Archive for the ‘Projects’ Category

Turkmenistan to fund Andkhoy line

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

Turkmenistan is to fund, survey, design and construct a 126 km railway to northern Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Wahid, Financial & Administrative Deputy at Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Works said in a 17 October 2010 interview with TOLOnews.1 This would be Turkmenistan’s second line to Afghanistan, after the Towraghondi line.

Starting from the existing 1520 mm Turkmen rail network at Atamurat (also written Atamyrat, previously known as Kerki) the proposed line will run to Aqina on the Afghan border, then run 36 km within Afghanistan to Andkhoy district in Faryab province. It is not clear whether 126 km is the total length, or the length of the section within Turkmenistan.


View Turkmenistan – Andkhoy railway plan in a larger map

Although the article refers to “Aqina harbor”, looking at Google Maps I suspect this is a mis-translation for a border crossing facility, which appears to be well away from any river – well away from anything, in fact.

The Turkmen frontier post is Kolodets Imam-Nazar (also Imamnazar etc), where new border facilities were formally opened on 13 August 2007 with assistance from the USA and United Nations.2

The railway project was discussed in July 2008 and again by various officials from the Afghan and Turkmen governments in August 2010, when ministers also talked about the railway which will connect the Afghanistan via Shabarghan, Aqina and Imamnazar to Turkmenistan.3 An extension from Andkhoy could connect with the planned Mazar-i-Sharif to Herat line at Shirbirghan (Shabarghan and variants).

According to the Ministry of Public Works the railway will boost trade, help to grow the Afghan economy and provide Afghanistan with access to the Caspian Sea and Europe.

However there are no timescales given for construction.

  1. Afghanistan to Build 36km Railway in the North, Tamim Shaheer, TOLOnews, 17 October 2010 ↩
  2. Imamnazar new post control was opened at the Turkmen-Afghan border, State News Agency of Turkmenistan (TDH) | 15 August 2007 ↩
  3. The Agreement of Support for Implementation of TAPI Project was Signed, Ministry of Mines, 30 August 2010 ↩

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Video of Hayratan to Mazar-i-Sharif construction works

Friday, October 15th, 2010

From the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif to the Uzbek border, the land runs flat with barely a hillock to block the way. It is perfect terrain for building a railway

says Afghanistan’s First New Railroad On Track, an 14 October 2010 by Charles Recknagel at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

There are details of construction and security on the new line from the Uzbek border to near Mazar-i-Sharif:

Currently, the railroad is guarded by a force of 500 police. The headquarters of the force is a small, windswept outpost halfway between Mazar-e Sharif and the Afghan border crossing of Hairaton, where the new rail line starts.

There is also a video showing construction work. This feature a twin-unit locomotive (a 2TE10?) in action at 55 sec, and then a smaller blue locomotive, both presumably belonging to Uzbek state railway UTY.

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Revolution on the rails

Friday, October 8th, 2010

Historically, Afghans have regarded railways with suspicion. But now the government is embracing a plan that could help the country tap into global markets, delivering prosperity and even peace, says Afghanistan’s revolution on the rails, an article by Jonathan Gornall at UAE newspaper The National.

It includes some interesting comments from railway consultant David Brice, who is working in Afghanistan:

And, [Brice] believes, the Afghans may finally have lost their once well justified distrust of foreigners bearing blueprints for railways. “The local people we talk to are thoroughly behind it all. They want to be able to move around much more easily, and in safety. “Afghanistan never has been a self-sufficient country, and any move towards making that happen is clearly highly desirable. The whole population sees this; they are living in terrible poverty and they need access between labour and jobs and medical services. Everything hangs on a decent transport network, and this is the way to provide it.”
Source: The National, 2010-10-09

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ADB funding more studies

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

On 16 June 2010 Asian Development Bank approved a further USD700 000 from its Technical Assistance Special Fund for:

A study on railway development for Afghanistan completed for the following routes: (i) From Hairatan at the border with Uzbekistan to Heart [Herat] in the west, via Mazar-e-Sharif; (ii) from Shirkhan Bendar at the border with Tajikistan, via Kunduz to Naibabad [which is on the line under construction from Hayratan] joining Mazar-e-Sharif to Heart; (iii) from Torkham at the border with Pakistan to Jalalabad; and (iv) Spainboldak at the border with Pakistan to Kandahar.

Source: Railway Development Study (Supplementary) : Afghani., Is Rep. of, 2010-06-16

Taking it literally, this seems to miss out the link needed from Chaman in Pakistan over the border to Spin Boldak in Afghanistan.

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CNN on Afghan railway projects

Monday, September 27th, 2010

After nearly a century, a modern Afghan railroad is under construction, reports CNN. “This connects Afghanistan to the world,” says an 18-year-old high school student named Shakrullah. He says he hopes to one day get a job as an engineer for the railroad. “I want trains for all the provinces of Afghanistan, not just for Balkh province.”

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Agreement signed for north-south corridor studies

Sunday, September 26th, 2010

This looks potentially significant, although the words if feasible are probably quite important. I will try to study the announcement in more detail later this week.

MINISTER SHAHRANI SIGNS HISTORIC RAILWAY AGREEMENT

Kabul: September 22, 2010

Mines Minister Wahidullah Shahrani today signed an historic agreement with the China Metallurgical Company (MCC) for a railway to connect Kabul to Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
This northern railway project is part of the Aynak Copper Mine Contract, signed between the Government and MCC. The contract specifies that MCC constructs a railway, if feasible, from northern Pakistan through Kabul to southern Uzbekistan. This rail link will connect Afghanistan to the railways of Pakistan, India, and South East Asia and to the extensive rail system of China, Europe and Central Asia.

Minister Shahrani said, ‘When complete, the railways will give substantial benefits for the Afghan economy in trade, employment and cheaper prices. This northern railway is part of a wider plan to extend the Afghan rail network to connect Afghanistan to ports in Iran and Pakistan.’

The next step is for MCC to commission and fund a competitive tender for a feasibility study to examine the preferred route proposed by the Government’s Inter-Ministerial Railway Committee. It will take up to two years for the detailed route study and another six months to complete the full feasibility study.

The feasibility of the second part of the railway, from Kabul through Bamyan, Doshe, Kunduse, Niadabob, Hairetan and on to Uzbekistan, will be studied for an additional 18 months with construction to follow.

MCC will build the railway according to the ‘BOOT’ principle – ‘Build, Own, Operate and Transfer’. MCC will own the railway until it has recovered its capital costs through collecting transport fees. The details of the BOOT Agreement will be negotiated once the Government have approved the feasibility study prepared by a independent contractor funded by MCC.

The railway will be designed to have the size and capacity to carry the heaviest of loads – copper cathodes, copper concentrates, and commercial goods for transit, agricultural products, passengers and normal freight.

MCC will employ Afghan labor as much as possible in the construction and operation of the railway. Prior to the transfer of ownership to the Government, MCC will complete a training program for Afghan workers to operate the railway. The training will range from

basic functions to high level executive management.
Estimated costs for the entire railway range from US $ 4 –5 billion. Completion of the entire route could be within five years from starting the detailed route survey.

Benefits
The opening the new railway will bring many benefits to Afghanistan. Costs of goods and services will fall due to lower transportation costs. Huge economic and social development opportunities will arise along the rail route as companies switch from road to rail transport. The mining and extractive industries will become more cost effective along the resource corridor developed with the railway.
Source: Ministry of Mines, 2010-09-22

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Mazar-i-Sharif railway completed

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

ISAF reports that construction of the railway from the Uzbek border to the outskirts of Mazar-i-Sharif has been completed.

Railway Line Completed in Northern Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (Sept. 15) – A 75 kilometer rail road main line between Uzbekistan and Mazar-e Sharif, Balkh province was completed recently, opening up economic progress for Afghanistan.

The $165 million project, financed by Japan and the United States, began back in May and was one of the largest construction projects in Afghan history.

The idea of building a railway connection from Termez to the capital of Balkh province was born when the Soviet army withdrew from Afghanistan 30 years ago. A single bridge over a border river was the only passage between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.

Almost half of Afghanistan’s imports pass through the border town of Hairatan with the railway expected to handle millions of tons of goods, benefit up to five million people.

Also planned are an additional 25 kilometers for side and switching yards, which are expected to be completed in November.
ISAF Joint Command – Afghanistan press release, 2010-09-15

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Memorandum of understanding

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

On July 7 Afghanistan and Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding to undertake feasibility studies for extension of Pakistan Railways lines from Chaman to Kandahar and from the Khyber Pass to Torkham and Jalalabad.

Source: Railway Gazette International, August 2010

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China and Afghanistan

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Afghanistan in China’s Emerging Eurasian Transport Corridor, China Brief Volume: 10 Issue: 14, July 9 2010, by Richard Weitz. “In the case of railroad construction, the PRC brings several distinct advantages to this endeavor…”

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MCC to build Kunduz – Jalalabad railway

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

“75km Railway to be Completed in Afghanistan”, reported TOLOnews on 2 August 2010. Work is “50 percent completed”, and there is a new opening date: “I hope the construction of this rail-road will be completed by the end of March, 2011,” said the Minister of Public Works, Abdul Qudoos Hamidi.

There is also this hint at something much bigger in the pipeline:

The ministry also adds that the Afghan government is planning to build 700km rail-road that will connect the capital Kabul with the northern province of Kunduz and the eastern city of Jalalabad.

The railway will be built by the MCC Chinese Company.

“The primary studies of this rail-road have already started, and its contract will be signed soon,” said Deputy Minister of Public Works, Ahmad Shah Wahid.

Source: TOLOnews, 2010-08-02

MCC is presumably China Metallurgical Group Corporation (rather than the other MCC). The Chinese group was selected for a concession to develop the Aynak copper deposits in 2007, with a railway proposed as part of the project.

The plan which seems to be firming up is to build a new north-south railway starting from Tajikistan. There would be a new line from the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, to the Tajik-Afghan border near Kunduz. The route would then run through Afghanistan from Kunduz to Kabul and the Aynak mining area, continuing on to Jalalabad. There would then be an onward link to the Pakistan Railways network, joining the line through the Khyber Pass to access to Pakistan’s coast.

Pakistan keeps talking about reinstating the out-of-action Khyber Pass line and extending it to Torkham (the Afghan border town) and possibly Jalalabad (the first major town in Afghanistan). However Pakistan Railways is reported to be facing serious financial and structural problems at present.

And as a correspondent points out, “railroads are built with money, not signed agreements to build railroads”.

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