Road congestion strengthens rail in Asia
DHL has seen significant uptake with its 2021 launched daily connection between Kunming, China and Vientiane, Laos.
The rail service shortens transit time between these two destinations to about 20 – 24 hours, compared to 20-30 days with the present heavy traffic on the routes through Vietnam. But this is not the only reason for the rail boom on the China-Laos-line. The local Covid-19 related situations have caused heavy road congestions on the China-Vietnam border.
Over 2,000 trucks are queuing up on both sides of the main connection Pingxiang (China) bordering Lang S'on (Vietnam), causing delays of up to 20-30 days. The alternative border at Dongxin (China) bordering Mong Cai (Vietnam), which reopened on 10 January, is still experiencing backlogs. Both congestions are expected to continue through to the Lunar New Year, DHL said. (ben)