On the morning of March 19, a cargo train departed Benniu Port in Xinbei, Changzhou, for its destinations in Europe -- Russia’s capital Moscow and Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent.

It will make a stop in Xi’an, the capital city of Shaanxi province in north-central China, and move through Huocheng County in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region before arriving in Europe.

Loaded with 92 standard containers of commodities including textile machinery, rolls of fabric, furniture, forklifts, the train is projected to arrive in Moscow and Tashkent in about 15 days.

Zhou Bin, member of the Standing Committee of CPC Changzhou Municipal Committee, Shen Liping, vice mayor of Xi’an, and Yang Fen, vice mayor of Changzhou, attended the opening ceremony of the Changxiou (Changzhou-Xi’an-Europe) railway, a new route added to the China-Europe freight train network.

China-Europe Railway Express is an important component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), as it implements international container trains between China and Europe. The express has developed rapidly since the first line, Yuxinou (Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe) railway, commenced operations in 2011. It plays an important role in creating an international land-based logistics channel for the Silk Road Economic Belt.