Laos
Country Details
See Wikipedia
Railway System
Railway Operators
- Laos–China Railway Company Limited (LCR) for the 422 km standard gauge line to China.
- State Railway of Thailand (SRT) for the ~ 9km of the Northeastern, metre guage, Line which reaches into Laos.
Maps
- Online: Raildiagram.com
- web archive copy of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia map from the Railways Through Europe site, dated April 2009
Timetable
- Printed: summary timetables are available in some editions of the European Rail Timetable.
Information is available at the Man in Seat 61.
The LCR timetable is available at LCR timetable valid from 22 January 2024.
Ticketing
No internal ticket purchase is possible until 3 three days before travel, even for journeys wholly within Laos on the through trains to/from China which can be booked 14 days ahead... See Man in Seat 61 for purchase options.
See Laos Train Tickets which also has information about the LCR line
Their is an LCR Ticket App, the official mobile phone ticketing application software launched by Laos-China Railway Co. Ltd. The software has functions such as ticket inquiry, reservation, online payment, ticket change, refund, order inquiry, frequent contact management, and issues daily updates re the next 3 days seat booking levels.
Journey Planner
None, only those of Agents have been found
Downloadable Timetable
Printed Timetable
None
Engineering Information
None known
Maps
Printed Maps
None known
Web-based Maps
Infrastructure
Infrastructure Authority
Not known
Network Statement
Not known
Gauges
- Standard gauge line (~420 km) from Vientiane north to China.
- Metre gauge (~9 km) from a separate station in Vientiane Khamsavath south into Thailand.
Transhipment is possible from a siding terminating just north of Thanaleng Inland Dry Port via a freight only stub beyond Vientiane LCR station.
Electrification
25 kV 50 Hz AC on the LCR to China.
Rule of the road
Both lines are almost all single track
Distances
These are quoted on the map link website above
Other Railways
None
Tourist Lines
None
Metro and light rail systems
None
Visit Reports
Recent and Future Changes
Recent Changes
The second and local pair of trains 147 and 148 from Khamsavath to Udon Thani in Thailand via the Thai border station of Nong Khai only run between Vientiane and Nong Khai from 1 May 2025.
The previous just crossing the border [on a combined road/rail bridge] Metre Gauge Bangkok - Nong Khai [SRT] - Thanaleng service was extended 8km further into Laos from 19 July 2024 to terminate at the new Vientiane Khamsavath station. Note Khamsavath station is still 9km from the city centre and in a different location to the High Speed line railway station in Vientiane.
The 418 km railway linking Vientiane and the Chinese border at Boten was formally opened on 3 December 2021. A regular once a day cross-border passenger service between Kunming in China and Vientiane commenced on 13 April 2023 and a second pair to/from Luang Prabang and Xishuangbanna sometime in 2024.
Future Changes
A Laotian and a Vietnamese company reported in March 2023 that they have the backing of their respective national governments for a study into the construction of a 555 km railway between Vientiane and the port of Vũng Áng in Vietnam.
There is a plan to extend the existing China – Laos standard gauge railway into Thailand via a new River bridge border crossing to link in with an approved Thai scheme with provision for freight transhipment facilities between SRT’s metre and standard gauge at Nong Khai in Thailand. Completion of a mainly all new Thai metre gauge line from Bangkok to Nong Khai is scheduled for 2030.
Special Notes
Access to LCR trains is via Airport style Security scanners with confiscation of anything marked as flammable or considered sharp
Lines with Obscure or Sparse passenger services
Not frequent even on the LCR towards China, with only 2 pairs daily crossing the border. 2 pairs a day to/from Thailand on the metre gauge. None Obscure.
