The first freight train from Britain to China left yesterday, carrying goods such as vitamins and pharmaceuticals - at a time when London is seeking to burnish its global trading credentials ahead of the country's exit from the European Union. The train's 12,000km journey will take three weeks, around half the time of the equivalent journey by ship. The first freight train from China using a direct rail link under China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative arrived in Britain in January.