More passengers opted for trains crossing the border between Nong Khai and Vientiane last year, a Lao railway official says.
Railway Management Division chief Somsana Rasaphone told the Vientiane Times that the rail route carried more than 38,000 passengers last year, a 15% rise from 33,040 users a year ago. Most passengers were tourists, he added.
"I believe that more people will come to use our services once more facilities are built," the official said.
Laos plans to build an area for containers and improve the signal and telecommunication systems at its station, which is about 20 kilometres from Vientiane.
The 3.5-kilometre-long railway from Nong Khai to Thanaleng station in Laos opened in April 2009 with two trips a day. The average increase of passengers was 3,000 a year until 2014, when ridership jumped almost two-fold.
The tracks give passengers an alternative to bus services connecting the two countries via the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge.
The line will connect with the route from China in the future as part of the railway link between China and Southeast Asia.