Managers of the Lao side of a new railway project linking Vientiane to Nong Khai in Thailand have assured Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh it will be completed as planned.

1 km of the track from Vientiane to Nong Khai has been laid. --Photo Khamphanh

The construction of the 3.5 km-long railway from the centre of the Vientiane-Nong Khai Friendship Bridge to Dongphosy train station began in January this year and will take 18 months to complete, according to the schedule.

Mr Bouasone visited the site of the railway in Dongphosy village, Hadxaifong district, Vientiane , last week, and announced he was happy with the progress of construction, according to a senior railway official.

The Deputy Director of the Lao Railway Authority, Mr Sonesack N. Ngansana, said on Tuesday that the construction of the railway on the Lao side, along with station buildings and other facilities, was now 48 percent complete, and all of these facilities would open for public use next April.

He said the station's power grid had been installed, as well as the water supply and one kilometre of the track. The train station itself is now under construction, including immigration and customs buildings, restaurants and other facilities.

The project will also involve installing closed-circuit cameras on the bridge so that officials can better manage the flow of traffic to coordinate with train times, he said.

Mr Sonesack said the timely progress of the project was due to the close supervision of the Ministry of Communication, Transport, Posts and Construction, while project consultants had also overseen the process.

There had also been significant cooperation from the Hadxaifong district authorities.

He said that project officials, in cooperation with the Hadxaifong authorities, had resettled three families who had previously been living on the project site; the project has allocated a budget of 20 million kip to compensate these families and help them settle in other places.

The project has allocated 197 million kip to compensate all families who have been affected by the project.

The construction of the first Lao railway is being funded by the Thai government, and is costing around 55 billion kip (197 million Thai baht), 70 percent of which will be in the form of a loan, and the rest as a gift from the Thai government.

Mr Sonesack said the communication ministry hoped that the railway would reduce transport costs for Lao products being exported to Thailand and to world markets.

The French government has provided a budget of 1.8 billion kip (150,000 euros) to carry out surveys for the construction of a further 9 kilometres of track to Sokham village, which is the planned location of the Vientiane Train Station.

France and the Republic of Korea have expressed interest in helping Laos to purchase trains, subject to further discussions, according to railway officials.

Source Vientiane Times

I've seen this coming along quite nicely over the past few months - it'll sure make the journey from Thailand into Laos far simpler for train passengers.

I have to say this must be a cushy job - "The Deputy Director of the Lao Railway Authority" - managing a whole 3.5km of track and (upto 12.5km) and one station! He must be struggling with the workload!

so much more convenient than a tut tuk from nong khai to the border, getting a visa on the border, waiting for the bus and travelling with another 50 passengers stacked on top of each other, some of them with their lifestock, at the snail speed on the bumpy and dusty road.

at least they are doing something, of course it would only make sense if they go all the way into Vientiane, but that might take some time, seeing that it took them so long for the 3,5KM. I mean around 10 years if I'm not mistaken

Okay I know they didn't do anything for years.

Managers of the Lao side of a new railway project linking Vientiane to Nong Khai in Thailand have assured Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh it will be completed as planned.

1 km of the track from Vientiane to Nong Khai has been laid. --Photo Khamphanh

I have to say this must be a cushy job - "The Deputy Director of the Lao Railway Authority" - managing a whole 3.5km of track and (upto 12.5km) and one station! He must be struggling with the workload!

Maybe he is also responsible for the other track - not much to do there either.!

This is great! I will definitely use it when it's done, hope the rest of the pan-ASEAN railway gaps get plugged (Thailand-Cambodia, especially)