BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The number of China-Europe freight trains hit 1,218 in April, up 24 percent year on year, data from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) showed on Tuesday.

The freight trains carried approximately 117,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit containers of goods last month, surging 33 percent from a year earlier.

In the past five years, the train services have become increasingly well-known around the globe as they have facilitated infrastructure connectivity and deepened trade cooperation for countries along the rail route, said Jin Xiandong, a spokesperson for the NDRC.

To date, the total number of China-Europe freight trains has reached 38,000, and they have transported 3.4 million twenty-foot equivalent unit containers.

The goods transported by the train services reach 151 cities in 22 European countries, with a logistics network covering the entire region, Jin added.