Laos
Laos — the old kingdom of Lan Xang, "the Land of a Million Elephants" — is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, with the Mekong for much of its western frontier and more than 7.5 million people. Vientiane is the capital and largest city; upriver stands Luang Prabang, one of the country's three UNESCO World Heritage sites along with the temple complex of Vat Phou and the Plain of Jars. Almost everything in between is mountain and forest.
That terrain is why Laos was, until very recently, the great railway blank on the map of the region. As late as 2020 the entire national network amounted to a few kilometres of track across a bridge from Thailand, and travelling the length of the country meant long, winding days on mountain roads. A single modern electrified line has changed that completely — nearly half of it runs in tunnel and much of the rest on viaducts — so a journey that once took ten hours by bus now takes a couple by train. The rolling stock is new, the fares are low, and the country has gone from railway backwater to one of the more interesting places in Asia to arrive by rail.
Rail journeys in Laos
The Bangkok–Vientiane Sleeper
Since July 2024 one sleeper runs all the way from Bangkok into Laos — north through Isan, over the Friendship Bridge at breakfast, into Vientiane.
View journey →
The Laos–China Railway
In December 2021 a landlocked country with almost no railway got one of the most dramatic lines in Asia: 75 tunnels, 167 bridges, and a two-hour glide.
View journey →Good to know
Does Laos have trains, and can you travel the country by rail?
Yes — and remarkably so, for a country that had almost no railway a few years ago. The Laos–China Railway, opened in December 2021, runs modern high-speed trains 422 km from Vientiane through Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang to the Chinese border, turning a ten-hour bus journey into a two-hour glide. It has transformed travel in Laos.
What is the best train journey in Laos?
The Laos–China Railway from Vientiane to Luang Prabang is the standout — a fast, cheap, comfortable ride through spectacular karst and mountain scenery, past the limestone pinnacles of Vang Vieng, to one of Southeast Asia's loveliest UNESCO towns. For a more old-fashioned adventure, the night train from Bangkok brings you into the country across the Mekong.
Can you travel from Bangkok to Vientiane by train?
Yes. Since 19 July 2024 a direct overnight train has run all the way from Bangkok's Krung Thep Aphiwat terminal across the First Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge to Vientiane's Khamsavath station, arriving the next morning after about eleven and a half hours. From there a shuttle connects to the high-speed line for the journey north.
How fast is the Laos–China Railway, and how much does it cost?
The Lane Xang trains run at up to 160 km/h — a fast intercity service rather than a 300 km/h bullet train, but dramatically quicker than the roads. Fares are very low: the flagship Vientiane–Luang Prabang run costs roughly US$16 in second class and about US$25 in first, for a journey of around two hours.