CHENGDU, April 27 -- A cargo train connection between Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, and Lodz in Poland has become a welcomed logistic route for China's trade with Europe after one year in operation.

Figures released by Chengdu Customs on Sunday showed that 3,704 standard containers of goods weighing 8,292.6 tonnes have been sent from China to Europe since it was opened in April last year.

The train covers the 10,000-kilometer route in less than 14 days, compared to up to 45 days by sea.

The customs office said that the service mainly boosts exports of electronic devices such as laptops, palm computers and dark disk drivers to Europe.

The country's port administration authority this month approved the Chengdu railway site to be a temporary port for foreign trade, which paves the way for imports of European goods via the Chengdu-Lodz train service.

The customs office is applying for authorization so finished automobiles and meat products can be imported from Europe. Currently such imports are handled by seaports in east China.