XI'AN -- The launch of dedicated container ship service in the Black Sea has boosted the efficiency of China-Europe freight trains departing from Xi'an in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, which traverse the Caspian and Black seas via rail-sea intermodal transportation.

On Tuesday, the first freight train to benefit from this new service, carrying machinery parts and equipment, left Xi'an international port station for Mannheim in Germany.

The cargo now enjoys dedicated ship transportation unlike the previous reliance on collective public transport, significantly speeding up logistics and enhancing overall efficiency, said Yuan Xiaojun, general manager of the Xi'an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation Co Ltd.

The waiting period in Poti, a port city in Georgia, will now be shortened. Upon arrival in EU countries, containers will be transferred to self-operated locomotives and rail cars, reducing intermodal transit time by two-thirds, Yuan explained.

The train will pass through countries and regions including Kazakhstan, Georgia, Hungary and the Czech Republic, and is expected to reach the final destination in early September, covering a total distance of 11,300 km.

Xi'an has handled 2,998 China-Europe freight trains in the first seven months of this year, up 28.6 percent year on year, with cargo volume increasing 19.5 percent to 3.27 million tonnes, according to China State Railway Group Co Ltd.