When the durian produced in Thailand only takes 26 hours to arrive in Kunming, the value of the China Laos railway channel is more than a figure. This benchmark line of jointly building the the Belt and Road has fully released its potential in the first year of the 15th Five Year Plan. Behind the prosperity of both passenger and cargo, an economic corridor connecting China and Southeast Asia is accelerating to take shape.

According to the data of Kunming Railway Bureau of China Railway, China Laos Railway has operated more than 100000 passenger trains and sent more than 73.38 million passengers, including 3373 international trains and 840000 cross-border passengers from more than 120 countries and regions. Since 2026, 9.27 million passengers have been sent, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%, with 164000 cross-border passengers, an increase of 35.3%. The revenue from cultural and tourism consumption along the route has increased by over 35%.

On the freight side, both quantity and quality have improved, with a total freight volume of over 84 million tons and cross-border freight exceeding 19 million tons. The transportation categories have expanded from more than 10 to over 3800, covering 19 Southeast Asian countries. The cross-border value of goods in the first quarter was 6.81 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 62.7%. The export value of new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, photovoltaic products and other products surged 10.4 times year-on-year. In the first five months, the import of fruits exceeded 130000 tons, a year-on-year increase of nearly 40%, and the import of durian exceeded 120000 tons, an increase of over 56%.

Fresh food trade is accelerating

The maturity of cross-border cold chain system is the key to the scale of fresh food trade. With the support of the Lancang Mekong Express international freight train, durian from Thailand can arrive in Kunming within 26 hours. After the normalization of the cold chain train operation in China, Laos, and Thailand, the transportation of fresh fruits has entered a standardized stage of timing, location, and quantity. The constant temperature cold chain throughout the entire process reduces the loss rate of fresh food from over 15% to within 5%, completely changing the pain point of high cargo damage caused by traditional road and sea transportation bumps.

Customs clearance and logistics efficiency leap synchronously

Mohan Port has completed digital transformation, reducing the document production time from 40 minutes to 10 minutes and increasing efficiency by over 80%. Exclusive inspection channels have been opened for fresh products, reducing customs clearance time from 40 hours to as fast as 8 minutes. Kunming has built an integrated hub of railway stations and comprehensive parks, achieving immediate diversion upon arrival and sorting upon arrival.

The channel dividend is transmitted downwards along the industrial chain, and the loading and unloading team of Kunming Cross border Logistics Park has expanded from more than 20 people in the initial stage to more than 40 people. The monthly income of migrant workers has significantly increased, and many people have shifted from scattered temporary work to stable employment. Traditional logistics enterprises have also extended to the entire chain, including origin procurement, cold chain management and maintenance, and terminal sales, with their business scale and risk resistance capabilities improving simultaneously. Keywords: China Laos railway, passenger and freight logistics

From a Durian to a new energy vehicle, the China Laos Railway is transforming the resource advantages of the countries along the line into economic growth, and the story of this land corridor has just begun.Editor/Cheng Liting