Lao Cai, Vietnam: Two temperature-controlled trains carrying vegetables and fruit have departed from Yuxi in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province for Vientiane in Laos and Lao Cai in Vietnam. It is the start of temperature-controlled express services on the China-Laos and the China-Vietnam railways, connecting Yunnan to the inland Chinese regions and the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor.
The China-Laos temperature-controlled service which operates on the China-Laos Railway can transport goods between Yunnan and Vientiane in 26 hours. The China-Vietnam temperature-controlled express based on Kunming-Yuxi-Hekou Railway and China-Vietnam meter gauge railway can send cargos to Lao Cai in 20 hours.
The cold-chain trains have advantages in safety, efficiency, capacity, and advanced cold storage equipment, according to an official from China Railway.
Yunnan produces more than 28 million tons of vegetables and 13 million tons of fruits annually. The operation of cold-chain expresses on China-Laos railway and China-Vietnam railway is expected to carry 50,000 tonnes of Yunnan’s vegetables and fruits to south-east Asia annually, and over 100,000 tonnes of tropical fruits from Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
