An Asean Silk Road on rails is taking shape


Along with the freight train, the Bangkok-Vientiane Express train utilises the single-track metre gauge line as it crosses the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge over the Mekong River. — The Nation/ANN

THAILAND is marking the 130th anniversary of rail services in the kingdom with a bang: There is now a direct train service from Bangkok to the Laos capital of Vientiane, a distance of nearly 700km.

The inaugural express train pulled out of Bangkok’s Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal Station (formerly known as the Bang Sue Grand Station) at 9pm yesterday, and as you are reading this, most probably has reached the brand new Khamsavath train station in Laos that opened on Oct 31 last year. The station is just a few kilometres from the Lao-Thai border that is marked by the Mekong River,

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