The railway cars to be delivered Photo: Chinanews.com

A total of 50 railway cars rolled off the assembly line at Chinese rolling stock maker CRRC's Meishan plant in Southwest China's Sichuan Province on Wednesday, the first domestically made cargo freight rail car for the China-Laos Railway, China Media Group (CMG) reported on Wednesday.

The railway car, type C70E-L, also boasts a patented new braking system that provides better reliability, according to the report.

In all, 300 railway cars, after testing and inspection, will be delivered along the Chengdu-Kunming railway to Laos. This will contribute to the development of the first modern railway in Laos and to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, CMG reported.

The China-Laos Railway is the first international railway that fully uses Chinese technological standards, Chinese equipment and fully connected with Chinese railway network since the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed.

According to experts, the fact that trains and rail cars can smoothly run between production and repair facilities based in China and the work section in the Laos means the railway will tap China's low-cost advantage and reduce overall maintenance costs.

In earlier December, the 1,035-kilometer-long China-Laos Railway celebrated its first full year in service since going into operation. During the period, the railway has carried 11.2 million tons of cargo and a total of 8.5 million passenger trips.

Demonstrating the railway's great capacity in boosting regional trade, the cargo categories handled by the railway have expanded from around 10 types of goods in the early stage of opening to more than 1,200 kinds of electronics, photovoltaic, and cold chain-fruits among others while covering multiple countries and regions such as Thailand along the BRI route, according to China Railway.

Boosted by the railway, the production of iron ore, cassava flour and rubber in Laos has increased by 1.8 million tons, 2 million tons and 1 million tons respectively, compared with a year ago.

It is estimated that the China-Laos Railway has created, directly and indirectly, some 100,000 jobs in logistics and other sectors, according to China Railway.

Global Times