Afghan website Quqnoos reports on the Iran — Herat railway construction project. There is a photograph of some railway track, but it could be a stock picture rather than evidence of the work being underway.

Plans to extend the line from Herat to serve the existing railheads are mentioned.

Afghanistan’s railway project which will connect Shirkhan harbor with the western province of Herat will cost $2 billion.

The project which is planned to be completed in the next five years will connect Central Asia with Iran via Afghanistan.

Construction work on the project, from Herat to Iran, has already started. The design of the rest of the railway network from Herat to the Shirkhan commercial transit way is also in late planning stage.

The railway network which will be about 1200 km long will connect Afghanistan’s Shirkhan, Hairatan, Aqina and Torghondi commercial highways with the commercial harbors in the central Asian countries.

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Meanwhile the media in Tajikistan have reported that work has begun on a railway network which will link Klokhabad with Panjpayan, on the border with Afghanistan.

Source: Quqnoos.com 2009-01-19