Finally it's possible to travel on railway from Kunming in China to Vientiane in Laos: On April 13 the first trains left Kunming and Vientiane and arrived 10-and-half-hours later at their destination. The 1,000-kilometer rail line, which links the capital of China’s Yunnan province to the capital of Laos, had been completed in December 2021, but due to Chinas’s strict “zero COVID” policies, the border of China and Laos could not be crossed.
Now the fast train between Vientiane and Kunming South Station is running daily in both directions, starting at 8:08 am and arriving at 19.38 in Kunming (China time) and 17.38 in Vientiane. First class tickets for the full journey are available for 760 yuan ($110) while second-class tickets are priced at 470 yuan ($68). Laos-China Railway Company Limited (LCR) have launched an App on Google Play, iOS and Huawei to allow passengers to purchase LCR train tickets on their mobile phones using UnionPay cards. The service is operated with green bullet trains of China Railway and the Lanexang EMU trains of Lao-China-Railway. Find more informations on Hobomap.
For the border checks the passengers have to leave the train in Mohan (China) and Boten (Laos) with all their belongings. The stops will take 90 minutes.
Read more:
China-Laos Railway: Timetable, Tickets and Rules
The China-Laos Railway started cross-border passenger services last Thursday, with the first passenger train departing from Kunming, the capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, and heading for the Lao capital Vientiane. pic.twitter.com/efhw3Q85Qq
— JoyceChi🇨🇳（互fo） (@JoyceChi51) April 17, 2023
The Lanexang EMU of Lao-China-Railway entering Mohan station in China:
Historic moment! The first international trains on the #China-#Laos #railway departing respectively from Kunming, Yunnan province and Vientiane, Laos, "meet" each other. #BeltandRoad pic.twitter.com/R7Dphq6mO9
— Ji Rong嵇蓉 (@JiRongMFA) April 14, 2023
The green bullet train of China Railway entering Vang Vieng station in Laos:
