Infrastructure-poor Laos, a reclusive communist-run country of 7.2 million people, previously had only four kilometres of railway tracks.īut now sleek red, blue and white bullet trains will speed along the new line at up to 160 kmh (100 mph), passing through 75 tunnels and across 167 bridges, stopping at 10 passenger stations. The train route will connect the Chinese city of Kunming to the Laos capital, with grand plans for high-speed rail to ultimately snake down through Thailand and Malaysia to Singapore.

'In the future, foreign tourists coming to the farm could be in the tens of thousands,' he told AFP. The railway will connect the Laos capital Vientiane with the Chinese city of KunmingĪnd he says it will also be easier for tourists to travel to camp under the stars and pick berries. It currently takes Phomhacsar three to four hours to send his strawberries to Vientiane by road, but he hopes the new railway will cut this delivery time in half. His farm usually produces up to two tonnes of the red heart-shaped fruits a year, but the pandemic has hit the 2021 harvest hard. Struggling strawberry farmer Anouphon Phomhacsar is hoping the new railway will get his business back on track. The 414-kilometre (260-mile) route, due to open on December 3, took five years to construct under China's trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, which funds infrastructure projects aimed at increasing Beijing's clout globally. Graphic on Laos-China Railway, set to open on December 3.Ī new $6 billion Chinese-built railway line opens in Laos this week, bringing hopes of an economic boost to the reclusive nation, but experts are questioning the benefits of a project that has seen thousands of farmers evicted from their land.

Mario kart 8 pc full emulado español