The Trans-Afghan Railway Route
By Sophia Nina B-A
Background
The Trans-Afghan Railway project was initiated by Uzbekistan in December 2018, and seeks to establish a direct railway link from Uzbekistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan, ultimately providing Central Asian countries access to the Indian Ocean via Pakistani ports of Karachi, Gwadar, and Qasim. This railway line plans to be built with the Russian gauge 1,520 mm.
The Trans-Afghan Railway Route
Termez (Uzbekistan)
Hairaton (Uzbekistan)
Naibabad (Afghanistan)
Mazar Sharif (Afghanistan)
Aybak (Afghanistan)
Pul-e-Khumri (Afghanistan)
Doshi (Afghanistan)
Shash-Pul (Afghanistan)
Maidan Shahr (Afghanistan) - and short extension potentially to Shash-Pul where the Hajigak Iron Ore mine is located
Pul-e-alam (Afghanistan)
Gardez (Afghanistan)
Kharlachi border crossing (Pakistan)
Peshawar (Pakistan) - connects with the Pakistan M-2 Railway network in Kohat
Rohri (Pakistan)
Haiderabad (Pakistan)
Karachi, Gwadar and Qasim (Pakistani seaports)
Stakeholders
Primary Stakeholders: Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan.
International Partners: Qatar (confirmed interest in February 2024), Russia (feasibility study support and design of railway, contribution with aim to integrate Trans-Afghan with with Russia’s North-South corridor in Iran and via Central Asia), Kazakhstan (supplying rolling stock and tracks).
Length and dates
573-750 kilometres. The start date proposed initially is 2025, but so far only feasibility work has begun. Target completion by 2027, with full operational capacity by 2030.
Cost
$4.95 billion - $7 billion
Impact
Offers alternative route for Central Asia to bypass Russia. Estimated to cut transport costs by up to 40%, and travel time between Uzbekistan and Pakistan from 35 days to 3 to 5 days. Planned to transport up to 20 million tons of cargo annually.
Strategic Extensions
The Trans-Afghan Railway will connect with other regional transport corridors including:
The China-Uzbekistan-Kygryzstan Railway (CKU)
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative)
The Belarus - Russia - Kazakhstan - Uzbekistan - Afghanistan - Pakistan corridor (The Russia backed North-South Corridor)
The Khaf (Iran) and Herat (Afghanistan) railway project
Turgundi (Turkmenistan)–Herat (Afghanistan) Kandahar(Afghanistan)–Spin Boldak (near the Afghanistan/Pakistan crossing )railway line project proposed and currently under negotiation - led by Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Afghanistan. In April 2025, Afghan media outlets quoted that Kazakhstan plans to invest $500 million in developing this railway line.
Challenges
Finance: No financial backing yet. Uzbekistan expressed hopes China would provide some financing. Russia has been discussing financing options. Also discussions with international development banks.
Security uncertain: Afghanistan security uncertain with different Taliban controlled areas and ISKP.
Management issues: Conflicts over the management of the Afghan section of the railway has emerged and frequent border skirmishes between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Construction difficulties: Different gauges at border crossings with the Russian broad gauge (1,520 mm) used by Uzbekistan to the gauge used in Pakistan (1,676 mm), necessitating adjustments at the border/break of gauge infrastructure; and Pakistan’s railway infrastructure is outdated and requires upgrading so full capacity of the rail project can be met; need to build an efficient electricity transmission system to support signalling and digital systems for the rail line and for potential electrification.
Timeline and summary of latest developments
● 5 December 2017 - First talks of building a railway running through Afghanistan with Uzbek government - Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed an agreement with former Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, to build a route from the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif to Herat in the west. The agreement signed involved building a railway through Mazar-i-Sharif-Shibirgan-Maimana-Herat. https://www.gazeta.uz/ru/2017/12/05/talks/
● 7 December 2018 - O’zbekiston Temur Yo’llari, the national railway operator, reported that they will build a new railway line in Afghanistan that would go through Kabul - this would be referred to as the Trans-Afghan railway line. https://railway.uz/ru/informatsionnaya_sluzhba/novosti/12598/ and https://www.gazeta.uz/ru/2018/12/10/railway/
● 16 October 2021, working meeting in Termez of Uzbek and Afghanistan transport ministry delegations as reported by Kun.uz. The news outlet cites the press report published by the Uzbek Foreign Ministry that both sides discussed the Trans-Afghan rail line. The proposed Trans-Afghan rail line under discussion would run through Kabul - which was the initial plan. The report cites the Uzbek Transport Ministry press service which states ‘“Particular attention was paid to the implementation of infrastructure projects, in particular the laying of the Surkhan–Puli–Khumri power line and the construction of the Termez–Mazar-i-Sharif–Kabul–Peshawar railway.” https://kun.uz/en/92610482
● 24 January 2022, first signs of the Trans-Afghan rail route bypassing Kabul: the Uzbek news agency, kun.uz, reported that the Taliban government stated that the Trans-Afghan railway line will pass through Baghlan and Bamiyan province and this was approved by the Taliban government. No other details of the route were provided.Prior to this the Trans-Afghan railway project was widely publicised to follow the direction from Termez–Mazar-i-Sharif–Kabul–Peshawar. https://kun.uz/en/70342635
● 21 April 2022, the Uzbek TV news channel, ‘O’zbekiston 24’ reported the negotiations between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan were underway in Mazar-e-Sharif and preparing an expedition team to Afghanistan to explore the feasibility of the initially agreed upon route running from Termez–Mazar-i-Sharif–Kabul–Peshawar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btD1tP8oy4Q
● 18 July 2022, the press agency of O’zbekiston Temur Yo’llari, the national railway operator, announced that a research expedition of Uzbek specialists was sent to Afghanistan to determine the route of the Trans-Afghan railway. https://www.kun.uz/en/news/2023/12/27/construction-of-trans-afghan-railway-to-be-accelerated
● 17 July 2023, the press agency of O’zbekiston Temur Yo’llari the national railway operator, reported that Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan have entered the final stage of negotiations on the railway route for the Trans-Afghan railroad project. https://railway.uz/ru/informatsionnaya_sluzhba/novosti/34446/
● 23 April 2024, the press agency of O’zbekiston Temur Yo’llari, the national railway operator, published a promotional video of the new and updated Trans-Afghan railway route bypassing Kabul. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyLM3XKjqAM.
● From 29 to 30 April 2024, UNESCAP organised an ‘Expert Group Meeting on Transport Connectivity and Logistics: Emerging opportunities and challenges for enhancing rail connectivity along the Trans-Asian Railway network.’ Part of the meeting, representatives from the Pakistan Ministry of Railways presented their plan and route for the Trans-Afghan railway route as well as other regional transport initiatives Pakistan is involved in. Part of their presentation included a map of the planned Trans-Afghan rail line bypassing Kabul. https://www.unescap.org/events/2024/expert-group-meeting-transport-connectivity-and-logistics-emerging-opportunities-and and https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/d8files/event-documents/Apr30-12_Pakistan.pdf
● 2 May 2024, Interfax, the Russian news agency reported that ‘the 647-kilometer-long Afghan part of the project starts in Mazar-e-Sharif, passes through Samangan, Baghlan, Bamiyan, Maidan Wardag, Logar and Paktia provinces, and connects to Pakistan in the Dande-Patan district of Paktia province.’ https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/101936/
● 27 June 2024, The Eurasian Development Bank’s 2024 report on the transport network of Central Asia has helpful maps and data to get a basic overview of the Trans-Afghan rail network: https://eabr.org/upload/iblock/e13/1_EDB_ETN_Report_Eng.pdf
● 8 August 2024, the press agency of O’zbekiston Temur Yo’llari,(UTY), the national railway operator, reported that UTY restored and carried out repair works on the Hairatan-Naibabad-Mazar-i-Sharif railway section. It also noted that the Naibabad railway station was developed and re-opened. https://railway.uz/ru/informatsionnaya_sluzhba/novosti/36247/
● 8 April 2025, the press office of the Russian Ministry of Transport reported that Russian and Uzbek design experts have identified two routes: Trans-Afghan railway line: Termez – Naibabad – Logar – Kharlachi. And another Western route from Mazar-i-Sharif – Herat – Dilaram – Kandahar – Chaman. https://mintrans.gov.ru/press-center/news/11804
● 25 April 2025, TASS, the Russian news agency reported that Russia and Uzbekistan will design the Trans-Afghan railway. https://tass.ru/ekonomika/23785901
● 4 June 2025, research article on the ‘Organization and Economics of Afghanistan's Artisanal Coal Mining and Distribution Supply Chains’, by Christopher Wnuk https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5281387. This article gives an up to date helpful overview of the mining and coal supply chains in Afghanistan, and the transport bottlenecks that exist.
● 17 July 2025, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan to develop a feasibility study on the final agreed route of the Trans-Afghan railway line:Termez – Naibabad – Logar – Kharlachi. The report also notes that ‘all work related to the preparation of the feasibility study will be overseen by a central trilateral Project Office – the Project Office for the Development Strategy of International Digital Transport Corridors under Uzbekistan Railways JSC – established in May 2023.’ https://t.me/uzrailways_uz/12200
● 18 July 2025, the press agency of O’zbekiston Temur Yo’llari the national railway operator, reported on the MoU and that the updated and final route direction of the Trans-Afghan railway line was agreed upon in a meeting held in Pakistan with representatives from the rail ministries of Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The agreed upon final route changed slightly to Termez-Naibabad-Maidan Shahr-Logar-Kharlarchi - bypassing Kabul. https://railway.uz/ru/informatsionnaya_sluzhba/novosti/37060/
Further background reading on the Trans-Afghan railway sector:
● October 2015, World Bank country report on Afghanistan - In terms of rail, the report notes that ‘Afghanistan has only border railway links connecting Naibabad to Uzbekistan in the north and Herat to Iran in the west, hampering the development of mining, shipment of goods and agriculture. The government has established a railway authority, but the country still needs a railway strategy and significant improvements in operations and maintenance capacity.’ https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/307891467998464206/pdf/100112-WP-PUBLIC-Box393225B-Afghanistan-Country-Snapshot.pdf
● April 2012, World Bank report titled ‘Afghanistan resource corridor development regarding assessment of downstream minerals market.’ This report was part of a World Bank project helping the former 2012 Afghan government to ‘prepare a resource growth corridor strategy anchored to upcoming large mining investments. The latest large scale mining tender in Afghanistan concerned the Hajigak iron ore deposit. In this tender three out of four blocks, containing some 1.5 to 1.8 billion tons of iron ore (grade 62 to 63 percent), were awarded to the Afghan Iron and Steel Consortium (AFISCO). The proposal of the consortium included the commitment to build a 7 million ton per annum steel mill in Afghanistan.’
On page 54, a study of the rail connections by the World Bank team concluded and explained in the report that a direct route through Kabul is not feasible. The only alternative is the Ghorband Valley-Shekari Valley route that bypasses the Salang Pass. A map of the Ghorband Valley-Shekari Valley which runs through Samangan and Bamiyan province is included on the page and I have also attached it below for reference.
● The Afghan Railway Authority (ARA) under the previous Afghan government published a map of the Afghan rail network (planned and existing). However, like the Trans-Afghan railway route, the lines are not up to date and the website is no longer functional.
● Andrew Grantham has written several helpful posts on the history of the Trans-Afghan railroad, and the other historical railway plans in Afghanistan: https://www.andrewgrantham.co.uk/afghanistan/tag/map/
● The Diplomat have several articles published on the Trans-Afghan railway project: https://thediplomat.com/search?gcse=Trans+afghan+railway
Map coordinates and locations:
● ArcGIS mapping GeoJson coordinates: https://hub.arcgis.com/datasets/disasterresponse::afghanistan-districts/explore?location=33.548254%2C65.924256%2C6.38
● MIT libraries including Geojson data on Afghanistan: ‘Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Data by country (non-US).’ https://libguides.mit.edu/gis/country
● USGS data from the Topographic and Hydrographic GIS Datasets for the Afghanistan Geological Survey and U.S. Geological Survey 2014 Mineral Areas of Interest. https://www.usgs.gov/publications/topographic-and-hydrographic-gis-datasets-afghanistan-geological-survey-and-us
Other sources:
● Logistic executives in the local transport industry in Afghanistan
● Former Afghan delegation member involved in the Trans-Afghan railway plans
● Several Uzbek and Russian technical railway experts.