Minister of Transport discusses Nong Khai-Vientiane railroad project

On Monday, June 13, 2022, Mr. Atirat Rattanaset, Deputy Minister of Transport Head of the Thai delegation attended a meeting to discuss the Thailand-Laos-China railway connection project (Nong Khai – Vientiane section) with Mr. Wiang Sawat Siphandon, Minister of Public Works and Transport. 

Mr. Atirat Rattanaset, Deputy Minister of Transport, revealed that the China-Laos railway project, which was put into operation on December 4, 2021, is a railway line connecting Kunming City to the capital Vientiane. It is to promote the transportation of goods and passengers between Laos and China more conveniently and quickly, near the province of Nong Khai. Once the interconnection between China, Laos and Thailand is complete, Thailand now has plans to prepare the connection between Nong Khai Station and Vientiane Station with the development of Nong Khai Station to be able to support the transportation through the 1st Friendship Bridge between Thailand and Laos.  

Mr. Atirat said that during this meeting, the Thai and Lao sides reviewed the progress of the Thailand-Laos-China rail link operation, the progress of the Thailand-Laos rail operation, cross-border rail freight transportation and discussions on the construction of a new bridge over the Mekong River. The bridge is part of the Nong Khai – Vientiane rail link project. It is located south of the existing Thailand-Laos Friendship Bridge, about 30 meters from the old bridge, and can also accommodate cars. The Thai side will conduct a feasibility study and design the construction details. At the joint discussion, the Lao PDR representatives said that the Lao side is willing to cooperate with the Thai side in the construction of a new Mekong River bridge. Asking the Thai side to design and prepare an EIA report to bring the information to the next meeting for discussion.

In this regard, the Thai delegation also went to study and visit the freight and passenger services on the China-Laos railroad at the dry port project and Vientiane Capital logistics park to prepare the freight and passenger transportation between the Thai railway system and the Lao-China railway project.