China-Europe freight train services expand in first four months

A China-Europe freight train loaded with Chinese-brand vehicles waits for departure at the Harbin international container center station in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on April 16, 2023.(Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- China-Europe freight train services saw solid growth from January to April this year, with the transport capacity and efficiency continuously rising.

The number of China-Europe freight train services increased by 17 percent year on year to 5,611 trips in the first four months of 2023, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd on Saturday.

About 609,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) of goods were transported via the freight trains during this period, up 32 percent from a year ago, the company said.

In April alone, the number of China-Europe freight train trips surged 25 percent year on year to 1,459. The trains transported about 160,000 TEU of goods, representing an increase of 45 percent from a year ago.

As of the end of April, the number of domestic departure cities of the freight train services had reached 109, providing links to 211 cities in 25 European countries.