The first freight train of the Hunan-Yunnan Lancang-Mekong Express departed from the Huaihua International Land Port on December 12. It marked the launch of a freight train service between Huaihua and Vientiane, the capital of Laos. 

The train was loaded with 50 equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo, including minibuses, plastic particles, and ammonium sulfate, cargo with a total weight of 466 tons and valued at 5.7 million yuan. The train is expected to reach Vientiane in four days.
 
This is a major achievement of the inter-provincial strategic cooperation between Hunan and Yunnan to deeply integrate the joint construction of the Indian Ocean International Logistics Corridor. The two provinces will give full play to their regional advantages to jointly tap into the ASEAN market. Therefore, the China-Laos Railway will effectively benefit the inland regions of China as well as the Indochina Peninsula countries, and regions along the railway can enjoy mutual complementarity of resources. The "Lancang-Mekong Express" provides regular freight services between Kunming and Vientiane, offering more predictable arrival times and faster customs clearance and speed than other international freight trains running along the China-Laos Railway.

The first freight train of the Hunan-Yunnan Lancang-Mekong Express departed from the Huaihua International Land Port on December 12. (Photo/Yang Qingfang)

The Huaihua International Land Port began construction in September of 2021. Since Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi provinces implemented a cooperation agreement, the port has accelerated the gathering of urban cargo along the Jiaozuo-Liuzhou Railway and the Shanghai-Kunming Railway in Huaihua, making the city an ASEAN freight distribution center for Hunan and for central China. 70% of goods shipped along the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor departed from Huaihua to ASEAN, with one international freight train operating per day.

So far, the Huaihua International Land Port has launched regular freight train services along the China-Laos Railway and the China-Vietnam Railway and regular sea-rail intermodal services to Beibu Gulf, as well as the ports of Zhanjiang and Nansha. As of the end of November this year, the Huaihua International Land Port has handled 428 trains (including 26 highway trucks), surpassing the provincial annual target. The port ranked first in central China and was at the forefront nationwide in the number of China-Laos freight trains.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: Chinanews