BEIJING — The number of China-Europe freight trains hit 1,218 in April, up 24 percent year-on-year, data from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) showed on May 18.

The freight trains carried approximately 117,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit containers of goods last month, surging 33 percent from a year earlier.

In the past five years, the train services have become increasingly well-known around the globe as they have facilitated infrastructure connectivity and deepened trade cooperation for countries along the rail route, said Jin Xiandong, a spokesperson for the NDRC.

To date, the total number of China-Europe freight trains has reached 38,000, and they have transported 3.4 million twenty-foot equivalent unit containers.

The goods transported by the train services reach 151 cities in 22 European countries, with a logistics network covering the entire region, Jin added.