Photo of an Uzbek locomotive (a TEM2?), “The train that crosses the Friendship Bridge into Uzbekistan in Northern Afghanistan”.
Afghanistan’s only rail services are located in Northern Afghanistan. One connects the Friendship Bridge between Termiz in Uzbekistan and Haryaton in Afghanistan’s, Balkh Province. The second is located between Kushka in Turkmenistan and Towraghondi in Faryab Province.
Source: NorthernAfghanistan.com
Some photos on Flickr. Some of the captions refer to the “Freedom Bridge”, though the road-rail crossing of the Amu Darya between Hayratan and a point east of Termez it is usually called the “Friendship Bridge”.
BALKH PROVINCE, Afghanistan (May 27, 2010) —An Afghan Border Policeman stands watch on the Freedom Bridge crossing the Amu Darya River. On 15th February, 1989 the last Soviet troops to withdraw from Afghanistan crossed the bridge into the, then, Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. The bridge now carries rail and vehicular traffic and is the only border crossing between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Mark O’Donald)
BALKH PROVINCE, Afghanistan (May 27, 2010) — General Stanley McChrystal, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, speaks to Afghan media during a visit to the Freedom Bridge in the town of Hairatan. The bridge, which crosses the Amu Darya River between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, carries both rail and vehicular traffic. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Mark O’Donald/Released)
BALKH PROVINCE, Afghanistan (May 27, 2010) — General Stanley McChrystal, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, speaks with Afghan Border Police officials on the Freedom Bridge crossing the Amu Darya River. On 15th February, 1989 the last Soviet troops to withdraw from Afghanistan crossed the bridge into the, then Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Mark O’Donald/Released)
Heryatan - Afghan Border Police(ABP) and coalition forces tour the bridge seperating borders at 5th Zone ABP border crossing point to Uzbekistan June 8, 2010. The 5th Zone ABP guard all provinces of Regional Command North, being responsible for defending all borders against enemy threats and counter narcotics. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Staff Sergeant Matt Davis)
Photos of Peshawar and the Khyber Pass taken by Anthony Maw on 27 August 2007, showing the remains of the Khyber railway.
The rear-gunner in a Sikorsky UH-53 helicopter watches the end of the new Mazar-e-Sharif to Termez, Uzbekistan railroad stretch into the distance. When completed, the 47-mile long line will provide a valuable commercial link between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan across the Amu Darya River. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Mark O’Donald
These rare albumen photographs by Fred Bremner show Sindh and Baluchistan province in 1889. They are among the earliest known photographs of the area.
Includes photos of the construction of the Khojak tunnel, and a view of one of the rope inclines.
01 June 2010 — Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda recently inaugurated a 75-kilometer stretch of railway line that connects the Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif to the country’s bustling northern border with Uzbekistan.
Photographs from the American Embassy in Kabul, which has a Flickr site with lots more pictures of the Hairatan Rail Line Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on May 25.
At last - photographs proving the railway is really happening!
They are from Isafmedia, and were taken on May 25 when Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda visited the construction works.
Railway line from Hairatan Mazar-e-Sharif Hits final stage
The new railway line from Termez to Mazar-e-Sharif will be 75 kilometres long.
The Governor of Balkh Province, Atta Mohammed Noor, during his speech.
There is an article about the Khojak Rope Inclines at the Funimag website, which covers funicular railways.
The Khojak tunnel is (now) in Pakistan, on the railway from Quetta to Chaman on the Afghan border.
The defense and the supply of Chaman could not wait for these three years of digging Khojak tunnel. The Indian government decided to build a temporary line of communication, quick and inexpensive to cross the mountains until the end of the work in the Khojak tunnel (1889-1891).
The temporary railway line was built in 1888 and crossed the summit chain Khwaja Amran mountains with the help of four inclined cable railways which allowed to move locomotives and carriages from one side to the other side of the mountain.
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The Army Strong Stories website has an article Hairaton, Afghanistan - On the Uzbekistan Border by Maj. Christopher Lecron. “Containers are off-loaded at the rail yard and put on trucks. We are hoping to expand the rail line further south to reduce costs and increase efficiency.” He also has a March 24 2010 photo of the border.
Hairaton, Afghanistan Hopes to Move More U.S. Military Cargo
Story by Maj. Christopher Lecron
Date: 03.24.2010
Posted: 03.27.2010 01:40HAIRATAN, Afghanistan — The mayor of Hairaton, Afghanistan and several other town logistics officials met with U.S. Air Force Major General Robert McMahon and his staff to discuss potential improvements in the cargo supply chain from Uzbekistan into Afghanistan.
Hairaton is the border crossing for a high volume of truck, rail and river barge cargo transiting into Afghanistan.
“We are always looking for additional supply routes into Afghanistan and we hope to improve the route through Hairaton with a rail line that extends all the way to Masar-e Sharif,” said McMahon. Currently, the rail line ends at Hayraton and containers are trans-loaded onto trucks for onward movement.
McMahon is the director of the Central Command Deployment and Distribution Operations Center. The agency monitors and optimizes the flow of cargo into Afghanistan. After reading daily reports of U.S. forces cargo transiting Hairaton, the team wanted to survey the town and logistics center with their own eyes. The trip included a walking tour of the rail yard, truck border crossing, and river barge site. German soldiers from nearby Camp Marmal provided a security detail for the trip.
Hikmat Rahmetov, a representative from Hapag-Lloyd, served as the subject matter expert for Hairaton logistics. Rahmetov routinely works with U.S. military agencies to transport containers by truck and rail from Hayraton into Afghanistan. Hapag-Lloyd mostly moves U.S. military cargo through Hayraton, but hopes to expand shipping to include NATO cargo as well.
With very safe, secure areas, welcoming government and commercial partners, Hayraton is an ideal place to increase the flow of re-supply into Afghanistan. The potential completion of a rail line that runs south from Hairaton would only increase the volume and efficiency of cargo flow. In addition, increased transportation requirements would create more jobs and help to fuel the local economy.
Source: DVIDS, 2010-03-24
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