Lao Railway Progress

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parrot
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by parrot » May 27, 2020, 10:08 pm

FrazeeDK wrote:
May 27, 2020, 8:03 pm
saw a number of flatbed trucks on the east side ring road today (Wed 0527) heading north all carrying what appeared to be 25 meter Standard Gauge Railway rails. Gotta be heading to Laos.. I wonder if the bridge is open for commercial items such as those or if they're stockpiling them in a warehouse yard in Nong Khai..?
I thought some of those were piled up at the Nong Ta Kai station several years ago.



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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by FrazeeDK » May 29, 2020, 3:00 pm

nope, those Nong Takai piles of rails were the old rails replaced around 2011-2013 when they put in the new concrete sleeper, new welded rails and new gravel ballast. Those huge stacks are still there. A little surprising in that I"m sure they're worth something in scrap value. Those trucks I saw on the Ring Road the other day were carrying a larger rail that I think would be the normal size for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) they're using for the Lao-China rail system..
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by FrazeeDK » June 1, 2020, 5:53 pm

Rolling Stock? I posed a question and here's an answer.. Locomotives moved through Thailand by specialized transport back in January.. Don't recall seeing any stories of these big boys moving up to the Mekong and across in Beungkhan Province.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfauWTqOOP4
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by the-monk » June 1, 2020, 6:39 pm

Thanks. Isn't that amzing that it s not been mentioned by the Thai media ? Everyone has phone and can take pictures, how did they managed to avoid beeing seen and reported by the media ? Is this a State secret ? Where is Buang Khan province did they cross the Mekong river ? Laos is getting brand new locos, meanwhile in Thailand ????.

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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by parrot » June 2, 2020, 12:01 am

the-monk wrote:
June 1, 2020, 6:39 pm
Thanks. Isn't that amzing that it s not been mentioned by the Thai media ? Everyone has phone and can take pictures, how did they managed to avoid beeing seen and reported by the media ? Is this a State secret ? Where is Buang Khan province did they cross the Mekong river ? Laos is getting brand new locos, meanwhile in Thailand ????.
I'll admit to not being very proficient in the Thai language, but have a fairly high degree of success finding articles of interest in the Thai press by googling key words. I searched a wide variety of Thai phrases for anything (anything) about engine deliveries to Laos from Thailand......nothing. I'm not questioning that it happened......just weird that nothing reported, that I can find, in the Thai press.

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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by FrazeeDK » September 18, 2020, 4:59 pm

138km of track laid, moving past Vang Vieng and Vang Vieng railway station nearly complete. Total length of railway will be around 422km so they're moving right along.. https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/qwyw/rdxw/148206.htm
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by Laan Yaa Mo » September 18, 2020, 6:15 pm

the-monk wrote:
June 1, 2020, 6:39 pm
Thanks. Isn't that amzing that it s not been mentioned by the Thai media ? Everyone has phone and can take pictures, how did they managed to avoid beeing seen and reported by the media ? Is this a State secret ? Where is Buang Khan province did they cross the Mekong river ? Laos is getting brand new locos, meanwhile in Thailand ????.
It's a small province as is the capital. I have spent one night in Bueng Kan, and passed through the province five or six times. You can take a ferry from here to Paksan in Laos.

'The province is in the northeastern corner of Thailand. It borders, from the south clockwise, Nakhon Phanom, Sakon Nakhon, and Nong Khai Province. To the north and east it borders Bolikhamsai Province of Laos, with the Mekong River forming the boundary.' - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bueng_Kan_Province

"Bueng Khan is accessible via boat from Paksan, Laos. The following directions are from the Paksan boat terminal and immigration office.

1. If you're facing the river (towards Thailand), there are some tuk-tuks on the left side at the end of the road. On the opposite side (right side) is the immigration office. Its small and not well marked aside from a guard post (and a guard inside). Go into the building to get stamped out of Laos.

2. Walk out of the building down to the boats. The guards will check your passport and let you onto the dock. You'll also have to fill out your information (passport number, name etc.) once you get onto the dock.

3. Buy a ticket. The normal price is either 60 baht or 15,000 kip per person. This will cost more if it's an 'overtime' period (weekends, holidays, and weekdays after 4 pm). You'll then be directed to get onto the next boat that is leaving.

4. Once you cross the river you'll see some stairs. Go to the top of the stairs and turn right. You'll see a small office with Thai immigration officers. Take an arrival/departure card, fill it out, then line up in order to get processed and stamped into Thailand. There are normally 1-2 immigration officers walking around near the office to organize and help you fill out forms.

5. After you get stamped into Thailand, go behind the big building where you'll see tuk-tuks. They will charge 50 baht per person for a shared ride into downtown Bueng Kan. If it's just one person, it's 100 baht for the whole tuk-tuk. The tuk-tuks are happy to let you wait around for other people to share the cost of a ride into town. If you ask for the bus station or a nearby city (e.g. Nong Khai, Udon Thani, or Nakhon Phanom), you'll get dropped downtown where busses to Udon Thani, Nong Khai, and possibly other Nakhon Phanom pick up passengers. You can buy tickets once you arrive downtown.

Overall, this is a very quiet, low-key border crossing. This is also possibly the only place where you can take the boat across the river to/from Thailand and Laos. There are very few farang (non-Thai or Lao) that live or pass through here. The officers (Thai and Laos) and tuk-tuk drivers on the Thai side of the border were very friendly and honest here which is a nice change of pace from the other Thailand-Laos border crossings." - https://wikitravel.org/en/Bueng_Kan
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by fdimike » September 18, 2020, 7:40 pm

To the best of my knowledge it's not possible for a foreigner to enter Laos from Bueng Kan. However, you can enter Thailand from Paksan on the Lao side of the river. I crossed into Thailand by ferry from Paksan to Bueang Kan and was told by Lao Immigration that once processed out of Laos at Paksan I would not be permitted to return to Laos via this border crossing. I would have to travel to either Nong Khai, or NKP or Mukdahan if I wanted to return to Laos. I confirmed this with the Thai Immigration officers who processed my re-entry into Thailand.
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by FrazeeDK » October 23, 2020, 8:36 pm

This Lao guy puts up regular videos on both the Lao-China Railway and the Vientiane-Vang Vieng Expressway, both major infrastructure projects in Laos. Here's his latest on the railway project taken at the construction marshaling yard I think northwest of Vientiane. Three large diesel engines are shown along with a crew transport tram. The stacks of concrete railway ties seems endless. I lived in Vientiane 2002-2007 and never thought something like this could actually be accomplished.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ8EOTZonVo
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by parrot » October 24, 2020, 4:32 am

When my wife and I long for a rerun of Little House on the Prairie, we'll tune in to Lao videos about life there today. My wife spent several months there as a young teenager, caring for the child of an expat couple in Vientiane. When I watch the village videos along with the videos about the progress on the high speed railway, one can't help but wonder what life is going to be like in Laos in the near future. I think there's something like 98 tunnels that have been dug, countless bridges over rivers and overpasses over highways and dirt roads. A massive undertaking for one of the poorest countries in Asia. One wonders if the days of LHotP are soon to be a thing of the past.
Thanks for the regular updates on the progress.

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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by tamada » October 24, 2020, 6:49 am

FrazeeDK wrote:
June 1, 2020, 5:53 pm
Rolling Stock? I posed a question and here's an answer.. Locomotives moved through Thailand by specialized transport back in January.. Don't recall seeing any stories of these big boys moving up to the Mekong and across in Beungkhan Province.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfauWTqOOP4
Interesting to note the logo on the front of the engines is the China Railways logo. The engines look new, maybe refurbished. Maybe this is the "overseas" unit of China Rail?

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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by pipoz4444 » October 24, 2020, 11:10 am

FrazeeDK wrote:
October 23, 2020, 8:36 pm
This Lao guy puts up regular videos on both the Lao-China Railway and the Vientiane-Vang Vieng Expressway, both major infrastructure projects in Laos. Here's his latest on the railway project taken at the construction marshaling yard I think northwest of Vientiane. Three large diesel engines are shown along with a crew transport tram. The stacks of concrete railway ties seems endless. I lived in Vientiane 2002-2007 and never thought something like this could actually be accomplished.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ8EOTZonVo
You can only hope that there will be some real economic benefit to the people of Laos in the future and that it will not simply be a transit corridor.

Either way, it is impressive. Photo apparently taken on 29 July 2020 (The China-Laos Railway will run more than 400 km from Boten border gate in northern Laos, bordering China, to Vientiane). It should also bring some benefit to the upper north east of Thailand (Our neck of the woods)

China Laos Railway Line  - Photo 29 July 2020 (3).jpg

China Laos Railway Line (2).jpg

China Laos Railway Line (1).jpg

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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by FrazeeDK » October 24, 2020, 2:04 pm

Based on Google Maps satellite views the rail route swings around the north side of Vientiane and to the east. I'm at a loss as to where it is planned to come across the Mekong.. Certainly there must be some long term route planning done by the Thai government since there's no doubt the rail line will extend down through Issan to Bangkok and to Mapthaput Port...
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by FrazeeDK » October 24, 2020, 2:09 pm

The railhead in China where the construction started heading south concurrent with the Lao rail construction is at Yuxi, a railhead south of Kunming. The Lao segment is actually a rather small part of a major rail expansion into southwest China. The Chinese are also building internal routes down to the northern Burmese border too.
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by FrazeeDK » November 27, 2020, 8:47 pm

once again large special vehicles transporting various Chinese rail engines and specialty equipment from Laem Chabang port to the Mekong in Bueng Khan Province to cross via ferry into Lao. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km1rGgptfo8
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by the-monk » November 27, 2020, 9:14 pm

Wow. Superb. Imazing video. Thanks a lot.
Post again.
Stay safe.
Have a nice day-evening.

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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by parrot » November 28, 2020, 12:36 am

Nice videos! From what I've read, most/all the construction in Laos is being done by Chinese labor/equipment. I'm guessing the result will be a longtime Chinese presence in Laos. It seems the planned crossing is from Tha-Nha-Laeng into Nongkai, but can't find anywhere that shows the exact location. If'n'when the upper Isaan construction actually begins, I'd guess there will be major non-rail-related construction developments in Nongkai/Udon/Khonkaen. Maybe even in our lifetime.

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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by FrazeeDK » December 31, 2020, 9:08 pm

57% of the rail has been laid from Vientiane. They are up to Luang Prabang now and on target time-wise. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-1 ... 627837.htm The Vientiane main railway station is under construction now and appears it'll be quite a large place... I'm waiting to see a news story pop up saying the Chinese and Lao are negotiating with the Thais to build a railway bridge across the Mekong at Thana Lang..
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by tamada » December 31, 2020, 10:27 pm

^ Are they using a common gauge? That may be a redundant question but TiT after all. There's no good reason why the various railway and rapid transit services don't quite dovetail at Makkasan and various other terminus in Bangkok is there?

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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by arjay » January 1, 2021, 9:23 pm

I see Malaysia and Singapore have pulled the plug on their high speed rail link. Thailand don't seem to be doing too much about the actual links to their leg. That will stop the Chinese getting further than Laos.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/finance/ne ... 38426.html

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Intern ... il-project

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/m ... ct/2095341

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