The China-Laos Railway has transported over 70.7 million passengers and moved more than 81.5 million tonnes of cargo since it commenced operations on December 3, 2021, as of April 12, 2026. This includes over 18.6 million tonnes of cross-border freight, underscoring its growing significance as an international golden corridor.
Monthly passenger volume along the entire railway has surged from 600,000 trips initially to a peak of 2.25 million. On the Chinese section, daily passenger train services have increased from 8 to a maximum of 86, with a single-day record of over 90,000 passengers. In Laos, daily services have risen from 4 to 18, with conventional trains now operating with more than 10 carriages and carrying up to 12,000 passengers per day at peak times.
A primary factor behind the rapid growth in ridership is the combination of hardware advantages, cost efficiency, and supportive policies, alongside strong tourism and business demand. For instance, travel time from Kunming to Vientiane has been reduced from approximately 30 hours by road to about 9 hours by rail, enabling same-day arrival. Within Laos, the journey from Vientiane to Luang Prabang now takes just 3 hours by train, compared to 12–24 hours by road. As a result, 85% of local travelers now prefer rail for commuting between these cities.
Rail fares are approximately one-third to one-fifth the cost of air tickets, and train travel offers greater comfort, punctuality, and reliability compared to long-distance buses, unaffected by road or weather conditions.
In cross-border passenger transport, international services began on April 13, 2023, initially linking Xishuangbanna and Luang Prabang on weekends. These quickly became the preferred option for cross-border travel. In 2025, services were expanded to include a second pair of trains running between Kunming and Vientiane. Over the past three years, international trains have operated more than 3,190 trips, carrying over 800,000 passengers from more than 120 countries and regions.
Currently, four international passenger trains run daily between Kunming and Vientiane, with cross-border seating capacity increasing from 250 to 420 per train. The fastest travel time between Kunming South and Vientiane has been shortened to 9 hours and 36 minutes, while customs clearance at the Mohan Railway Port now takes about 50 minutes, facilitating cross-border tourism, study, and business.
Punctuality for these international services has been exceptional, with a 100% on-time departure rate and 99% on-time arrival rate over three years. Customs clearance can be completed in as little as 52 minutes. Multilingual translation devices and announcements in Chinese, Lao, and English are available at stations and onboard. Dedicated ticket windows for international travelers have been set up, and 14 stations now support overseas bank card payments and various foreign identification documents for ticket purchases.
In the first quarter of 2026, the railway carried 6.04 million passengers, a 7.6% year-on-year increase, including 112,000 cross-border passengers, up 32.4%. Passenger numbers rose further in April due to the annual Water-Splashing Festival celebrations in Xishuangbanna and Vientiane, with average daily cross-border trips exceeding 1,000.
The railway has provided a more economical and convenient travel option for tourists visiting Xishuangbanna, which has become a key international tourism hub and destination along the route. Popular itineraries now often include Xishuangbanna, Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Bangkok, and Chiang Mai, forming a two-way circular tour.
On the freight side, daily cross-border cargo train services have increased from an initial 2 to a peak of 23, with train load capacity rising from 2,000 to 2,800 tonnes. Freight services now cover all 31 Chinese provincial-level regions and 19 countries including Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam. The variety of goods transported has expanded to over 3,800 types, serving more than 6,000 enterprises.
The railway has also established the China-Central Asia train brand, with three 120 km/h and eleven 80 km/h scheduled service routes. By connecting with China-Europe trains via Chongqing and Chengdu, rail transport time from Laos and Thailand to Europe has been shortened to 15 days. This enables seasonal fruits and specialty products like durian, mangosteen, and beer from Southeast Asia to reach Chinese and European markets quickly, while Chinese exports such as new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products gain faster access to Southeast Asia.
At the Mohan smart freight yard, customs clearance time has been drastically reduced from 40 hours initially to just 2–5 hours. Cargo volume has grown steadily, reaching 24.48 million tonnes in 2025, a 96.3% increase from 12.47 million tonnes in 2022. In the first quarter of 2026, freight volume totaled 6.18 million tonnes, including 1.5 million tonnes of cross-border cargo.
The railway has accelerated the flow of people, goods, capital, and information. Since its opening, freight costs from Kunming to Thailand via Laos have decreased by 30–50%, while transport costs within Laos have dropped by 20–40%. Leveraging the railway’s logistics advantages, local governments and enterprises have planned and built over 40 industrial and logistics parks along the route. These support the development of regional commodity distribution centers for steel, non-ferrous metals, and rubber, as well as modern industries like new energy batteries, biomedicine, advanced materials, and manufacturing, boosting industrial capacity and international trade.
In terms of operations and maintenance, the railway administration has trained local Lao personnel, providing qualification training for 1,475 Lao employees. Thirty-two Lao train drivers have obtained licenses and operate trains independently, while 82 assistant drivers, 16 train chiefs, and 160 team leaders have been trained, forming Laos’s first generation of railway technical professionals.