CHONGQING — A new sea-rail freight train route linking China, Vietnam, India and other countries was launched in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality on March 25, according to the route's operation platform.

The first freight train on the route, loaded with over 10 million yuan (about $1.42 million) worth of motorcycles and other cargo, departed from Changshou district in Chongqing and will arrive at Qinzhou Port in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in two days. The cargo will be shipped across the sea to countries including Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The new rail-sea transit route is at least 14 days faster than traditional river-sea routes.

The route's operation platform, based in Chongqing, has taken a series of measures including subsidies to reduce enterprises' logistics cost while preventing and controlling the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), said Wang Yupei, head of the platform.

The platform has launched 1,674 freight trains as of Feb 29, which transported about $910 million worth of more than 300 kinds of cargo including vehicles and chemical products, to 92 countries and regions.