Laos-Thailand railway link set for expansion next year
Phase II of the Laos-Thailand railway, which will see the line extended from the suburbs to central Vientiane, is set to resume after the project was suspended in 2011. The line will be built over a distance of 7.5km to link the track from the outlying Thanalaeng railway station in Hadxaifong district to the inner city, a senior government official in charge of the project said on December 22. Deputy Director General of the Lao Railway Department, Mr Sonesack N. Nhansana, told Vientiane Times yesterday that the government has instructed authorities to resume construction of the railway in line with the original plan. The extension will link Thanalaeng railway station on the outskirts of Hadxaifong district near the Mekong River to Khamsavat village in inner Xaysettha district. Mr Sonesack said the project was previously suspended because Lao authorities wanted to study in detail how the 1-metre standard gauge Laos-Thailand track could be joined to the 1.435-metre standard-gauge track width of the planned Laos-China railway.
