Tri-country cargo rail service to kick off in October

KUALA LUMPUR: The tri-country cargo transport by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) will be operational in October.

The Asean Express, which connects Malaysia, Thailand and Laos, went through its dry run on Thursday (Aug 11) after departing from the Kuala Lumpur KTM station at 5pm.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong flagged off the event.

The train would make the 2,206KM trip from Malaysia to Laos within 72 hours.

In a statement on Thursday, KTMB said that the dry run was meant to test all aspects to better prepare for the commercial launch of the service.

"Vibration and wagon index readings will be taken to fulfil the delivery criteria. This is because future cargo might include electronics that are sensitive to vibrations.

"With the proposed two trips per week frequency, the Asean Express will offer a one-way cargo capacity of 80 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) per week.

"From Tanaleng in Laos, the cargo brought by the Asean Express will have connections to Chinese provinces such as Kunming, Chengdu and also to Chongqing via Vientiane," it said.