Bangkok to Beijing train trip gets closer with Thai expansion
The launch of the Thailand-Laos connection will allow travel by train from Bangkok (pictured) to Beijing. PHOTO: AFP
UPDATED
JUN 13, 2024, 10:18 AM
BANGKOK – Train travel between Bangkok and Beijing is inching closer as Thailand prepares to expand its rail network.
It will run a trial service between Bangkok and Laos’ capital Vientiane between July 13 and 14, according to the State Railway of Thailand.
When up and running, the new link will improve transport between the two countries and China, railway agency official Ekarat Sriarayanphong said.
The launch of the Thailand-Laos connection will mean it is possible to travel by train from Bangkok to China’s capital. This will be via stops in Vientiane and southern Chinese city Kunming, where there is a separate semi-high speed service to Beijing.
The roughly 3,218km journey, with the area’s mountainous terrain adding to the distance, will take almost a full day. That compares with just short of five hours for a non-stop flight.
There is already a high-speed train operating between China and Laos that allows Thai goods to be transported to Kunming, according to a Nikkei report. That has helped reduce delivery times to China to 15 hours from the two days it takes for trucks to carry freight along the mountainous route, it noted.
Thailand is looking to improve its connectivity with China, its top trading partner, to help boost economic growth that is lagging behind regional peers.
Its exports to China totalled almost US$32 billion (S$43 billion) in the first 11 months of last year, with top products including fruit and rubber products, according to government data.
Its imports from China were valued at US$65.3 billion in the same period, led by sectors including electric equipment and machinery.
Apart from trade, the two nations are forging closer tourism ties. Visitors from China can stay for up to 60 days in Thailand while tourists from Thailand can stay in China for 30 days.
The tourism sector is set to get a further boost from a separate, albeit much-delayed, project that will see a high-speed rail system linking Thailand to China through Laos by 2028. BLOOMBERG
