A cargo train with 64 containers traveled for 24 days along the Yixin'ou line to arrive in Yiwu, on Feb 22, 2015. [Photo / Xinhua]

The train returned to Yiwu on Feb 22 after a 24-day journey from Spain carrying 64 containers packed with wine, olive oil and other Spanish products.

Major advantages of the freight train are that goods are transported faster than would be possible by sea, arriving in Spain in half the time a cargo vessel would take to cross, while the train produces 62 percent less carbon dioxide than a lorry making the same journey by road.

General Manager Zhou Xuming said: "Shipping goods from Spain to Yiwu takes more than two months, and air transportation is very expensive. A train line meets our needs."