A train carrying 50 refrigerated containers bound for Moscow, Russia departed from the Multimodal Transport Center of the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Demonstration Zone for Local Economic and Trade Cooperation in Qingdao, Shandong province on May 22.

A cold chain cargo train carrying fresh farm produce and perishable food at the Multimodal Transport Center of China-SCO demonstration zone in Qingdao on May 22 [Photo/qingdaonews.com]

The train marked the opening of a cold chain transportation service from the China-SCO demonstration zone in Qingdao.

Carrying broccoli florets, green asparagus, yellow peach dices and other fresh farm produce and perishable food worth about $1 million, the train will travel through Manzhouli, China's largest land port in Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and is expected to arrive in Moscow in about 15 days.

Part of the province's Eurasian transport network, the train is operated by the Shandong Hi-Speed Group.

The local customs has set up a special service window for Eurasian freight trains, handling customs declaration, clearance formalities and other procedures. It has also launched personalized service measures such as working overtime on weekends and holidays and on-demand inspection for export enterprises to guarantee a faster customs clearance for international freight trains.

Customs officials inspect the cold chain cargo train before departure. [Photo/qingdaonews.com]

According to statistics from Jiaozhou Customs, the Multimodal Transport Center of the China-SCO demonstration zone launched 209 Eurasian freight trains in the first four months of this year and transported 16,866 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of goods, up 77.1 percent and 125.9 percent respectively.