WUHAN, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- China Railway Express opened its first exclusive train for oranges Thursday afternoon, starting from Yichang, a city in central China's Hubei Province, with Moscow as the destination.

According to local authorities, the train uses international standardized cold-chain containers, GPS service and remote control of humidity and temperature to ensure the fresh delivery of citruses during the 16-day trip.

The new line will enable the delivery time to be reduced by one-third to half of the previous time. "Compared with rail transport, the previous road deliveries were often delayed by poor weather, traffic congestion and the rising costs of vehicles during the peak season," said Guo Shiming who works with the Yichang Xiaoxi Citrus Cooperative.

Yichang, as China's only year-round producer of sweet and juicy citrus, receives orders from home and abroad, especially countries along the Belt and Road.

"The railway sector will continue to upgrade its transport service to cope with increasing orders," said Wang Yimin who works with the Yichang section of China Railway Wuhan Group Co., Ltd.