A freight train service linking Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province with Moscow, capital of Russia, began operations on Tuesday.

The train of 41 containers mainly carrying consumer durables, left Xi'an at 10:50 a.m. and will pass through Kazakhstan before reaching Moscow, sources with the Xi'an International Trade and Logistics Park said.

The trip will take 11 days, compared to the traditional land/sea route, which takes over 45 days. It is the third China-Europe freight train from Xi'an following those to Warsaw and Hamburg.

Xi'an, known in ancient times as Chang'an, was a terminus of the Silk Road -- an ancient land trade route that ran through northwest China's Shaanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang, and Central and Western Asia, before reaching the Mediterranean.