The Laos-China Railway opened on the 2nd of December 2021, making it the first railway in Laos (not counting the border shuttle at Thanaleng from Nong Khai in Thailand). The train from Vientiane to Boten takes just 3.5 hours, and its main stops include Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, and Muang Xai.
Laos was still closed for international travel when it opened, so the railway has been running as a domestic service during its first few months of operations. Laos reopened its borders in May 2022, so I returned to see for myself.
I have been waiting to ride this train since construction began in December 2016. I made a map of current and proposed railways in Southeast Asia, and this is one of the biggest railways projects in the region.
In my quest to ride all of the railways of Southeast Asia, I rode the Laos-China Railway from Vientiane to Boten and back again, stopping at the major stations along the way.
This is a trip report of my travels on the Laos-China Railway in May 2022. The information on this page was already out of date when I published this as there has been a price change and another station opened. The timetable will also change over time once trains from China and Thailand start operating.
I have a separate Laos-China Railway Guide which will be updated with information about tickets and services.
Laos-China Railway Map
Stations
My trip began at Vientiane Station, which is the start and end of the Vientiane-Boten line.
The first thing that stood out was the station name is only shown in Lao and Chinese.
There are tri-lingual signs (Lao/Chinese/English) and announcements in the train station are also tri-lingual.
Station security
The stations have airport-style security where you have to have a ticket to enter the stations and your bags are scanned. Aerosols are listed as a banned item, so my can of deodorant was taken from me.
If you are bringing in water they make you drink a sip of it tp prove that it is not an explosive substance. This is the most sensible system I have seen anywhere for liquid security.
Restaurants and shops
I arrived at Vientiane early with the intention of doing some people-watching at the station cafe. It turns out that there were no shops of any kind inside or outside the station. There were only a few vendors outside the stations, and inside the station was one lone vending machine.
I was joined by my friend Calvin on the Vientiane to Luang Prabang section of this trip, so we celebrated with a can of coffee from the vending machine.
The vending machine also dispenses beer (a thing that would never happen in Australia), and instant noodles.
This vending machine was the only one I saw at any of the express stations, and there were no shops at any other station. There were pop-up Beerlao stands at each station, which looked to be a recent promotion that had ended. You would have to assume that shops will be set up eventually as this seems like a missed opportunity to collect rent revenue.
There were some roadside shops at the entrance to Luang Prabang, but apart from that, there was nothing to eat outside the other stations.
One thing that every station has is water fountains serving hot and cold water. This reminded me of my travels in China, where people bring their own flasks of tea, and where instant noodles are served everywhere.
Station toilets
The stations have the options of sit or squat toilets.
I was once again reminded of my travels in China by the fact that there is no toilet paper. If you have been travelling in Southeast Asia for a while you should be packing your own in your day bag. If you are new to this part of the world, then remember to bring your own.
Express and Local Services
There are two train types operating on this domestic route. The express service travels up to 160 km/h and only stops at the main stations:
– Vientiane
– Vang Vieng
– Luang Prabang
– Muang Xai
– Na Teuy
– Boten
A local train service also runs at a speed of up to 120 km/h. This one stops all stations and the tickets are cheaper. Not all of the local stations are open yet, so this will cover more destinations over time.
Onboard
[Boarding the train at Vientiane.]
It was a strange sensation to be on a modern and fast railway in Southeast Asia, and when the train departed on time I couldn’t believe it was happening. “I’m on a train in Laos!” I exclaimed out aloud, still getting used to the idea that that is a phrase that can now be said.
This trip from Vientiane to Luang Prabang used to take two days before the expressway was built, and even now it can take up to a day. Now it takes less than two hours.
Here is what the express train looks like arriving at Luang Prabang:
[Train arriving at Luang Prabang Station.]
The train can travel at a speed of up to 160 km/h, making it a semi-high-speed railway. It is not – as some media outlets keep repeating – a high-speed railway. It is an ideal speed for a country the size of Laos.
The seats in economy are in a 3×2 configuration, so the seats are a bit narrower compared to trains with a 2×2 configuration.
I travelled in Business Class from Muang Xai to Boten, where the seats are in 2×2 configuration. I have also seen images of a carriage with 1×2 seat configuration for Business or First Class, but I didn’t see that on this trip.
The most important thing is leg room, of which there is plenty. You can easily pass someone in the aisle, or recline your seat without guilt.
On my return trip from Vang Vieng to Vientiane my seatmate had taken over my space with her bags. there is so much legroom that I didn’t bother to move her bags for the 55-minute trip.
There are power outlets under the seats, but no wifi onboard.
Onboard food
With only a can of coffee on offer at Vientiane I was hoping that there would be a cafeteria or drink cart on board. There is no cafeteria section on this train, and I didn’t see any drink cart between Vientiane and Luang Prabang. On another day I saw a drink cart going through the carriage.
The only items on offer was water and Pepsi.
There are hot water dispensers in the train as well, but they weren’t selling instant noodles. This might have been a Covid-related issue (like some airlines not selling food), so I will give them the benefit of the doubt about the lack of food for sale onboard.
Onboard Toilets
One of the main reasons that trains are better than buses is that you can go to the toilet whenever you want.
The express trains have the option of squat toilets or sitting toilets.
Like the stations, there is no toilet paper, so come prepared.
I only saw squat toilets on the local train.
Buying tickets
Edit: You can now buy tickets via the online travel agent Baolau, and it was announced that there will be an official app by the end of 2022.
The ticketing system was the biggest issue I encountered, which will become even more problematic once more international passengers start using the railway.
There are no online sales for tickets, so tickets have to be bought at the stations or at a ticket office in Vientiane and Luang Prabang. And tickets are only available 3 days in advance (same day plus next 2 days).
In Vientiane, I bought tickets at the ticket office at the Vientiane Center shopping mall. This office doesn’t accept cash or credit cards. I had read online that they accept Wechat, so I had set up my Wechat to make payments. When I arrived at the office I found out they only accept a local payment app called OnePay. I ended up asking someone in the queue to pay for me with their app, and I gave them cash. The ticket offices at the train stations accept cash.
[OnePay and UnionPay at Luang Prabang ticket office.]
It was still early days in the reopening of Laos so there weren’t many international travellers about. When I was buying tickets in Vientiane there was a foreigner couple in the queue who left the ticket office loudly complaining.. This ticketing system will be a real problem once more tourists return.
[Ticket at Luang Prabang ticket office.]
The city ticket offices only sell tickets departing from that destination, so that is another inconvenience.
So far there are no official ticket sellers at travel agents. I read on some forums that you could arrange to have tickets bought for you, but I haven’t found any reputable way to do this. There was also a problem early on of people buying lots of tickets and then reselling them at a higher cost, so the amount of tickets you can buy is limited.
I bought a ticket for my friend at the Vientiane ticket office, and I needed his passport copy and vaccine certificate when buying his ticket.
Ticket prices
I thought the ticket prices were very reasonable for what we were getting. They must have realised that as well, because they announced that there would be a 20% increase in prices just days after I finished this trip. Most of the seats were filled on every day I travelled, so they may still be in price discovery mode. This is a sample of what I paid:
Vientiane – Luang Prabang 217,000 LAK ($16.03 USD)
Luang Prabang Muang Xai 105,000 LAK ($7.76 USD)
Muang Xai-Boten (First Class) 90,000 LAK ($6.65 USD)
Boten-Muang Xai 58,000 LAK ($4.29 USD)
Boten-Muang Xai (Local Train) 41,000 LAK ($3.03 USD)
Muang Xai-Vang Vieng 178,000 LAK ($13.16 USD)
Vang Vieng-Vientiane 103,000 LAK ($7.61 USD)
1 USD was approximately 14,000 Laotian Kip (LAK) at the time of my trip.
Transport
Vientiane station is 17 km outside the city centre, so you need to factor in extra travel time to get there. Google Maps said it was 30 minutes in the morning, and we got there in 20 minutes.
Coming back to Vientiane it took about 55 minutes by bus to get from the station to the central bus station in peak hour traffic.
We got a private taxi that was arranged by the hotel for 170,000 LAK. On the way back I got the local bus that goes to the central bus station for 15,000 LAK.
Vang Vieng Station is about 4 km from the city centre. The transport prices are:
Shared tuktuk: 30,000 LAK
Private tuktuk 50,000 LAK
Motorbike taxi: 20,000 LAK
Luang Prabang Station is about 12 km from the historic centre of Luang Prabang, and it took about 25 minutes to get there. I was wondering what the transport situation would be like here as it will most likely be the most popular stop for tourism.
When we arrived we got a shared tuktuk with two Laotians. One of the men was a policeman (he showed us his ID) and we all paid 50,000 LAK each. With the policeman paying the same rate I guessed we paid the correct fare. On the way back I rented a private tuktuk for 80,000 LAK, and my friend went back earlier and rented a private car for 170,000 LAK. The official shared minivan price is listed at 35.000 LAK.
Muang Xai Station is about 3 km from the city centre.
Electric trolley: 5,000 LAK
Shared tuktuk: 30,000 LAK
Private tuktuk: 50,000 LAK
I also visited Boten at the end of the line, but it is not open for tourism when I was there. It was still a big construction site and you needed to do a covid test to enter. The station is 4.7 km from the city area and there was one lone motorbike taxi at the station when I arrived. Everyone appeared to be there for work purposes and had their own transport. The motorbike taxi knew I had no options and charged me 100,000 LAK to ride to the city.
The views
I will finish up with some views from the train. Actually, once you get north of Vang Vieng you are going to see a lot of the inside of tunnels (there are so many tunnels!).
Here is what to expect outside the tunnels.
[View near Vang Vieng.]
[Mekong crossing near Luang Prabang.]
[Second Mekong crossing.]
Future international travel
The railway has been built with a connection to China, and there will eventually be trains from Kunming. The border at China was still closed so I will come back and do this trip when it is open.
At Boten station you will have to leave the train and follow the path to the international section of the station.
There is a separate international entrance at Boten.
I am wondering if you clear Chinese immigration here as well (like how you clear British and French immigration at the same station on the Eurostar service). I will find out next time when I do the trip from Vientiane to Kunming!
thanks for the report and all I can say is whoaaaaa!
My wife andI first went to Laos in 2003 in an unplanned travel choice from Bangkok, and fell in love.We traveled from Vientiane to Luang Prabang. We have returned over the decades several times to our beloved Luang Prabang each time expecting it to be exploited beyond our enjoyment… but even though changed westill loved it.
this train is… well good luck for the Laotians and I hope somehow it will still allow for the beauty of Laos to continue.
That all sounds and looks very much like a Chinese high-speed train system, only slower and with less sophisticated ticketing.
Looking forward to use it when China is open again!
As for the immigration. There are two separated immigration on each side of Laos and China.
Na Teuy is also a major station which both EMU and Green Train stop.
Hi! We’re travelling to luang parabang from Thailand (the huay xai border crossing) and we’re hoping to take the train. Does anyone know where can we find information about the status of the local train service?
The local train runs daily but you can also check on the official facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LaosChinaRailway/ – they post schedules every day
Nearest station is Na Teuy Station in Laos. Taking bus from huay Sai is about 6-8 hours. Costing about 120.000 kip if I remembercorrectly. Both EMU and green train stop there
Hi! Would you know if they are accepting walk in passengers now? Thank tou!
You can go to the station on the day of travel, it is just that you are not guaranteed that there will be a seat available.
Hey there, so are we able to go to Boten? I wanted to visit Luang Namtha after Luang Prabang but not sure if this is possible. Would you have any idea? 🙂
Yes you can go to Boten, but if you are going to Luang Namtha then it would be easier to go to Na Mor station. I think this will be a popular option in the future, but I have not seen if they are coordinating buses to meet trains there yet.
I thought Na teuy station is near to luang Nantha
Yes, yes should have been Nateuy!
Hi James,
Very informative post but can I just ask if there is any way to pre-book the tickets rather than leave it to chance as we only have 5 days to travel in Laos and we’re planning to stop by Wang Vieng as well.
This website seems to be selling train tickets in which I am not sure if its legit seeing that you mentioned that one has to physically Q at the ticket counter to buy the tickets and could only use wechat to pay.. Dont even know how that works!
Hi Cindy, yes I recently saw that Baolau is now selling tickets so I need to update my post! I have not used Baolau for buying tickets in Laos, but I use them frequently in Vietnam and they are a legitimate booking site. They may be doing what 12go in Thailand do, which is buying tickets manually and adding a fee. It was announced recently that the railway will release a booking app by the end of the year, so the Baolau option seems to be best for now if you don’t want to queue.
I have just used Baolau to book train tickes from Luang Prabang to Vientiane and they provided a very efficient service.
My tickets were booked in advance of sales and then when issued (3 days before travel) Baolau contacted me again by email / Whatsapp to arrange ticket delivery to my hotel.
Thanks, good to know!
AT STATION, you can pay with laos kip cash.
At the ticket office in the city center: you have to pay with one pay, union pay, weichat pay. CASH is not acceptable unless other people who wanna help you.
Actually, the local hotel can also book the tickets for the guest for additional fee.
Thanks. James, very helpful ….
Hi James, thanks for this fantastic and very detailed review of the train line. May I know if the first class tickets can only be booked at the station? I don’t see this option at Baolau, only the second class ones.
I don’t know about the first-class ticket arrangement online, unless it already sold out and it is not showing. Is it showing on other days? Also, is there a business class? I have seen first and business used interchangeably.
Biz class and first class are not the same. Biz ticket passenger can enter VIP room and board the train first. Which is only 18 seats for the whole carriage Biz class is more expensive.
Great review! Thanks, James, for very helpful details. Did you stay in Boten or did you go straight back by train? I plan to take a train to Boten and want to stay overnight to explore the town. Are the hotels there open for foreigners?
I had planned to stay in Boten, but the city area was completely fenced off and required a covid test to enter. I didn’t want to risk finding out I was asymptomatic and getting held in Boten quarantine for a week so I didn’t go in.
Thanks! In early July, I visited another Chinese-run special economic zone in Laos, the Golden Triangle. By that time there were no covid-related restrictions.
Thanks for the update. I wonder if Boten is open now then. Boten was complicated because it is the land border crossing and there were literally hundreds of trucks queued up to enter China. With China’s zero-covid policy still in force, this has been a factor in Boten’s border mayhem.
This September, I travelled by express train from Vientiane to Boten and stayed there for the night. There are no more pandemic-related restrictions, but the town looks half abandoned as the China border is still closed to tourists. A cost of taxi from the station to the Boten was 100,000 LAK, which I shared with another traveller. The most difficult thing was to find a hotel to stay overnight – it seems that only one survived the pandemic and only 5 visitors stayed there including me (and I was only falang in the town). However, an hour is enough to go around the whole town through and through.
I saw a Thai youtuber did the trip at 5th september his channel is @permsap. Actually there are more hotel available. Laos and Chinese food are the dominant in Boten. Due to the language barrier and its non-tourist oriented features. Most people will not consider even visit it, unless people travel there for business.
Hi, my train from Vientiane to Luang Prabang is 7.30am.
Do you know how many hours in advance would I have to be at the train station? And how much would transport cost to Vientiane train station? Thanks much
You will be ok to be there 45 minutes in advance.
I got a private taxi to Vientiane Station for 170,000 LAK. On the way back I got the local bus that goes to the central bus station for 15,000 LAK.
Fantastic!
I just can’t believe it! What a revolution for Laos.
I cycled from china to Cambodia, quite a few times in the past and was wondering: does the local train transport bicycles ? As they do in China..
Thanks
Hi Benoît, that is quite the trip! At the moment they don’t have provision to bring bicycles.
China used to allow bicycles. But now not any more. I believed in LCR just copy it. However a foldable bike in a trolley may provides it is under the size limitation
Thanks for this great informative post!
We took the morning fast train from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng on 30 Dec 2022 and then the evening train from Vang Vieng to Vientiane the next day. A few additional observations from our experience that might be helpful to others.
We bought tickets for the first leg through our hotel in Luang Prabang two days before departure. The minimal extra cost was well worth it. One minor downside was that our seats were not together, although my seatmate generously switched seats with my husband. The train was on time and boarding was efficient. Still no food inside the station. We also did not see any food for sale on the first train. One additional observation was that the PA system in the Luang Prabang station was incredibly bad. It sounded like something from the 1950s not the 2020s!
We arrived in Vang Vieng about 12:30 and immediately went to the station’s ticket office to book our outgoing train and managed to enter just before it closed at 12:40pm for about an hour Others were not so lucky. The office also closes for a second period every day, but I do not recall exactly when or for how long. Opening and closing times are posted by the entrance. By the time we finished buying tickets most of the taxis and Tuk-Tuks offering transportation into the city had already departed. We managed to find seats on one of the last ones for 30,000/person.
After 1-1/2 days of exploring the area around Vang Vieng and taking in a beautiful sunset and sunrise, we hopped on the 19:16 train to Vientiane. While we were in second class on the first train ride, we decided to splurge and had first class seats to compare service. The train was not as full as our first, probably being New Year’s Eve and there were probably only a dozen people in the first class car. It did provide a bit of additional room (seats are 2-2 across instead of 2-3), but otherwise there is no real reason to book first class over second, unless you are traveling with others and there are no seats available together in second class.
Happy travels!
Hi Lisa, thanks for the update, that’s a great report!
Hi.Thanks a lot for the info .I did Vientiane to Ponsavan via Luang Prabang by motor bike in 2005.Will take the comfy way this time.Laos will have to foot this huge bill for a long time!Looking forward to do this train ride in a month.
Would you know about bus connections out of Muang Xay or other stations? Trying to avoid the Vientiane to Hanoi night bus, I thought about taking the train to a station with connection to Vietnam, for example Dien Bien Phu. Rather take daytime local busses to see the North of Laos and Vietnam. Any recommendations?
Hi Jan, good question and this is something I have thought about while I was there. They should turn Muang Xay into a regional travel hub where buses connect with arriving trains. There is a lot of land near Muang Xay that should be turned into a bus terminal. Unfortunately, they are not that organised yet.