JINAN -- East China's Shandong province plans to launch two new China-Europe freight train routes within this year. This will raise the total number of its "Qilu" trains departing for Europe and Central Asia from 800 to 1,200 for 2020.

The province will also increase the frequency and service quality of existing lines, according to Xu Chenggang of the China Railway Jinan Group.

Shandong had resumed its China-Europe and China-Asia freight train services by the middle of February despite the COVID-19 epidemic. As of now, more than 500 freight trains have departed from the province, up 40 percent compared with the same period last year, Xu said.

The province is now operating 33 international freight train routes, linking cities in Shandong with more than 40 cities in Europe and Central Asia.