Every day, Laos’ first high-speed train links its capital Vientiane to Boten, a city up on the Chinese border. The train carries goods and people up and down its 414km route, a fair proportion of it going through tunnels in the mountainous north, the South China Morning Post reported.
In the northeast of Thailand, there are plans for a rail line to connect via a new bridge over the Mekong to the Lao section, the report said, although that could taken another six years to build. This route is part of Beijing’s global trade strategy known as the Belt and Road Initiative. It aims to eventually connect Chinese trade and tourists right down through Bangkok and Malaysia to Singapore, so that the economies of Southeast Asia become strongly tied to China in the north.
Read the full report: South China Morning Post.
ALSO READ:
China Railways Handle 90m Holiday Trips – Shanghai Daily
Laos Desperate For Speedy Economic Lift From China Rail Link
China rail construction to rise by 100 bn yuan
