An aerial drone photo taken on March 25, 2024 shows a China-Europe freight train running past the Qisumu international railway logistics hub in Ulanqab, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)

China-Europe freight train services recorded solid expansion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, data from China's railway operator showed Sunday.

A total of 4,541 China-Europe freight train trips took place in the first three months of 2024, up 9 percent year on year, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (China Railway).

About 493,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of goods were transported via these freight train services during this period, up 10 percent from a year earlier, the railway operator said.

By the end of March, some 87,000 China-Europe freight train trips had been made in total, providing services for 222 cities across 25 European countries, according to China Railway.