Construction of Laos segment of China-Singapore railway set for Nov. start

A multi-billion dollar transnational railway linking China and Singapore is a step closer to reality with the start of construction of the section traversing Laos set for November.

Connecting the Lao capital of Vientiane with the Chinese border at a distance of 417 km, the joint-venture is expected to take 5 years to complete and come at an estimated cost of 6.8 billion U.S. dollars.

The announcement was made following a bi-annual three-day meeting of the Laos cabinet with provincial and capital office holders that concluded recently and confirmed to media by Minister of Public Works and Transport Dr Bounchanh Sinthavong.

The planned 1.435-meter standard-gauge single track is expected to boast five main stations and 31 smaller stations.

A maximum speed of 160 km per hour for passenger locomotives and 120 km per hour for goods trains has also been mooted.

Addressing the challenges of presented by Laos' mountainous terrain will require construction of some 76 tunnels with a total length of 195.78 km and 154 bridges spanning some 67.15 km.

The Laos section will eventually form part of a single rail network connecting China's Kunming to Singapore via Laos, Thailand and Malaysia designed to boost regional trade in goods and services as part of the "One Belt, One Road" development initiative. Endi