Mehr News Agency reports1 that Iran’s Minister for Road & Urban Development, Abbas Akhoundi, has announced that the “Khaf – Herat railway will soon become operational”.
Akhoundi met Afghanistan’s Minister of Urban Development Affairs, Sadat Mansoor Naderi, and said “the project needs to continue till the railway is connected to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China to accomplish the Silk Road railway grid from the south of Iran to China.” Akhoundi also said Iran was making efforts to organise a summit with Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China in order to reach agreement on the proposed railway.
Trend reports that the railway line to Herat will open by March (presumably 2016).2 Although we have heard “real soon now” style opening dates for the railway before…
References
- Khaf-Harat railway soon to become operational, Mehr News Agency, Tehran, 11 October 2015 ↩
- Iran-Afghanistan railway to be inaugurated by March, Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan, 11 October 2015. (Subscription required; I’ve only see the headline) ↩