Passengers arrive at the Vientiane station in Laos via the cross-border passenger service of the China-Laos Railway. File photo: Courtesy of China State Railway Group

The China-Laos Railway has facilitated over 30 million passenger trips since its operation in December of 2021, official data showed on Thursday, highlighting China's deepening cooperation with the neighboring countries under BRI.

As of Tuesday, the railway had transported a total of 30.2 million passenger trips and 34.24 million tons of cargo, with cross-border shipments exceeding 7.8 million tons, according to China Railway. This robust performance is showing a thriving trend in both passenger and freight transport along this strategic route.

The China-Laos Railway is experiencing a continuous rise in passenger volume. In the Chinese section, daily passenger trains have increased from 35 to 51, with daily passenger traffic peaking at 103,000 from the initial 20,000, China Railway said.

The Laotian section also expanded its daily passenger trains from four to 12, with daily passenger throughput peaking at 12,808 from the previous 720.

Travelling with the China-Laos Railway is a wonderful and exciting experience, as the railway now offers multi-language services and cost-effective tickets, and it has greatly facilitated our travel, a tourist surnamed Kong, told the Global Times on Thursday.

During this year's Spring Festival travel season, tourism along the China-Laos Railway has boomed. The total number of passengers transported along the entire line reached 2.96 million, representing a year-on-year growth of 39 percent.

The China-Laos Railway shows strong and steady growth in cross-border freight transportation. From January 1 to March 12 this year, the railway completed cross-border freight transportation of 1.064 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 33.9 percent.