Laos takes delivery of train as new China-funded Belt and Road railway nears completion

The first passenger train to use the China-Laos Railway arrived at the new Vientiane station on October 16, 2021, as the project connecting the Laotian capital and Boten along the nation’s northern border with China nears completion. The new 414km (257 miles) Laos section, expected to open in December 2021, is part of a pan-Asia rail route that will eventually connect China to Singapore. The China-Laos Railway will be the first of China’s Belt and Road Initiative projects to be completed in mainland Southeast Asia.