The first China-Laos-Thailand-Malaysia high-speed freight train recently departed Chengdu, the capital of China’s southwestern Sichuan province, marking a milestone in regional connectivity. The train, loaded with 30 containers equipped with LCD monitors and new energy vehicles, will travel along the China-Laos railway line and then reach Malaysia via the Laos-Thailand railway network.

The train will take five days to reach Thailand and eight days to reach Malaysia, cutting the transportation time by half compared with the traditional sea route from Qinzhou in China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Officials said the railway line would further expand the scope of railway connections between Laos and China, thereby promoting economic and trade relations between China, Laos, Thailand, and Malaysia. It will also accelerate the development of the regional inland railway network and provide new support for economic exchanges and growth between Sichuan and Southeast Asia.

Previously, China and Thailand had a railway network connected through the Laos-China Railway Line, which shortened sea transportation from Thailand to the southwest from one week to one to two days.