China-Laos railway supports domestic tourism, creates nearly 700 permanent jobs for locals
The new high-speed railway line that connects Laos’ capital Vientiane with the country’s northern border to China and from there leads to Kunming, the capital and transportation hub of China’s southern Yunnan province, is seeing growing demand mainly from local travelers which lets officials hope for a revival of domestic tourism in Laos.
Since its opening on December 3, 2021, the 422-kilometer line carried 144,610 passengers on 146 train units as of February 22. The maximum of daily travelers was 2,804 on January 3, 2022, and the average occupancy rate was 68.76 per cent, operator Laos-China Railway Company said, adding that at present, the demand of passengers traveling between Vientiane and the ancient capital of Luang Prabang is particularly growing.
Ticket prices for three cabin classes
Ticket prices for the full route from Vientiane to the northern border town of Boten (one way) are currently 238.000 kip in third class ($21), 333,000 kip ($30) in second class and 529,000 kip ($46.50) in first class. Shorter trips from Vientiane to the tourist towns of Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang are 74,000 kip ($6.50), 103,000 kip ($9) and 164,000 kip ($14.50); and 140,000 kip ($12.30), 198,000 kip ($17.40) and 313,000 kip ($27.50) depending on the class, respectively.
The operator said it will deploy slower-speed trains in addition to the two existing high-speed units to accommodate the growing number of passengers. The supporting trains will be running at 120 km/h – as opposed to the 160 km/h of the high-speed railway – and have a capacity of 1,664 passengers each. The launch time and the number of carriages have not been clarified yet.
Permanent jobs for locals
The opening of the railway has also led to a significant job creation. According to the Laos-China Railway Company, it currently employs a total of 1,206 permanent staff, with 675 of them being Lao nationals. Of the latter, 35 work at the company’s headquarters, while another 640 work at stations and on the trains.
Additional local staff is also hired temporarily as maintenance crew to inspect and repair electrical and telecommunication lines along the railway.
Chinese employees from the Kunming Railway Department are now working alongside Lao trainees, with the aim of undertaking capacity building to train Lao personnel who will take over these positions within the next three to four years.
During the five years of construction, the Laos-China Railway project has employed 111,164 Lao nationals and conducted 995 training courses.
[caption id="attachment_38262" align="alignleft" width="300"] Travelers at Luang Prabang station of the China-Laos railway (Photo: Xinhua)[/caption] The new high-speed railway line that connects Laos’ capital Vientiane with the country’s northern border to China and from there leads to Kunming, the capital and transportation hub of China’s southern Yunnan province, is seeing growing demand mainly from local travelers which lets officials hope for a revival of domestic tourism in Laos. Since its opening on December 3, 2021, the 422-kilometer line carried 144,610 passengers on 146 train units as of February 22. The maximum of daily travelers was 2,804 on January 3, 2022,...
The new high-speed railway line that connects Laos’ capital Vientiane with the country’s northern border to China and from there leads to Kunming, the capital and transportation hub of China’s southern Yunnan province, is seeing growing demand mainly from local travelers which lets officials hope for a revival of domestic tourism in Laos.
Since its opening on December 3, 2021, the 422-kilometer line carried 144,610 passengers on 146 train units as of February 22. The maximum of daily travelers was 2,804 on January 3, 2022, and the average occupancy rate was 68.76 per cent, operator Laos-China Railway Company said, adding that at present, the demand of passengers traveling between Vientiane and the ancient capital of Luang Prabang is particularly growing.
Ticket prices for three cabin classes
Ticket prices for the full route from Vientiane to the northern border town of Boten (one way) are currently 238.000 kip in third class ($21), 333,000 kip ($30) in second class and 529,000 kip ($46.50) in first class. Shorter trips from Vientiane to the tourist towns of Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang are 74,000 kip ($6.50), 103,000 kip ($9) and 164,000 kip ($14.50); and 140,000 kip ($12.30), 198,000 kip ($17.40) and 313,000 kip ($27.50) depending on the class, respectively.
The operator said it will deploy slower-speed trains in addition to the two existing high-speed units to accommodate the growing number of passengers. The supporting trains will be running at 120 km/h – as opposed to the 160 km/h of the high-speed railway – and have a capacity of 1,664 passengers each. The launch time and the number of carriages have not been clarified yet.
Permanent jobs for locals
The opening of the railway has also led to a significant job creation. According to the Laos-China Railway Company, it currently employs a total of 1,206 permanent staff, with 675 of them being Lao nationals. Of the latter, 35 work at the company’s headquarters, while another 640 work at stations and on the trains.
Additional local staff is also hired temporarily as maintenance crew to inspect and repair electrical and telecommunication lines along the railway.
Chinese employees from the Kunming Railway Department are now working alongside Lao trainees, with the aim of undertaking capacity building to train Lao personnel who will take over these positions within the next three to four years.
During the five years of construction, the Laos-China Railway project has employed 111,164 Lao nationals and conducted 995 training courses.
