China-Laos Railway cross-border transport hits new record in first half of 2025

In the first half of 2025, the cross-border transport handled by China-Laos Railway hit a record high, demonstrating robust growth in both passenger traffic and freight volume.

According to data from the Mohan's entry-exit frontier inspection station on the China-Laos border in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, as of 10:00 am on Monday, the Mohan railway port had processed more than 145,000 inbound and outbound passenger trips from 91 countries and regions in the first half of the year, marking year-on-year increases of 16 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively. 

Additionally, more than 4,400 cross-border trains were processed, up 6.4 percent year-on-year, setting historic records, reported CCTV News on Monday. 

Among the travelers, foreign nationals accounted for some 18.7 percent, a 14.4 percent increase from the previous year. Notably, more than 53 percent of these foreign arrivals entered under visa-free policies, up 6.2 percent. The top three nationalities were travelers from Laos, Thailand, and Malaysia.

On the freight front, the Lancang-Mekong Express service on the China-Laos Railway between Kunming and Vientiane has achieved 26-hour delivery, while the China-Laos-Thailand cold-chain logistics route has reduced transit time to 40 hours. 

In the first half of this year, the railway handled more than 3.3 million tons of cross-border freight, up by 9 percent year-on-year.

Since its launch, the China-Laos Railway had transported over 13 million tons of goods by June 2025, serving 12 Belt and Road Initiative partner countries, including Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The range of shipped commodities has expanded from categories such as rubber and fertilizer to more than 3,000 types, such as electronics, photovoltaic products, telecommunications equipment, and automobiles.