1st China-Laos Railway freight train departs from Nanjing of E. China's Jiangsu

A train carrying 33 refrigerated containers departs from the Tengjun International Land Port in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, for Laos, Dec. 4, 2021. It is the first train involved in cold-chain logistics on the 1,035-km China-Laos Railway, a landmark project of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, which started operation on last Friday. (Xinhua)

BEIJING, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The first China-Laos Railway freight train has departed from Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province on Wednesday, marking the first of its kind in the province as well as the Yangtze River Delta, according to China Railway Shanghai Group Co.,Ltd.

At around 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, the train fully loaded with a total of 76 TEUs of exports is departing from Yaohuamen station in Nanjing and bound for Lao capital Vientiane.

It is noted that the train is loaded with export goods made in Jiangsu Province such as distance education materials, cables, electric appliances, auto parts worth nearly 3 million U.S. dollars.

The opening of China-Laos Railway freight train will explore a new foreign trade channel for local enterprises in Jiangsu Province and bring more "made in Jiangsu" products to go abroad.

The operation of the China-Laos Railway will better serve the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), promote the interconnection and intercommunication between China and neighboring countries as well as ensure faster logistics to inject impetus into cross-border commerce.