A railway that links the Association of Southwest Asian Nations (ASEAN)
countries with southwest China’s Yunnan province became operational on
February 23.
After seven years of construction, the railway has
a total length of 141 km with a designated maximum speed of 120 km per
hour. It goes through 35 tunnels and crosses 61 bridges, which together
account for 54.95 percent of the total length of the line.
The railway is part of the eastern line of the planned Pan-Asia Railway network.
The
eastern route starts in Kunming, capital of Yunnan and pass through
the cities of Yuxi, Mengzi and Hekou in Yunnan to connect with Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Singapore .
It is expected to boost land
transportation and provide a more convenient passage for exchange and
trade between China and ASEAN member countries.-VNA