From Laos, the ASEAN Express travels to Kunming in China’s southern Yunnan province, before arriving in Chongqing.
The rail service is 30 per cent cheaper than road haulage on average, said KTMB, and is also a greener and more sustainable alternative.
“A GOOD START”
Railway experts have hailed the inaugural freight service from Malaysia to China as historic.
“This is a good start. Even though it is small, it can grow,” said Mr Rosli Azad Khan, consultant and managing director of MS Traffic Planners.
He also said this would allow Malaysia to grow its transportation sector, so it can be a dominant player in the countries served by the ASEAN Express.
“I think Malaysia should take the lead in this – it is a good opportunity,” he said.
Professor Khalid Hasnan, head of Malaysia’s Industry Centre of Excellence for Railway, noted: “If you can convince the industry that you can deliver fast, efficient, cheap, and yet the integrity of your goods is assured, they will go for it.”
The experts also said that apart from improving regional rail connectivity, they expect logistics costs to go down.
Mr Rosli pointed out that passenger and freight demand in all four countries is “very high” and railway services would better serve their needs than roads.
“In the future, we cannot rely on highways to serve us, both for passengers and for freight. We have to go back to the railway,” he added.
