URUMQI -- Products from South China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area have another export channel to Europe thanks to a new cargo train route.

The new China-Europe freight train line, which links South China's economic hub Shenzhen with Germany's Duisburg, is now in operation.

The first train, with electronics, machinery and textile products, departed from Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on August 18 and left China on August 23 via the Alataw Pass, a major rail port in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. It is expected to arrive in Duisburg around Sept 6.

The 13,438-km-long route, among the longest China-Europe freight train lines, will be used by one train every week.

China-Europe freight trains, designed to boost land connectivity between China and the continent, have bucked the transport trend amid the COVID-19 epidemic thanks to their cost-effectiveness and reliability.

By Aug 18, the number of freight trains passing through the Alataw Pass rose more than 41 percent year-on-year, local customs data showed.