XI'AN, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- A cargo train carrying 41 containers on Thursday departed from Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, to the Polish capital Warsaw.

The 9,048-km route passes through Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus, and cuts the transit time from 42 days by sea to 12 days, at only one fifth the cost by air, said Han Song, an official with Xi'an City.

The outbound train service will run once a week, he said.