China Railway's first express freight service linking Shijiazhuang, capital of northern China's Hebei province, with Europe began on Saturday with the departure of a train bound for the Belarusian capital Minsk.

The train was loaded with 41 containers carrying more than 1,100 metric tons of goods worth 32 million yuan ($5 million), according to a statement posted on the Shijiazhuang government's WeChat account on Sunday.

The goods, produced by companies in Shijiazhuang, included mechanical equipment, clothing, shoes and construction materials.

The service will take 15 days to travel the 9,500 kilometer route, leaving China through Manzhouli in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, one of the key border ports for CR express, before passing through Russia on the way to Belarus.

The rail service is faster than traditional sea freight, the city government said, cutting travel times by about 70 percent.