A 10.7 km tunnel on the Kunming-Vientiane Railway linking China with Laos was drilled on Tuesday, marking new progress in the construction of the railway slated to open by the end of this year.

Located in Jinghong City in southwest China's Yunnan Province, the Xishuangbanna Tunnel stretches through the Lancang River fault zone. Construction workers have tackled complicated geological conditions since the project commenced in May 2016, according to China Railway's Kunming bureau.

The bureau said the construction of railway stations and track-laying work on the Chinese stretch of the Kunming-Vientiane Railway are proceeding smoothly.

The 1,000 km cross-border railway, a major project under the Belt and Road Initiative, will slash the travel time between Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan, and the Laotian capital Vientiane to half a day.