People line up to buy tickets.  –Photo China Radio International

What were your experiences of using the Laos-China railway?

Starting last December, the Laos-China railway has been operating between Vientiane and the northern town of Boten on the Chinese border, with huge demand for tickets every day. Vientiane Times asked some passengers for their views on train travel and the problems they had encountered.

Mr Torphet Panyavong, a resident of Vientiane: It’s great that we have a high speed train from Vientiane to the north because it’s safe and we can save so much time. But I always run into problems. First of all, because tickets aren’t sold online, I had to go to the station the day before I wanted to travel, which meant I had go there twice. There were no services at the station and passengers had to wait outside with no roof to protect them from the rain or sun, and no toilets. I don’t understand why they don’t allow passengers to enter the station. Another problem is that none of the stations are located near town centres, which means people have to pay for a taxi or tuk-tuk to get there. It’s not so bad in Vientiane because there’s a bus that goes from the city to the station, and food and drinks are on sale around the station.

Mr Khone, a passenger from Vientiane province: I’ve travelled on the Laos-China railway many times, usually between Vientiane and Luang Prabang. I don’t buy the tickets by myself but get agents to buy them for me. I paid 30,000 kip extra for a ticket but some people pay more and others pay less. I don’t want to have to travel a long way to a station and then wait in a long queue to buy a ticket for tomorrow, and possibly make another five hour trip and then be told that the tickets have all been sold. Who can wait that long? I don’t understand why they don’t sell tickets online like airlines do, as this would be so much easier and more convenient. The first month after the railway opened, the rail operator said that because of Covid-19 it was not safe to sell tickets online. I also recently heard that they are concerned that tour companies will buy all the tickets if they are made available online, but surely they could prevent that happening.

Holger Melzow, a visitor from Germany: Excited about the new travel options in Laos, I went from Vientiane to Bokeo and back by train to Nateuy. In doing so, I encountered completely absurd conditions. The stations are located far outside towns, further even than airports. Hundreds of kilometres of tunnels have been drilled through mountains to build the railway, so why not a few more kilometres to an underground station in central Vientiane? The ticketing system is not nearly up to the technological standards of other Asian countries or Europe. Travellers are faced with unreasonable circumstances when buying tickets and when travelling. You feel like goods are being transported, not like an empowered traveller. Train stations are not meeting places like in Berlin or Paris. They serve only to check people and as boarding gates. You are not allowed to move or sit freely on the platforms and must obey orders issued through megaphones. Upon arrival, passengers must leave the station immediately. Tickets can often only be bought with extortionate surcharges. I grew up in Germany and since my childhood I often and gladly take the train. However, in Laos, train travel is stressful. No credit can be given for this kind of technical progress. It seems it’s only about the success of freight transport, not about providing convenience for passengers. Whenever possible, I prefer to fly with Lao Skyway.

Mr Henry, a visitor from the United Kingdom: My girlfriend and I have just arrived in Laos and wanted to travel by train to Luang Prabang. We’ve followed the news and comments on Facebook and now we are not sure what to do. Many travellers report great circumstances when buying tickets but why can you buy them only two days in advance? And why is it not possible to buy return tickets? We wanted to plan a round trip, but for this we need to book hotels in advance and be sure that we can take the train to continue our trip. There is no online ticketing system either. We could only find agencies who apparently buy up large blocks of tickets and then resell them at a high markup. Sorry, but somehow this smells like corruption. Commissions should be paid by the provider (i.e., the rail operator) to ticket agents, not the traveller. In all other countries, tickets are available at the official price. This is all very difficult to understand. How do you expect to attract more tourists to Laos after the long Covid break with such poor service? We are thinking of shortening our round trip and flying further to Vietnam. They’ve been operating a railway for over 100 years and you can buy tickets conveniently and quickly online.

By Patithin Phetmeuangphuan
(Latest Update July 26, 2022)