ECO Urged to Invest in Iran-Afghanistan Railway Project
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Minister of Road and Transportation Hamid Behbahani called on the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) to provide Afghanistan with 3 billion Euros in credit to accomplish a railway project linking the country to Iran.
“To finish Iran-Afghanistan railway project, ECO is needed to provide 3 billion Euros in credit for the construction of a 1,250 km-long railway segment between Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif (in Afghanistan),” Behbahani said in a ceremony to mark the arrival in Tehran of the first freight train ferrying cargo from Islamabad to Istanbul via Tehran.
[more]Source: Fars News Agency 2009-08-23
According to the maps entitled “Railway Development Plans in Afghanistan” (contained in a posting below) the distance between Herat and Mazare-e-Sharif is far less than 1,250 km. However, the maps list the distance between Shirkhan Bandar and Herat, by way of Mazare-e-Sharif, as being 1,246 km. As such, it seems likely that the Minister was actually talking about the plans for the entire Shirkhan Bandar to Heart route.
What is the current state of project to connect Herat by railway to Iran ?
The iranian railbuilding workers have refused to work at night, after a kidnapping episode, I read about a year ago !
Jan