BEIJING -- China-Europe freight train services saw robust growth in the first quarter of the year, official data showed.

According to the China State Railway Group Co Ltd, the number of China-Europe freight train services surged by 15 percent year-on-year to 4,186 trips in the first quarter of the year.

About 450,000 20-foot equivalent units of goods were handled through the freight trains from January to March, up 28 percent from a year ago, according to the company.

In March alone, the number of China-Europe freight train trips surged 31 percent year on year to 1,488. The trains transported 162,000 TEU of goods, representing an increase of 52 percent from a year ago.

Starting operations in 2011, the China-Europe freight trains have offered a secure and reliable channel between Asia and Europe, transporting more than 50,000 types of goods, including IT products, automobiles and parts, clothes, grain, wines, coffee beans, and timber.