First rail freight service to China makes it departure from the UK

The train will pass through seven different countries

The first rail freight service to China from the UK has made its departure on a 17-day journey, it will cover a total of 7,500-miles.

The train is carrying 30 containers which are all holding British goods, this includes whisky, soft drinks, vitamins and other products.

The DP World locomotive left in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, for the Zhejiang province in eastern China.

The train will make its way through the Channel Tunnel, after this it will carry on its journey through seven other countries. It’s set to arrive at its destination for the 27 April.

The countries it will travel through are France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Operators have said it’s much cheaper to send goods via train than by air, it’s also faster than by sea.

DP World chief executive Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said: “We look forward to enabling and facilitating more trade between the UK, China and the whole world.”