Did you know the little Southeast Asian country of Laos has more high-speed rail than the USA and Australia combined? The Boten-Vientiane Railway runs through northern Loas and reaches speeds of over 160kmp/h. But what’s it like to catch and ride this new rapid train line?
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For the longest time, Laos has been ignored by all but the most adventurous travellers and not just because it’s surrounded by countries with bigger marketing budgets — and beaches. The truth is the roads have made it hard to travel around Laos.
Up until recently (as in 2021), travellers wanting to visit places like Vang Vieng would have to subject themselves to hours-long spine-squashing van rides along crumbling dirt roads that wind their way through a precipitous mountain scape.
But now, a new high-speed rail line, built and paid for by China, hurtles you through the countryside at over 160kmp/h, turning the unpleasant day-long journey into a quick air-conditioned one-hour trip.
And we took this train on an incredible 10-day journey in Laos that we mentioned here in our Flavour of The Month of March.
How to Get Tickets
At the moment, buying tickets for the Laos train is quite complicated. There are lots of third-party sites offering booking services — some of which look a bit scammy, so be careful buying tickets.
What makes it more complex is that tickets are only issued a few days out from travel, but you need to book because the trains fill up quickly.
This link will take you to Viator, which has reasonable prices on tickets and is a trusted provider, and you’ll have your e-tickets sent to you a day or two before your train trip.
Prices are good considering you can get from Vientiane to Luang Prabang in under two hours, so it’s understandable why the train’s popular. The same trip by road would be many hours, possibly over two days.
We travelled with tour company InsideAsia Travel on their Laos by Rail itinerary. This tour took us from Laos’ capital all the way up to Luang Prabang via Vang Vieng on the train. InsideAsia organised all the train tickets, taking all the stress of booking and collecting the tickets out of our trip.
Arriving at the Station
Before you head to the station to board the train, make sure your luggage is compliant with the rules of travel.
The Boten-Vientiane Railway is very strict with what you can and can’t bring on the train. In many ways, it’s stricter than airports and flight companies.
Along with the usual explosives, guns, ammunition, chemicals, drugs, animals etc, things like aerosols and spray cans are illegal on the train. Even if you pack your deodorant in your main luggage, the scanners at the main door of the station will pick them up.
No scissors, penknives or multitools are permitted either. I had my very expensive Leatherman confiscated as well as my deodorant at Vientiane Station. They don’t miss a trick.
Some foods are banned too: “Passengers are prohibited from bringing all kinds of food that has a bad smell and watery food that will create impurity.”
Because security is so tight, make sure you arrive with plenty of time to spare.
Inside, the cavernous lounge has plenty of seating and a small shop where you can buy snacks but not much else.
Boarding the Train
No one is allowed onto the platform before the train has stopped. And even though your ticket comes with seat allocation, be prepared to queue up to get onto the platform.
Once the doors open, it becomes a bit of a free for all January sales kind of rush. Really, there’s no need to line up or hurry, as your seat is assigned, but you tend to get caught up in things, don’t you.
Having said that, the trains leave very promptly, so make sure you don’t dawdle. Station employees on the platform usher you along to the point of being pushy, and lingering on the platform for photos will eventually court the ire of the jobsworth guards.
Then they get a bit shouty.
Onboard the Train
Once in your seat, things are comfortable enough. Seats are in a 2-2 formation, there is in-seat power for any electrical devices and the seatbacks can recline quite a bit. Luggage storage space is limited, however, and the overhead storage isn’t up to much, so bear that in mind when you pack and when you get on the train.
There are Western style toilets on board.
A food trolley goes through the carriages between stops, where you can pick up local snacks, but no alcohol is allowed on the train.
The views out of the large windows whisk past as you hurtle through the Lao countryside. It’s a relaxing, comfortable journey.
There are plenty of announcements over the PA as you travel, mostly centred around keeping the train clean and tidy.
My favourite was:
“Ladies and gentlemen, please tighten the lid of your bottle and don’t allow children or the elderly to drink from bottles while the train is in motion.”
Disembarking the Train
Once the train pulls into the station and you get off, you can’t hang around on the platform. Much like boarding the train, if you don’t move on immediately, staff will become ‘assertive’.
People at the back of the group have guards nipping at their heals.
Over all, the Boten-Vientiane Railway is a great service, making Laos a much easier place to travel.
The trains and their gargantuan stations are clean, efficient and effective, and the fact that you get to see parts of the Laos countryside you’d never see from the road make this a very attractive way to get around.
There are rumours that this line will extend much further in the next few years, covering not just more of Laos, but internationally too. Eventually, it might go as far as Singapore and connect to southern China — over 2,500km of track.
Now, that would be a train journey to take!
