China-Laos Railway facilitates fruit transport

KUNMING -- The China-Laos Railway has transported more than 100,000 tons of fruits this year as of Thursday, an increase of around 120 percent year on year, local railway authorities said.

On Thursday, a batch of 108 tons of durians from Thailand transported via the China-Laos Railway was unloaded at Kunming Hongyun international logistics port, surpassing the 100,000-ton mark. It took only 29 hours for this batch of goods to reach the unloading area in Kunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan province, from the Vientiane south railway station, said China Railway Kunming Bureau Group Co Ltd.

Thanks to streamlined customs clearance measures, tropical fruits from South Asia and Southeast Asia are continuously transported to China via this railway. Currently, the railway's cross-border customs clearance time has been reduced to no more than five hours, facilitating the transportation of fruits and vegetables, flowers and other goods that require swift transit, said the company.

The China-Laos Railway, a landmark project of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, began operations in December 2021. The 1,035-km railway connects Kunming in China with Vientiane in Laos.