CHENGDU — Cargo train services have been launched from the mountainous area in Southwest China's Sichuan province to Europe, a significant move to help with the poverty alleviation in the deep mountains of Sichuan.

At 10 am on April 28, a train carrying containers of shoes, toys and chemical products departed from the city of Dazhou, marking the inauguration of the services.

The products will be carried to the cities of Moscow and Hamburg before delivered by truck to the countries of Poland, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Italy, according to the Dazhou city government.

The mountainous area in Sichuan was one of China's most impoverished regions with poor transport facilities in the past. Traditionally, it took about 50 days for local products to be delivered to Europe by road and sea, and the new cargo train services will cut short transport time by over 25 days with only one-fourth of the air delivery costs.

The inauguration of the train services will help local companies explore the global market, and promote the local economy to resume rapid growth following the impact by the novel coronavirus, said an official with the city government.