HANGZHOU -- China-Europe freight trains increased their transportation of commodities from East China's Zhejiang province in the first quarter of 2021, authorities said Saturday.

In the first three months, 513 trains transported 42,874 twenty-foot equivalent units of cargo from Zhejiang's Yiwu and Jinhua, up 373.5 percent year on year, according to China Railway Shanghai Group Co Ltd.

As the Belt and Road Initiative gains steam, the China-Europe train network has expanded in Zhejiang, with 28 routes connecting 59 countries and regions in Eurasia so far.

Commodities include textile products, auto parts, daily necessities and anti-epidemic supplies, and Zhejiang authorities aim to complete the service of 1,800 such trains this year.