BANGKOK: A sleek red, blue and white bullet train departed a new Vientiane station Friday signalling the opening of Laos’ $6 billion Chinese-built railway — a project tangled in debt and high hopes of an economic boost. The 414-kilometre (260-mile) route took five years to construct under China’s trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative. Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith heralded a “new era of modern infrastructure development” for his country. “I am proud that the dreams of Lao people have come true,” he said at the opening ceremony Friday afternoon. The railway will connect the Chinese city of Kunming to the Laotian...