ILSTC: Freight Train Service Inaugurated between Chongqing Jiangjin - Vientiane, Laos - Bangkok, Thailand - Malaysia

Chongqing - On June 27, a cross-border railway train of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, carrying 40 standard containers of chemical raw materials, departed from Chongqing Hub Port Industrial Park (Xiaonanya Station in Jiangjin, Chongqing).

The train will travel through Laos and Thailand, reaching Malaysia in nine days. Simultaneously, 48 standard containers of agricultural products, food, and daily necessities from ASEAN countries departed from Sungai Way Station in Selangor, Malaysia, and will also arrive in Chongqing in nine days.

A dual departure ceremony was held on the same day at Chongqing's Xiaonanya Station and Malaysia's Sungai Way Station. Chongqing Vice Mayor Zheng Xiangdong and Malaysian Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook attended the ceremony and jointly issued departure commands via video link. Over 100 representatives from relevant government departments and enterprises in Chongqing, Laos, Thailand, and Malaysia participated in the event.

This train marks the first cross-border freight train of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor that traverses China, Laos, Thailand, and Malaysia entirely by rail in both directions. It is an extension and exploration following the regular operation of the China-Laos-Thailand train since December 2023.

"The launch of the train has received strong support from the governments, customs, railways, and various enterprises of China, Laos, Thailand, and Malaysia. This is a new achievement in deepening cooperation and economic and trade exchanges between China and Malaysia, and a vivid practice of our district’s integration into the construction of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor," said a relevant official from Jiangjin District. The official added that the train's operation has opened a new trade route between Jiangjin, Chongqing, Western China, and ASEAN countries. 

Since the opening of the China-Laos railway, Jiangjin District has successively launched over ten international and domestic channel brands connecting the "Belt and Road" and the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, including the China-Laos train, China-Laos-Thailand international intermodal train, and China-Laos-Thailand-Malaysia cross-border railway train. These include characteristic trains that integrate transportation and trade, such as imports of durians, bananas, hot pot ingredients, cassava, and exports of general machinery and automobiles. 

The coverage of these trains has extended to 123 countries and 514 ports globally, with the hub service capacity achieving leapfrog development. An international multimodal transport service network connecting Europe, ASEAN, and radiating the Chengdu-Chongqing region has initially taken shape. From January to May, the Jiangjin trains of the Western Land-Sea New Corridor operated 630 trains in total, transporting 31,516 standard containers, a year-on-year increase of 55%.