Maiden rail freight service leaves Dalian with goods for Russia

A giant "block train" left Dalian in Northeast China's Liaoning province on Wednesday morning, headed for the first time to Kaluga in Russia.

The new international freight service was carrying 100 standard containers packed with goods produced by Samsung Electronics Co, which had arrived at Dalian Port from South Korea.

The train is expected to take half as long as a conventional maritime service to reach its destination. It will arrive at Manzhouli, a Chinese border city in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on Thursday.