A freight train departs from Yiwu West Railway Station in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, March 9, 2023. A China-Europe train carrying 100 standard containers of China-made small commodities and ceramic products left Yiwu, a major hub of small commodities in east China's Zhejiang Province, for Madrid, Spain, Thursday. The commemoration trip came as Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain.(Photo: Xinhua)

A total of 14,689 China-Europe freight train trips were operated from January to September this year, representing a year-on-year growth of 13 percent, China State Railway Group Co announced on Monday.

In the period, a total of 1.57 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo was transported, growing 11 percent year-on-year, according to the state railway operator.

Of the amount, 1,633 trips of freight were operated and 171,000 TEUs cargo were transported in September. The monthly number of China-Europe rail freight trips has exceeded 1,600 for seven consecutive months.

The railway operator said it has intensified efforts to increase throughput at ports and transportation channels and improve clearance efficiency, and has also actively participated in the construction of a cross-Caspian Sea international transport corridor.

Currently, the China-Europe freight train service has reached 226 cities in 25 countries in Europe.

According to customs data, the China-Laos railway has handled 10 million tons of cross border freight by September 16 since operation started in December 2021. As one of the examples of tapping the international trade artery and boosting regional trade, the first batch of fresh bananas from Laos arrived in Beijing on Sunday via cold-chain logistics.

Global Times