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Future Laos railways (after the Vientiane-Boten Line opens)
Support for KL-Singapore HSR revival continues, Cebu-Cordova bridge main span now connected, and a proposed airport for Sa Pa.
With the China-Laos Railway now doing test runs before its official opening in December, expect to see more news reports in the lead up to this historic occasion. In preparation for this, I’ve updated my websites that cover the topic.
As regular readers here know, I have a travel site at Nomadic Notes. Over the years I was posting more articles about construction and infrastructure related to travel, but it made more sense to give those kinds of articles a new home. Thus Future Southeast Asia was born.
This week’s article is an expanded article from an old post at Nomadic Notes, which has now moved to Future Southeast Asia. This article covers all of the future railways of Laos.
The old Nomadic Notes article will instead cover current railway travel in Laos. This post will include stations, schedules, ticket prices, and other useful information for travellers. There is still not much information in English, and the official website is broken. I will collate any information I can find, and hopefully, I get to do an in-person review as soon as it is possible to travel to Laos.
One bit of information I found out this week is that there will be a local train running in addition to the express railway service. The local train will stop at all stations and will be considerably cheaper than the express service that only stops at 5 locations. This is similar to the local train services in Thailand, such as the Bangkok-Chumphon slow train.
It will be interesting to watch how tourism evolves along this railway. While the express train will obviously benefit places like Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang, the local train will present an opportunity for enterprising tourism businesses to try and lure people off at a local station.
Latest Posts At Future Southeast Asia
Current and proposed railways in Laos
Updated Posts
🇱🇦 Laos
Lao railway cables keep getting cut
Added to China-Laos Railway
🇲🇾 Malaysia
South islands project could cost PH dearly, says analyst
“Pakatan Harapan (PH) lawmakers in constituencies that will be affected by the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project face a big dilemma – if they support their own state leadership’s plans, they are likely to end up losing their seats.”
Added to Penang South Islands
Revive HSR project, don’t pay Singapore RM320mil, Guan Eng tells govt
Guan Eng says HSR up to Johor not viable, defends Pakatan for pushing back earlier Singapore link
🇵🇭 Philippines
DOTr inks deal with Chinese firm for Mindanao Railway project
“The 100-kilometer Tagum-Davao-Digos Segment is an P82 billion project that will link Davao del Norte, Davao City and Digos City with its eight stations.”
Added to Mindanao Railway Project
🇹🇭 Thailand
State insists airport rail link be ready in 4 years
Other News
🇰🇭 Cambodia
Kampot investigating ‘irregular’ state-land sales by district officials
Siem Reap’s 38-road project on track for December finish
Residents, Hun Sen press case for Phnom Penh’s historical architecture
🇮🇩 Indonesia
Indonesia and Foxconn in talks over electric vehicle investment
🇱🇦 Laos
Thousands of undocumented migrant laborers living in Golden Triangle SEZ
🇲🇾 Malaysia
Merdeka 118, the world's second tallest tower, will surpass 644m tall upon spire completion
Mixed development in Federal Hill: DBKL promises to preserve green enclave
MB: Pahang plans to build international airport in Gebeng
🇵🇭 Philippines
Cebu-Cordova bridge main span now connected
Marcos Jr. looking to make Philippines a major logistics hub in region
“Presidential aspirant former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said he would push for he modernization of the country's ports and railways to make the Philippines a major logistics hub in the region.”
CLI aims to complete Cebu techno business park by 2025
🇸🇬 Singapore
Golden Mile Complex gazetted as conserved building; future developers to get building incentives
Singapore plans to import 30% of energy from low-carbon sources by 2035
Super unique lift in 36-year-old Pasir Panjang condo feels like riding a tram in Hong Kong
🇹🇭 Thailand
End of the line looms for hawkers, rough sleepers at Bangkok station
Bangkok project studio designs a women-led restaurant in rural Thailand
🇹🇱 Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste: East to south coast road connectivity project
🇻🇳 Vietnam
Vietnam to build $305mn airport in northern resort town
“Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued a decision on Thursday to approve the construction of an airport in Sa Pa, a famous resort town in the northern Vietnamese province of Lao Cai, at an estimated cost of almost VND7 trillion (US$305 million).”
Da Lat forges ahead on 10-story hotel atop Governor's Palace Hill
[Image via groupe-eai.vn]
HCM City speeds up construction of key traffic infrastructure after lifting COVID restrictions
What does the future hold for industrial spaces in Hà Nội
“Old, industrial buildings in Hà Nội may well have run their course with many looking like a blot on the capital’s landscape. But architectural experts believe some of these empty units could provide the ideal location to create cultural spaces, giving dilapidated properties a new lease of life.”
$219mn needed to upgrade international terminal at Hanoi airport
70% highway road in Vietnam built with Japan loans
Meet the Vietnamese architects using creative design to tackle the climate crisis