A China-Europe freight train debuted from the city of Wuxi in east China's Jiangsu Province and headed for Central Asia on Saturday, local authorities said.

The train carries more than 1,000 tonnes of goods, including polyester chips, household appliances, and auto parts, with a combined market value of 30 million yuan ($4.4 million).

It will pass through Jiangsu's Lianyungang City before reaching Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in about 20 days.

Compared with sea transportation, the freight train service can cut the trip by at least 20 days.

Since the pandemic, local foreign trade enterprises had difficulties in exporting products, and the freight train service has provided a new solution for these enterprises, said an employee with a logistics park at the Wuxi West Station.

Launched in 2011, the China-Europe freight trains have expanded into 168 cities across 23 European countries and recorded more than 40,000 trips, according to the China State Railway Group Co.

The freight train service had handled 7,377 trips in the first half of this year, up 43 percent from the same period last year, according to the group.

(Source: Xinhua with edits)