Trains like this will start cross-border passenger travel on April 13.

China-Laos railway to run cross-border passenger trains starting Thursday

The China-Laos railway will start operating passenger trains between Kunming and Vientiane starting on Thursday, creating a direct route between China’s largest southern city to the Lao capital.
The route covers a distance of 1,035 kilometres, stopping at eight stations, with a total travel time of 10 hours and 30 minutes. This includes the time taken to go through immigration at the Boten-Bohan border crossing.
Trains will run between Kunming South Station and Vientiane Station.
At 8am on April 11, Vientiane time, rail operators in both countries were scheduled to start selling tickets for cross-border travel.
Trains operating on the Laos-China railway will leave Vientiane in the morning and arrive in Kunming in the evening. Two trains will run each day, with one departing from Vientiane and the other from Kunming.
Train No. D887 will depart Kunming South Station at 7:08am (Lao time) and arrive in Vientiane at 5:38pm on the same day.
In the other direction, Train No. D888 will depart Vientiane at 8:08am (Lao time) and arrive at Kunming South Station at 6:38pm on the same day.
Passengers travelling from Kunming to Vientiane will be required to get off the train with their belongings when it reaches the border at Bohan in China. They will then undergo document checks at immigration booths.
After the checks have been completed, passengers can reboard the train and continue their journey.
When the train arrives on the other side of the border at Boten in Laos, passengers must again get off the train with their belongings for a second immigration check.
Passengers whose final destination is Boten can leave the station at this point, while the passengers travelling to other stations in Laos can continue their journey.
Each immigration check will take about 90 minutes, meaning the total time taken to complete exit and entry procedures in both China and Laos is about three hours in total.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update April 12, 2023)