ISLAMABAD, (DNA) – China has launched a new rail and road cargo service linking Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province, with Islamabad in Pakistan.

The first train carrying 30 carriages of mechanical equipment, auto parts and daily necessities left a logistics center yesterday in Lanzhou, bound for Kashgar in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The goods will then be transported to Islamabad by a highway, China’s state-run media reported today.

According to Luo Zhe, deputy director with the management committee of the International Land Port of Gansu the 4,500-km trip will take 13 days, around 15 days less than the traditional sea route.

He hoped that the new rail and road cargo service can set a good example for cooperation between China and Pakistan and encourage more countries and regions to join the Belt and Road Initiative.