Laos and Thailand are engaged in negotiations on a potential China-Laos-Thailand railway, which could cut the cost of freight transport by 30-50 percent in three to five years’ time, Thai media reported.
Deputy director-general of Thailand’s Department of Rail Transport (DRT) Athipu Chitranukroh and deputy director-general of the Customs Department Kitjaluck Srinuchsart visited Laos recently to discuss the matter, according to the Bangkok Post, citing the DRT.
The report added that the high-speed rail network could be built alongside existing infrastructure and would benefit both Thailand and neighbouring countries.
Freight is already being shipped between Laos, Thailand and China by rail, according to the developer of the Thanaleng Dry Port located in Vientiane near the first Laos-Thailand Mekong Friendship Bridge.
The conventional one-metre-gauge railway linking Laos and Thailand has been extended in parallel with the standard-gauge Laos-China railway at the dry port, where cargo can be transferred from one track to the other.
The dry port, which opened for service in December 2021 and functions as a border checkpoint for freight, has provided the hub for rail freight transport between the three countries and beyond, the developer said.
According to the Bangkok Post, the value of export-and-import trade at the Lao-Thai border crossing in Nong Khai province in 2022 was worth 99.2 billion baht. Despite the Covid pandemic, border trade continued to grow in 2022, increasing by 39.9 percent, adding 28.2-billion-baht worth of revenue compared to the year before.
During their visit, staff from the two Thai departments also visited the new Khamsavath railway station on the Laos-Thailand railway in Vientiane.
The new station is 7.5 kilometres from Thanaleng railway station, which connects with Thailand’s Nong Khai province.
Thai authorities are currently developing the Nong Khai railway station into a cross-border freight inspection centre and a link from train to land transport.
The Laos-Thailand rail network will operate 14 trains daily and it is hoped that it will attract more investment from Laos and monetise the adjacent commercial area in Vientiane, the Bangkok Post reported. （Vientiane Times）
