China-Laos railway to begin operations on Friday

The China-Laos Railway, a landmark project connecting Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan Province with the Laotian capital, Vientiane, will begin operations on Friday, the China State Railway Group said on Thursday.

The 1,035-kilometer-long railway is a docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos' strategy to convert itself from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub.

The railway fully adopts Chinese technical standards and consists of two sections. Construction of the section in Laos from the border town of Boten to Vientiane started in December 2016, and construction of the China section of the railway linking the city of Yuxi and the border town of Mohan started in December 2015.

With a maximum operating speed of 160 kilometers per hour, trains running on the route will take passengers from Kunming to Vientiane in about 10 hours, including customs clearance time.

China-Laos railway operations are of great significance to bilateral economic, social and cultural exchanges, and are expected to accelerate the construction of the China-Laos Economic Corridor, according to a spokesperson for the China State Railway Group.