Chinanews.com, December 2. According to China National Railway Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as China Railway Group), as of December 2, the China-Laos Railway has been in operation for one year, handed over a brilliant report card, and sent a total of 850 passengers. 10,000 person-times and 11.2 million tons of cargo, and the transportation safety remained stable.
According to the person in charge of the International Department of China Railway Group, since the opening of the China-Laos Railway, the China Railway Group has adhered to high standards, sustainability, and benefited the people's livelihood, and has worked closely with the Lao side to effectively maintain and operate the China-Laos Railway and develop Good, good construction, continuous growth of passenger and cargo volume, significant improvement of service quality, continuous enhancement of radiation effect, and increasingly prominent role of the international logistics golden channel, serving the people of the two countries to travel conveniently and efficiently, smoothing the domestic and international double cycle, and promoting the China-Laos Economic Corridor Construction played a positive role.
"Lancang" passed the China-Laos Railway Luang Prabang Bridge across the Mekong River. Photo courtesy of China Railway International Corporation
First, the travel of passengers is convenient and efficient.
The "Fuxing" and "Lancang" EMUs are safe, green, fast, and comfortable to operate, and have greatly shortened the time and space distance between cities along the line. They are favored by the people of the two countries and become the first choice for travel.
The railway department scientifically analyzed the changes in passenger flow, accurately deployed transport capacity, enriched the supply of passenger transport products, and optimized station and train service measures, which better met the travel needs of passengers.
On the domestic section, an average of 42 passenger trains are operated per day, with a maximum of 65 trains per day, and 50,000 passengers have been dispatched, with a total of 7.2 million passengers dispatched; multilingual services and a new ticket system for time-counting tickets and commuter tickets have been implemented. Launched air-rail combined transport products to continuously improve passenger travel experience.
In the Laos section, 6 passenger trains are operated on average per day, with a maximum of 10 trains in a single day, and nearly 8,200 passengers have been transported, with a total of 1.3 million passengers transported; passenger stations such as Gaxi, Meng'a, and Namo have been opened successively. At the beginning of the opening, the number of 7 stations has increased to 10, realizing the parallel operation of EMUs and ordinary speed trains, opening ticket offices in major cities in Laos, and extending the time for pre-sale tickets, which greatly facilitates the travel of Laotian people by train.
Second, the strong growth of cargo transportation.
The China-Laos Railway has built a convenient international logistics channel between China and ASEAN. The transportation time and logistics costs have been greatly reduced, and the transportation demand is very strong.
The railway department has strengthened the cargo transportation organization, improved transportation capacity and efficiency, and the freight volume has continued to rise. The monthly freight volume and cross-border freight volume of the China-Laos Railway have repeatedly hit new highs. At present, they have increased by about 3.5 times and 4 times respectively compared with the first month of opening. A total of more than 1.9 million tons of cross-border goods have been sent.
Strengthen the construction of freight infrastructure, the transshipment yard of Vientiane South Railway Station has been completed, and the China-Laos-Thailand Railway has realized interconnection; 14 freight stations have been opened on the whole line, and overseas container return points in Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Haiphong and other cities have been established. The transportation of goods is more convenient; strengthen the communication and coordination of customs departments, actively promote the fast customs clearance and customs transit mode, greatly improve the efficiency of customs clearance at ports, gradually reduce the time of customs clearance of goods, and realize the fastest 26-hour direct delivery from Kunming to Vientiane; reduce and exempt railway container deposits and container fees , to further reduce logistics costs; innovate the international transportation mode of "China-Laos Railway + China-Europe Railway Express" and "China-Laos Railway + Western Land-Sea New Corridor Train", and launch the China-Laos "Lanmei Express Line" with fixed points, regular schedules, fixed routes, and scheduled train times The number of international freight trains and cross-border freight trains has increased from 2 trains per day at the beginning of its opening to 12 trains per day at present.
Vientiane Station of the China-Laos Railway.
Photo courtesy of China Railway International Corporation
The third is safe and stable operation and management.
China has sent 540 technical management personnel covering various railway professional fields to Laos to assist Laos in carrying out railway operation and management; it has strengthened the training of local trainees in Laos, and more than 700 Lao employees have participated in the operation of the China-Laos Railway after passing the training. Laos' first generation of railway technicians.
Employees from China and Laos have worked together, widely used advanced technologies such as satellite maps and drones, strengthened inspections, repairs and maintenance of infrastructure, and carried out in-depth special safety rectifications such as flood control to ensure that the quality of equipment and facilities continues to be in good condition. Overcome the severe test of heavy passenger and cargo transportation and natural disasters such as heavy rainy seasons and earthquakes, ensuring the safety and smoothness of international transportation channels; strengthening ecological and environmental protection along the line, creating a green corridor for the China-Laos Railway, aiming at crossing more than 10 Asian elephant family activity areas According to the actual situation, measures such as setting up patrol booths, fences and prevention and early warning systems were adopted to minimize the interference to wild elephant activities and realize the harmonious coexistence between man and nature; in strict accordance with the requirements of the governments of China and Laos, implement epidemic prevention and control measures at stations and trains , Strengthen temperature measurement, ventilation and disinfection when entering and leaving the station, set up isolated seats, strengthen the self-protection of employees, and create a healthy and safe travel environment.
The "Lancang" is running on the Xinhe Nanli River Bridge on the China-Laos Railway.
Photo courtesy of China Railway International Corporation
Fourth, the radiation effect is significantly enhanced.
Since the opening of the China-Laos Railway for one year, it has promoted regional connectivity and mutual benefit, brought real opportunities and dividends to enterprises and people in China, Laos and neighboring ASEAN countries, and injected strong impetus into the economic and social development along the line .
The China-Laos Railway has activated the tourism economy. From Vientiane, Laos to Luang Prabang, an important tourist city in the north, 85% of tourists choose to take the train, which has promoted the rapid development of the tourism economy along the line; promoted the development of resources, and effectively promoted the comprehensive development of Vientiane Saisettha The development of economic parks such as the Boten Special Economic Zone and the Boten Special Economic Zone has accelerated the flow of people, goods, capital, and information, and promoted the expansion and upgrading of various industries along the line. The output of iron ore, cassava flour, and rubber in Laos increased by 180% respectively. 10,000 tons, 2 million tons, 1 million tons; to promote economic and trade exchanges, China-Laos railway cross-border goods have covered Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Singapore and other countries jointly building the "Belt and Road". From more than 10 types of fertilizers and department stores in the initial stage of opening to more than 1,200 types of electronics, photovoltaics, and cold-chain fruits.
In the next step, the National Railway Group will comprehensively summarize the experience of the China-Laos Railway in the past year, actively promote the development and operation of the Internet ticketing system and the construction of information technology in transportation and production, continue to strengthen the prevention and control of the epidemic in stations and trains, and open the China-Laos Railway when conditions permit. Overseas passenger trains will continue to improve the quality of China-Laos railway passenger and cargo transportation, making greater contributions to the high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" and benefiting the people of China and Laos.
(China New Finance and Economics)