CHINA's 'One Belt One Road' initiative will not threaten the dominance of sea freight in the transportation industry given that high-speed block trains can only transport 20 TEU, meaning they are only expected to control a market share of only a few per cent on trade routes between Europe and the Far East via Central Asia, Middle East and Africa.

China made further headway in its drive to connect with the rest of the world by high-speed rail when it recently launched its first rail freight service to Britain, Singapore's Strait Times reported.

China Railway Corporation announced that the train, carrying clothes, bags and other items, departed from Yiwu in the eastern Zhejiang province. It will travel 12,000 kilometres over 18 days - passing through places such as Kazakhstan, Russia and Germany - before arriving in London.

London is the 15th European city to now have direct trains from China as part of President Xi Jinping's "One Belt, One Road" initiative.

Rail journeys from China to Europe can take about 15 to 19 days - about half the time taken by sea (33 to 38 days), though slower than by air (three to five days).

Mr Victor Wai, lead analyst for ports at Drewry Financial Research Services, said that all of this means that shipping is not likely to be replaced by rail freight services.

"The cost advantage of sea freight over rail freight remains significant, especially when container ships come with economies of scale. High-value or time-sensitive goods will benefit from the shorter transit time, but not general merchandise goods," he said.