Tunnel Drilling Marks Progress in China-Laos Railway

The Wanhe tunnel, 17.44 kilometers long, is drilled through on March 13, 2020, in Yuxi, Southwest China's Yunan province. [Photo by Liu Mingchuan/for chinadaily.com.cn]

The China-Laos Railway has seen decisive progress in its construction, as a tunnel was drilled through on Friday in Yuxi, Southwest China's Yunan province.

The new Wanhe tunnel, 17.44 kilometers long, is an important part of the Yuxi - Boten section, which is a difficult section of construction with 93 tunnels and 136 bridges.

Construction of the section has fully resumed, with around 22,000 workers working day in and day out to complete over 80 percent of the tunnel and bridges.

The China-Laos Railway is a strategic docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos' strategy to convert from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub.

The 414.332-km railway in Laos, with 198-km tunnels and 62-km bridges, will run from the Boten border gate in northern Laos, bordering China, to Vientiane with an operating speed of 160 km/hour.

The electrified passenger and cargo railway is built with the full application of Chinese management and technical standards.

When operational, it will leave Kunming at dawn and arrive in Vientiane at dusk. It is expected to open to traffic in 2021.

A worker checks the railway track after the Wanhe tunnel, 17.44 kilometers long, is drilled through on March 13, 2020, in Yuxi, Southwest China's Yunan province. [Photo by Liu Mingchuan/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Workers construct at the site of the Wanhe tunnel, in Yuxi, Southwest China's Yunan province, on March 13, 2020. [Photo by Liu Mingchuan/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Construction workers are busy with work at the site of the Wanhe tunnel, in Yuxi, Southwest China's Yunan province,on March 13, 2020.[Photo by Liu Mingchuan/for chinadaily.com.cn]

The Wanhe tunnel, 17.44 kilometers long, is drilled through on March 13, 2020, in Yuxi, Southwest China's Yunan province. [Photo by Liu Mingchuan/for chinadaily.com.cn]