Vientiane – Champasak Railway

The Vientiane – Champasak Railway is a proposed railway in Southern Laos connecting Vientiane to Pakse in Champasak province.

The Vientiane – Champasak Railway would be a continuation of the proposed Vientiane Vung Ang Railway, extending south from Thakhek to Champasak.

In addition to connecting southern Laos to Vientiane Prefecture, the line could also connect to the Vientiane-Boten Railway, forming a true Laos North-South Railway.

The line is proposed to go to Vang Tao on the Laos-Thailand border. This could then connect to Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand, opening up the possibility of a Bangkok-Pakse railway service.

A potential interchange is with the proposed Savannakhet – Lao Bao Railway. This project began construction in 2013, but it has since been abandoned. Opposite Savannakhet in Thailand is Mukdahan, where a new line from Ban Phai is being built. Thailand is building a metre-gauge railway, so unfortunately, this would not be a seamless international connection.

Other proposals include extending the Vientiane – Champasak Railway to Veunkham on the Laos-Cambodia border. Veunkham is near the Four Thousand Islands and the Sithandone SEZ project. This could then become part of a Vientiane-Phnom Penh railway.

Vientiane – Champasak Railway map

This map shows the general route and not the station locations.

[Map of Vientiane – Champasak Railway.]

Links and resources

Round Table on Accelerating Digital Transformation of Rail Transport in Asia-Pacific region [PDF]

Daosadeth Soysouvanh, Department of Railways, Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

Trans-Asian Railway in the Indo-China and ASEAN Subregion: Volume 3 Section 2 [PDF]

Trans-Asian Railway [Wikipedia]

The Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) is a project to create an integrated freight railway network across Europe and Asia. The project is of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

News archive

2026

Champasak province has designated Sanasomboun district as a district that will support the development of the railway to become the central of the southern railway. – [15/01/26]

There is hope for the southern relatives, the railway is pin down south of Vientiane capital to Champasak – [14/01/26]

“On the occasion of participating in the Second Open Government Meeting of 2025 on 12-13 January 2026, Mr. Souksavanh Vilaivong, the president of Champasak Province, gave an interview to the media that: Supporting the development plan of the train from Vientiane to Champasak Province.”

Transport ministry forges ahead with rail expansion (archive) – [09/01/26]

“The government will undertake a feasibility study on the construction of a railway between Vientiane and Pakse city, while also planning to build a rail link between Laos and Vietnam.”

2025

Major infrastructure push targets road, rail, and waterway upgrades in Laos – [30/09/25]

“Feasibility studies and design work are currently underway for the Vientiane–Thakhek–Naphao line connecting to Vietnam’s Vung Ang port, the Kaisone Phomvihane City–Dansavanh route in Savannakhet province, and the Vientiane–Champasack Railway Project.”

2020

New railway proposed for southern Laos – [20/10/20]

A Thai company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Laos for a feasibility study on a new railway line in southern Laos.

The proposed railway line would connect Khammouane, Savannakhet, Salavanh, and Champasack provinces in southern Laos.

2017

Plans put in action to turn Laos into a land link, Asian editors told – [29/08/17]

“In its latest move, the Lao government plans to hold talks with Cambodia to discuss the construction of a 150-km railway linking Pakxe, the capital of southern Champassak province, to Veunkham on the Cambodian border.”

“Elsewhere, authorities in charge are preparing to carry out a feasibility study of the 345-km Thakhaek-Savannakhet-Pakxe-Vangtao railway. This would connect Thakhaek district, the capital of central Khammuan province, with the Thai border at Vangtao via Savannakhet and Champassak provinces.”

2015

Regional road and rail projects inching forward to facilitate greater linkage – [05/10/15]

“Laos will pursue the development of at least four rail lines that will turn the land-locked country into a land-linked nation.”

“The initial study on the fourth project, called 3D, is done, the minister said. The project will link Thakhek in Khammuan province to Vang Tao in Champasak that shares a border with Thailand.”