NANNING — A new route of the China-Europe freight train service linking South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Kazakhstan opened on March 13 with a train departing from Guangxi.

The newly opened route of 5,031 km connects Guangxi's capital Nanning and Kazakhstan's Nursultan with a stop in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, according to the Nanning International Railway Port.

The train, loaded with 49 containers of heavy-duty machinery, is expected to run 13 days before reaching Nursultan.

Before the route started operation, it took around 45 days for machinery to arrive in Kazakhstan by road transportation, according to the Guangxi Construction Engineering Group Construction Machinery Manufacturing Co Ltd, manufacturer of the machinery.

The new route is of great significance to promote Nanning's role in the Belt and Road Initiative and drive the industrial development of surrounding areas, said Zhou Sitong, a manager with the China Railway Nanning Group Co Ltd.