
The Boten–Vientiane railway is the
Lao section of the Laos–China Railway (LCR), running between the capital
Vientiane
Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...
and the northern town of
Boten on the border with
Yunnan
Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
, China. The line was officially opened on 3 December 2021.
A collaborative project between Laos and China, the line's northern end is directly connected to the
Chinese rail system at
Mohan in
Yunnan
Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
, through the
Yuxi–Mohan railway, and has provisions in the south to link up with the
Bangkok–Nong Khai high-speed railway
The Bangkok–Nong Khai high-speed railway or Northeastern high-speed rail line is a high-speed railway under construction in Thailand. It will be the first high-speed line in Thailand. It will be constructed in multiple phases.
Construction be ...
in
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and possibly all the way to
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
via HSR. The railway ends at Vientiane South cargo station. The Boten–Vientiane railway is an integral section of the central line on the
Kunming–Singapore railway, and was constructed as part of the
Belt and Road Initiative
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI or B&R), known in China as the One Belt One Road and sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the government of China in 2013 to invest in more t ...
(BRI).
History
The railway is part of the Laos–China Railway which is in turn part of the broader Laos–China Economic Corridor.
Planning
Laos is the only
landlocked country
A landlocked country is a country that has no territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie solely on endorheic basins. Currently, there are 44 landlocked countries, two of them doubly landlocked (Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan), and t ...
in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
, which burdens it with a comparative disadvantage in trade.
During
French rule, the French failed to develop a plan to build railways in Laos, with only the
Don Det–Don Khon railway being completed. A railway link from China through Laos would greatly reduce cargo transit times and transportation costs between the two countries.
The first talks about the railway linking Laos and China began in 2001. A Lao politician of Chinese descent,
Somsavat Lengsavad, was reportedly the driving force behind the project on the Laotian side. In October 2010, plans were announced for a
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
railway linking Vientiane to
Xishuangbanna
Xishuangbanna, sometimes shortened to Banna, is one of the eight autonomous prefectures of Yunnan Province. The autonomous prefecture for Dai people is in the extreme south of Yunnan province, China, bordering both Myanmar and Laos. Xishuangbanna ...
, in
Yunnan
Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
province in China.
[Laos–China railways ready to roll](_blank)
2012-11-16 Construction was expected to begin in 2011, for completion in 2014. There are plans to extend this railway south, from Vientiane across the Thai border to
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
.
The project initially stalled in the wake of the 2011 corruption scandal involving
China's minister of railways,
Liu Zhijun
Liu Zhijun ( zh , s = 刘志军 , t = 劉志軍 , p = Liú Zhìjūn; born 29 January 1953) is a former Chinese politician who served as Ministry of Railways of the People's Republic of China, Minister of Railway. Liu was a peasant's son who le ...
, but negotiations continued. In November 2012, the Laotian press reported that the money for the construction of the railway would be borrowed from the
Export–Import Bank of China,
and construction would be started in 2013 and completed in 2018.
By 2015, a revised plan was agreed upon, under which both countries would jointly finance and operate the railway with a
build-operate-transfer arrangement.
Construction work worth US$1.2 billion was awarded to the
China Railway Group in September 2015.
Construction and completion
Construction began at
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang (Lao language, Lao: wikt:ຫຼວງພະບາງ, ຫຼວງພະບາງ, pronounced ), historically known as Xieng Thong (ຊຽງທອງ) and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Lu ...
on 25 December 2016.
At the end of 2017, the construction phase was 20% completed,
and in September 2019 progress was reported as 80% completed.
Unexploded bombs that have been dropped during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
would also be removed along the route.
, Chinese state media reported that the US$6 billion project was 90% complete. Work crews started laying track in Laos in March 2020, five years after breaking ground. With all of the hundreds of tunnels, bridges and viaducts completed, cargo service was scheduled to start from December 2021. In April 2021, the northernmost section in
Luang Namtha Province
Luang Namtha (, ; literally 'royal sugar palm' or "'royal green river') is a province of Laos in the country's north. From 1966 to 1976 it formed, together with Bokeo, the province of Houakhong. Luang Namtha province covers an area of . Its pr ...
was 97% complete. Track laying of the last section in
Oudomxay Province would be completed in May, leaving the project well on track for a 2021 opening. Track-laying was officially completed on 12 October 2021.
The first
EMU
The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...
was delivered to Vientiane on 16 October 2021, and the line opened on 3 December 2021, a day after the 46th
anniversary of the Lao PDR.
The railway is expected to boost
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
, with passenger traffic to account for the majority of traffic on the line.
The Thai province of
Nong Khai is also expected to gain more visitors through the railway, as well as fruit exports from Thailand to China benefiting from reduced transportation costs.
As of 2024, it is the most significant Belt and Road Initiative project in Laos.
Future expansion
Since the line uses a different
rail gauge
In rail transport, track gauge is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many different track gauges exist worldwide, gauge dif ...
from the existing Thai
Northeastern Line link from Bangkok to Vientiane, running into Thailand is not yet possible for passenger trains. A branch to "Thanaleng Dry Port freight yard" and "Vientiane South" was completed in July 2022, allowing transfer of cargo between Thai metre gauge railway and China standard gauge railway.
However, the Vientiane end of the line will eventually cross the Mekong River on a new bridge to meet up with the
Bangkok–Nong Khai high-speed railway
The Bangkok–Nong Khai high-speed railway or Northeastern high-speed rail line is a high-speed railway under construction in Thailand. It will be the first high-speed line in Thailand. It will be constructed in multiple phases.
Construction be ...
once it is completed, making the connection. As of 2023, the design of this extension is in progress with a target completion date of 2028.
Financing
The cost of the project is estimated at US$5.965 billion or RMB 37.425 billion. The railway is 60% funded with debt financing ($3.6 billion) from the
Export–Import Bank of China, and the remaining 40% ($2.4 billion) by a joint venture company between the two countries, in which China holds a 70% stake. Of the remaining 30%, the Laotian government disburses $250 million from its national budget and borrows $480 million further from the Export–Import Bank of China.
It is the most expensive and largest project to be constructed in Laos as of 2021.
The cost of the railway has contributed to a US$480 million increase in Lao debt to the Export–Import Bank of China. Western publications subsequently claimed that Laos could end up falling into a
default on its debts.
In 2019, the Australian think-tank
Lowy Institute
The Lowy Institute is an independent think tank founded in April 2003 by Frank Lowy to conduct original, policy-relevant research regarding international political, strategic and economic issues from an Australian perspective.
It is based in ...
estimated Laos' debt to China at 45% of its
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performance o ...
.
In 2020, American credit agency
Fitch Ratings
Fitch Ratings Inc. is an American credit rating agency. It is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSRO) designated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is considered as being one of the " Bi ...
assigned Laos a 'CCC' credit rating, stating that the country has "excessive debt".
Ridership
Between January 2021 and December 2021, the Laos–China Railway as a whole transported over 1 million passengers and 500,000 tonnes of cargo, according to the transport authorities of
Yunnan Province
Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
. In 2023, the railway had an annual ridership of 3.1 million passengers.
Infrastructure
47% of the railway is spanned over 75 tunnels and 15% is set on
viaducts
A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...
spread over 167 bridges.
Vientiane railway station, the largest station on the railway, is situated in Xay Village in
Xaythany District and consists of four platforms with seven track lines and two additional platforms with three lines reserved; it is expected to connect with other railway lines planned for Laos. The station can accommodate up to 2,500 passengers with a total area of 14,543 square metres.
The railway is built on a
single track with passing loops and is
electrified to China's Class I trunk railway standards, suitable for passenger and freight trains, making Laos the first country to connect to the Chinese high-speed railway network using Chinese technology.
Rolling stock

Passenger services employ
CR200J trainsets for express passenger train and
China Railway 25G passenger coaches for ordinary passenger train, and for freight hauling and normal passenger service,
HXD3CA locomotives are used.
Cargo
On 4 December 2021, a day after opening the China–Laos railway, the Vientiane Logistics Park, one of a total of nine logistics centres in Laos, was officially opened by Prime Minister
Phankham Viphavanh at
Thanaleng.
List of stations
A total of 32 stations are planned along the line, of which 21 stations were initially constructed, including 10 passenger stations and 11 cargo stations:
Controversies
Radio Free Asia
Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a news service that publishes online news, information, commentary and broadcasts radio programs for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editorially independent reporting, has the stated mission of pro ...
reported in October 2021 that some Lao villagers displaced from their land by the line's construction complained that they had still not received compensation.
In the first year of operation, the railway only allowed ticket purchases up to three days in advance and online sales were not available. That resulted in extremely long lines at ticket offices, and express trains often sold out the day ticket sales opened. This has since been ameliorated with the LCR mobile app, which allows online purchase of tickets.
See also
*
Rail transport in Laos
*
Vientiane–Boten Expressway
*
Railway stations in Laos
*
China–Laos relations
*
CR Yuxi–Mohan railway
*
MRL East Coast Rail Link
References
External links
Laos–China Railway Co., Ltd.– a joint venture between Laos and China to build and operate the railway.
Official Facebook page with ticket availabilityOfficial Laos–China Railway ticketing app (Android)Boten–Vientiane railway on OpenStreetMapBoten–Vientiane railway on Google MapsFull construction details superimposed on a satellite map by Design for Conservation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boten-Vientiane Railway
Standard-gauge railways in Laos
Railway lines in Laos
China–Laos relations
Belt and Road Initiative
Transport infrastructure in Laos
Railway lines opened in 2021
25 kV AC railway electrification