According to Thai and Laos officials speaking at the Seventh World High Speed Railway Conference on December 8, China has entered into a cooperation agreement with Thailand and Laos to build a high speed railway connecting the three countries.

“A China-Burma high speed railway is indeed in the process of preparation. The Ministry of Railways has set up a pre-work coordination group, and invited Yunnan’s relevant departments to join in,” said a worker from an authoritative department.

The China-Burma high speed railway will potentially be the west line of Fanya railway. Fanya railway starts from Kunming, running through Dali and Ruili, to Yangon, Burma, totaling 1920 km. The Dali-Ruili section, totaling 133.6 km, is currently under construction, starting from June 30, 2008 and scheduled to be completed in February 2014.

“The Ministry of Railways has sent an expert delegation to carry out a field investigation in Burma and Laos in the middle of November. Once they have set the scheme, the program will start within 2 months, and it may become the main railway connecting China and southeastern countries,” said Wang Mengsu, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering.