NANJING -- East China's Jiangsu province saw a surge in China-Europe freight train trips in the first quarter, according to figures released Thursday by the Nanjing customs.

The province saw 287 train trips with 22,300 standard containers transported by China-Europe freight service in the first quarter. The total value of the goods went up 44.1 percent year on year to 2.45 billion yuan ($347 million).

The city of Suzhou, the economic heartland of Jiangsu, was a major contributor to the increase in the freight service. It recorded 32 China-Europe freight train trips in March alone, 40 percent more than the total of the first two months.

The customs attributed the surge partly to the work resumption of local foreign-trade enterprises sending exports to Europe, as the novel coronavirus outbreak subsides in China.

The customs has streamlined customs clearance formalities by granting online approvals and conducting electronic checks to facilitate the process.