Carrying goods worth over 3 million yuan (about $443,400), the first cargo train of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle departed from a station in Jiangjin district, Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, for Chengdu, capital of neighboring Sichuan Province Thursday.

The Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle is another important regional development strategy, following the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

In 2021, the two-way cargo transport between Chengdu and Chongqing had reached 379 million tonnes. However, the cargo service between Chengdu and Chongqing mostly relied on road transport, whereas rail transport only accounted for 4.2 percent.

The cargo train of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, scheduled to run one or two times a day, can also connect the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, the China-Europe freight train, the golden waterway of the Yangtze River and many domestic rail freight channels.

"The new cargo train service will further optimize the resource allocation in the area of Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, promote the economic and trade exchanges between the two cities and contribute to carbon neutralization," said Ba Chuanjiang, an official with the port logistics office of Chongqing municipal government.