CHONGQING -- A freight train bound for Budapest, Hungary, departed from Southwest China's Chongqing municipality on Sunday, marking the launch of a new fixed-schedule China-Europe freight train service, also known as China Railway Express.

The train, carrying automotive and motorcycle parts, electronic products and other consumer goods, is expected to take about 11 days to reach Budapest -- a major transport hub serving Central and Eastern Europe. The train will exit China via the Alataw Pass in its northwestern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and travel through countries including Kazakhstan, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, before arriving in Hungary.

The new route is Chongqing's second fixed-schedule China-Europe freight train service -- following a route linking this municipality with Duisburg, Germany.

Compared with traditional freight trains, fixed-schedule trains follow set timetables and routes -- significantly improving efficiency and reliability. According to China Railway Chengdu Group Co., Ltd., the Chongqing-Budapest route will reduce travel time by around 30 percent.

"The fixed-schedule service offers greater predictability for production planning, logistics and capital turnover, and provides a more efficient cross-border logistics option for Chongqing's electronics, automotive, motorcycle and equipment manufacturing industries," said Yang Lianchen with the Chongqing railway logistics center under China Railway Chengdu Group Co., Ltd.

Data released by China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. earlier this week showed that China-Europe freight trains had made a cumulative 120,000 trips and transported goods worth more than $490 billion.

As a flagship project and a landmark brand of the Belt and Road Initiative, the China Railway Express has established a comprehensive logistics network across Eurasia -- now reaching 232 cities in 26 European countries and more than 100 cities in 11 Asian countries.