A new cold-storage rail service is whisking mountains of durians from Thailand to China, reducing prices for the prized fruit
2-MIN READ2-MINRalph JenningsPublished: 10:00am, 2 May 2026Updated: 10:02am, 2 May 2026Southeast Asian growers can now ship durians to China faster than before using a new cold-storage rail service linking Thailand, Laos and southwest China’s Yunnan province, slashing prices for the pungent fruit.
The new cold-storage rail connection – which features carriages chilled to 13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit) – runs from Thailand’s Laem Chabang Port via Laos to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, according to CCTV.
Trainloads of Thai durians will now reach Kunming each morning, with the service expected to transport more than 200,000 tonnes of the tropical fruit this year, People’s Daily reported. The journey to Kunming takes three days.
Thanks to the rail link, shipping Thai durians to Chengdu – a major city in China’s southwest – now takes just five days, compared with about a week before. Imported durian prices have dropped 30 per cent due to the increase in supplies, CCTV said.
