WUHAN - Cargo train services have been launched between Yichang in central China's Hubei province, and Hamburg, Germany.

A train carrying fresh oranges, medical gauze and packaging film departed from Yichang East Railway Station Monday morning, marking inauguration of the service.

The train will run through the provincial capital of Wuhan, and travel to Hamburg via Russia, Belarus and Poland, said Zhou Chigang from the Wuhan branch of the National Railway Administration.

The total length of the route is about 11,000 km.

The journey will take around 17 days, half of the time required for shipping services, at only a quarter of the cost of air freight, Zhou said.