Thailand’s durian train to China making good time: PAS
The “durian” train from Thailand to China is making better time than expected, operator Pan-Asia Silk Road Ltd (PAS) said on Saturday.
The Guangzhou-bound train transporting 25 refrigerated containers of durian left Rayong’s Map Ta Phut station on Wednesday morning.
This is the first train on the new Thailand-Laos-China freight route run by PAS and its partners, namely, China Railway Express Co Ltd, Guangzhou Communications Investment Group Co Ltd, Laos-China Railway Co Ltd, Shenzhen Eternal Asia Supply Chain Co Ltd, Vientiane Logistics Park, State Railway of Thailand, PTT Plc, Oriental Merchant Express Co Ltd, and Asia Express Logistics Co Ltd.
The schedule shows that it will take the train five days to cover the 3,453 kilometres to Guangzhou. According to PAS, the train left Rayong for the Northeast province of Nong Khai before entering Laos at Thanaleng-Vientiane Logistic Park station. It later stopped at South Vientiane station to shift containers to a Laos-China express train on Thursday.
The logistic operator said on Friday that the train entered China via the Mohan checkpoint in Yunnan at 1pm on Friday, and all 25 containers passed the inspection of Chinese customs and screening procedures for agricultural products by 9.30pm.
The train was scheduled to arrive in Kunming at 9am on Saturday before terminating at Guangzhou on Monday at the latest.
If the train arrives in Guangzhou on Monday, then the trip will have taken five days as planned.
PAS said the freight train is making better time than expected, clearing customs checkpoints in the three countries in just three days. It added that after stopping for refuelling at Kunming, the train will run non-stop to terminate in Guangzhou.
“This will be the first time for a freight train from Map Ta Phut to reach Guangzhou in five days with all 25 containers attached and never having to leave the track,” PAS said.
The company gave credit for the success to both the public and private sectors in Laos and China, who helped make the trip smooth and obstacle-free.
PAS also thanked officials at Laos’ Boten and China’s Mohan checkpoints for completing the customs and inspection process in just a few hours. Normally, freight trains end up queuing for days at the checkpoint, which usually has a daily backlog of some 300 to 400 containers.
PAS said the transport of 25 refrigerated containers from Map Ta Phut to Guangzhou has broken records for international freight transport.
“Freight train is significantly faster than road and sea shipping, not to mention safer and more economical. It is also most suitable for the transport of agricultural products such as durian, mangosteen, as well as frozen seafood,” it said.
PAS will start running a daily Thailand-Laos-China freight route in May, with the train stopping at three key cities in China, namely Kunming, Chongqing, and Guangzhou. The company has at least 1,000 refrigerated containers and provides door-to-door pickup and drop-off service for Thai durian sellers looking to export to China.
Interested exporters can contact PAS’ logistic reservation department to book a container.
