In the early morning, as the fog at Mohan Port had not yet dissipated, a cold chain train of the "Lancang Mekong Express" loaded with Thai durians slowly entered the platform. In a few hours, these fresh fruits with a tropical flavor will be served on tables across the country. Such scenes are now performed every day in the China Laos Railway. From exploratory shipments in the early stages of opening up to the busy trunk lines today, the steel giant is reshaping the trade map between China and ASEAN.

Rising transportation capacity, reducing costs and increasing efficiency

Since 2026, the transportation heat of China Laos railway has continued to rise, with the average daily cargo transported exceeding 67000 tons. Behind this is the railway department's ultimate exploration of transportation capacity. The daily number of cross-border freight trains has surged from 2 in the early stages of operation to a maximum of 23, and the single train traction tonnage has also increased from 2000 tons to 2800 tons, with a 40% increase in single train transport capacity. The scale and normalization of transportation capacity have directly led to a steady decline in logistics costs. Compared to the congestion and high losses of road transportation in the past, stable cabin space, timeliness, and prices have given foreign trade enterprises peace of mind. Data shows that in the first quarter of this year, the import and export value of China Laos railway reached 6.81 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 62.7%, which was much higher than the freight volume, confirming the continuous increase in the proportion of high value-added products.

Cold chain accelerates the entry of fresh fruits into China

Faced with the concentrated listing of tropical fruits in Southeast Asia, the railway department has opened up a green channel for fresh goods and implemented a priority pick-up and delivery, priority hanging mechanism. The frequency of the "Lancang Mekong Express" cold chain trains has increased from 2 trains per day to around 6 trains, ensuring fast entry and exit of fresh goods. As of June 23, the fruit imported through the China Laos Railway has exceeded 185000 tons since this year, a year-on-year increase of 73.1%. At the same time, the railway department has innovatively launched intermodal products such as the "Lancang Mekong Express+China Europe Express", creating a brand of Central Asian trains and shortening the transportation time from Laos and Thailand to Europe to 15 days. At present, the China Laos railway freight transport has reached 19 countries and regions, and the types of cross-border goods have expanded from more than 10 to more than 3800, serving more than 6000 enterprises nationwide.

Upgrading of channels and industrial agglomeration

With the transportation volume exceeding 11 million tons, the China Laos railway has been upgraded from a simple transportation line to a composite international trade trunk line. The relevant person in charge of Kunming Railway Bureau pointed out that the current core change lies in the qualitative change of trade structure, where mechanical and electrical products, light industrial products, and specialty industrial products are gradually replacing early bulk low value goods sources. Although the current release of transportation capacity is still in the climbing stage, the core constraint lies in the linkage between cross-border ports and overseas sections. However, the railway department is adjusting the peak value by solidifying transportation capacity through scheduled trains and dynamically adding temporary passenger trains. Looking ahead to the future, the goal of the railway sector is no longer just "sports car leather", but to rely on logistics to drive trade, attract cross-border processing, cross-border e-commerce and other industries to gather, build a positive cycle of logistics, trade and industry, and make this golden channel play a more solid supporting role in the deep economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN.Editor/Yang Meiling