Afghan-Iranian railroad to be ready in March

KABUL and neighbouring Iran would be ready in March next year, a senior official said on Sunday.

The construction of a key cross-border railroad is nearing completion.

Iran’s Deputy Minister of Transportation Abbas Khatibi said that the construction of a key cross-border railroad was nearing completion. It would connect Iran’s city of Khaf to the capital of Herat province.

Khatibi said a major part of 191-kilometer railway would be complete in March or at last in April, 2019, allowing the two neighboring countries to kick off rail transportation. 

Iran has almost finished its part of the Khaf-Herat railway, which runs 139 kilometers in three sections straddling the border between the two countries. Reports in the Afghan media have suggested that the country is intent on completing the fourth and final section of the project through partnership with an Italian contractor.

Once executed, the rail project would boost trade between Iran and Afghanistan, a country which has no active railway system.

Iran has implemented massive plans to expand its domestic railway network for boosting trade with neighbouring countries.  

Afghanistan will benefit from the Iranian rail network, especially through a key link between the port city of Chabahar and Zahedan near the Afghan frontier. 

The massive project is aimed to facilitate trade through the Indian Ocean among Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asian countries.

pk/mud