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Monday, October 13, 2025
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Laos-China Railway Transported Over 15 Million Passengers Since Early 2025

This Week

The Laos-China Railway (LCR) transported 15.48 million passengers from January through 8 October this year, a 2.38 percent increase over the same period in 2024.

Cross-border travel totaled nearly 200,000 passengers, up 3.17 percent year-on-year, state media reported. The Lao section has served over 2.6 million passengers so far this year. 

The railway has carried nearly 60 million total passengers across 84,000 train operations, attracting visitors from 115 countries and regions. International ridership on cross-border services has exceeded 595,000.

Daily operations in Laos have expanded from four trains at launch to 18 trains per day, substantially improving travel efficiency. 

The Vientiane-Kunming service, launched in April 2023, has grown rapidly in popularity, with monthly passenger volumes along the full route surging from 600,000 to over 1.6 million.

Freight Growth and Regional Trade Expansion

Freight transport has also seen strong growth. As of September 2025, the railway handled over 67.6 million tons of cargo, including 15 million tons of cross-border shipments, according to China Railway Kunming Bureau Group Co., Ltd. The corridor now connects Laos to 19 countries and regions, facilitating bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

Major Lao exports include tropical fruits, cassava, rubber, and minerals, while imports from China encompass electronics, vehicles, solar panels, and consumer goods.

The 422-kilometer Boten-Vientiane Railway, a flagship Belt and Road Initiative project valued at USD 6 billion, has transformed Laos’s regional connectivity and established the landlocked nation as a strategic logistics hub within ASEAN.

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