ZHENGZHOU -- China-Europe freight trains that depart from the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou have resumed operations after the city was hit hard by floods triggered by torrential rain.

On Sunday, a freight train loaded with electronic components, auto parts and other goods departed Zhengzhou for Belgium's Liege via the border port of Erenhot in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The China-Europe freight-train service has handled more than 7,300 trips in the first half of this year, up 43 percent from the same period last year, data by the China State Railway Group Co Ltd showed.

The freight trains have carried over 700,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit containers of goods in the six-month period, surging 52 percent year-on-year.

Launched in 2011, the freight trains have reached 168 cities in 23 European countries and recorded more than 40,000 trips, according to the group.