-Telegram 235 (June 2010), p. 6.
12. Brendan Whyte, The Railway Atlas of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Bangkok 2010. ISBN 978-974-480-157-9, p. 157.
13. Nation, The (6 October 2022). "Thailand-Laos railway project steams ahead, operations to start in mid-2023". nationthailand. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
14. Star, The (31 October 2023). "Lao and Thai PMs inaugurate Vientiane-Khamsavath railway station; link between two countries to further boost trade". The Star. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
15. Phonevilay, Latsamy (1 July 2022). "Laos-Vietnam Railway Project to Link Vientiane with Thakhek". Laotian Times. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
16. Laos Says China to Finance Rail Link, The Wall Street Journal, 2012-10-24
17. ^ "Land-locked Laos on track for controversial China rail link". Nikkei Asian Review. 24 June 2017.
18. "Everything You Need to Know About the Laos–China Railway". The Laotian Times. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
19. "中老铁路今日通车-图片新闻-中华人民共和国交通运输部". www.mot.gov.cn. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
20. "Laos hopes for economic boost from Chinese-built railway". The Star. 28 November 2021.
21. "ເສັ້ນທາງລົດໄຟ ລາວ-ຈີນ ຈະເລີ່ມແລ່ນທົດລອງທ້າຍປີນີ້". 31 March 2021.
22. "中老铁路-新建铁路磨丁至万象线站房及相关工程施工总价承包中标结果 - 路桥资讯-桥梁要闻、会展报告、路桥政策-中国桥梁网 -".
23. "Can Laos profit from China rail link despite being US$1.5 billion in debt?". South China Morning Post. 10 December 2019.

• Rail transport in Laos