GBA's 1st cold-chain freight train for Laos, Thailand departs from SZ

A cold-chain freight train loaded with 64 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of products from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) departed from Shenzhen Pinghu South National Logistics Hub at 11 a.m. Thursday for Laos and Thailand.

A cold-chain freight train loaded with 64 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of products from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area departs from Shenzhen Pinghu South National Logistics Hub on Thursday for Laos and Thailand. It is the first such train from South China to Laos and Thailand since the opening of the China-Laos Railway in December last year. China News Service

Carrying mostly malts, vegetables and candies, the train is expected to arrive in Thailand in seven days via Vientiane, capital of Laos.

It is the first cold-chain cargo train from South China to Laos and Thailand since the opening of the China-Laos Railway in December last year.

It marks the official operation of the cross-border cold-chain cargo train service between the GBA and ASEAN countries, according to a press release of the city's transport bureau.

In its return trip, the train will carry tropical fruits from Thailand. Since the fruit inspection and clearance yard at the Mohan Checkpoint in Yunnan Province, which borders Laos, has not been completed, the fruits will be loaded onto trucks in Laos and transported across the border to China, and then transshipped to Kunming, Guangzhou or Shenzhen by train.

Compared to road and sea transportation, railway is safer, more efficient and cost-saving. Due to the pandemic, the road transportation in Southeast Asia was often disrupted, while the demand for railway transportation service from food exporters in the GBA kept increasing, the release said.

China-Laos freight trains' operation will help GBA manufacturers, especially those in Shenzhen and its surrounding cities, further tap into the Southeast Asian market, it said.

The China-Laos Railway, a landmark project under the Belt and Road Initiative, began operation Dec. 3 last year. The railway covers 1,035 kilometers, including 422 kilometers in Laos, from the city of Kunming to Vientiane.

It is the first overseas railway jointly constructed and operated by the two countries, adopting Chinese standards, and directly linking to China's railway network. Thanks to the railway, travel time from Kunming to Vientiane only takes about 10 hours.

It also marks that China has officially joined the Pan-Asian Railway Network, with GBA freight trains reaching Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand through transshipment at the Laotian capital.