There is a train in the backgrounds of this RIA Novosti photo of the Kushka (Serhetabat) area.
First stage in the Soviet troop withdrawal from AfghanistanSoviet soldiers-internationalists returning home from the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.Turkmenistan, Kushka. 18.10.1986, Yuriy Somov
Also of interest:
Reproduction of “View of the Trans-Caspian Railway” sketch by artist N. Karazin. The State Historical Museum.Russia, Moscow. 01.01.1910
In a second-hand book shop in Beverley over Christmas I came across (though didn’t buy) Afghan Trucks, a book of photos by Jean-Charles Blanc published in 1976.
It has very few works, just an introduction, but contains lots of photos of brightly-painted lorries in Afghanistan; there are some examples at Tabsir.net.
The pictures painted on the lorries have themes including aerial battles; rockets and interstellar spacecraft; armadas of galleons and fleets of steamers; duels fought to the death between savage beasts
, and there were even some lorries decorated with pictures of trains.
One picture was of a train from the USA’s Santa Fe railway, and one was of an exotic-looking streamlined passenger train which I couldn’t identify – perhaps Russian?
The RIA Novosti news agency has various photos online, including these showing officials at the formal opening of the Friendship Bridge between the USSR and Afghanistan on 11 May 1982, and Soviet military use of the bridge.
Secretary General of the Central Committee of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Babrak Karmal and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic Sharaf Rashidov at the opening ceremony of the highway and railroad bridge between the USSR and Afghanistan.V. Chistiakov, 11.05.1982
Babrak Karmal, general secretary of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan and chairman of the Revolutionary Council of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, at the ceremony opening a motor and railroad bridge between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan.V. Chistiakov, 11.05.1982
Automobile and rail bridge across Amu Darya River between USSR and Afghanistan. The bridge is 816 meters long.V. Chistiakov, 11.05.1982
A Soviet freight train at Hayratan, with freight being unloaded from railway vans into custom-painted lorries:
Unloading humanitarian aid from Soviet Union. Hairaton port. Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.V. Zupharov, 01.08.1986.
And the road at the time:
The road from Hairaton to Kabul.V. Kiselev, 01.10.1989
The Soviet withdrawal:
The first military convoy crosses the Friendship Bridge over the Amu Darya River during the Soviet troop pullout from Afghanistan.V. Kiselev, 18.05.1988
The last Soviet combat vehicle leaves Afghanistan. The USSR conducted a full pullout of its limited troop contingent from Afghanistan in compliance with the Geneva accords.A. Solomonov, 15.02.1989
Back to homeland. A welcome ceremony for Soviet troops returning from Afghanistan near Termez, Uzbek Soviet Socialist RepublicAlexander Liskin, 06.02.1989
Soviet troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. Soviet troop column returns to homeland.V. Kiselev, 01.02.1989
On a railway-related subject:
On November 1986 Moscow customs officers found 1217 of hashish in a railway container which was bound from Afghanistan to FRG. The owner of contraband goods is American company Specific International. The drug was destroyed at the training ground of the Fire Inspection Administration of the Moscow region in the presence of Soviet and foreign journalists.Yuryi Abramochkin, 13.10.1987
Prospects for Turkmen-Afghan cooperation in railway sector discussed in Ashgabat
A meeting with a delegation of the Ministry of Public Works of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan led by Advisor to Minister Abdul Jamil Haser took place at the Ministry of Railway Transport of Turkmenistan.
During the meeting it was noted that currently economic cooperation between Turkmenistan and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was developed dynamically in many fields. For many years Turkmenistan has been supplying electricity to the northern regions of Afghanistan. This February President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov issued the Resolution on construction of a new power transmission line towards Afghanistan that would enable to increase exports of Turkmen electricity to the neighbouring country as high as 5 times. The preparations for implementation of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project are underway. Trade cooperation between the two countries is enhanced steadily.
In this context emphasis was put on the timeliness of the international initiatives to strengthen peace and stability in Afghanistan put forward by the leader of the Turkmen state at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly. These included the vitally important task to provide assistance to Afghanistan in development of transport infrastructure suggested by the President of Turkmenistan. In particular, the Turkmen leader put forward the proposal to implement the project of construction of a railway line from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan with a view of extending it onward in the territory of Afghanistan. International organisations, donor countries and international financial institutions could collaborate actively on this project.
The meeting participants discussed the specific aspects of this project and the possibilities to construct a new railway route, which would become an important link of the international railway network connecting countries of the Asian region.
In particular, the project provided for construction of the two sections of the railway route: the 85-km section Atamyrat-Imamnazar in the territory of Turkmenistan and the 35-km section from Imamnazar to Akina [Aqina] settlement in territory of Afghanistan.
The Turkmen partners informed the Afghan counterparts that the design work under the project for construction of the Atamyrat-Imamnazar section was nearly completed. This section will be built by the subdivisions of the Ministry of Railway Transport of Turkmenistan. The members of the Afghan delegations suggested that Turkmen specialists be involved in conducting a feasibility study and building the Imamnazar-Akin section in the territory of Afghanistan.
The meeting participants emphasized that dynamic trade and economic partnership between the two countries as well as implementation of new joint infrastructure projects would offer a powerful impetus to boost Afghan economy, address social challenges such as employment of local population, attract investment and have a positive influence on the current situation in the country.
Source: State News Agency of Turkmenistan, 2011-03-10
Members of the Afghan National Border Police listen to an instructor as they search locomotive TEM2 6773 near the Hayratan border crossing point (Photo: DVIDS, 2011-01-10).
Ready, CET, Go! A new training program begins at Afghan border
HAIRATAN, Afghanistan — Recently, soldiers of the Military Police “Mohawk” Platoon of 10th Mountain Division’s 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion in conjunction with the Border Management Task Force trained members of Afghan National Border Police for a Contraband Enforcement Team at the Friendship Bridge border crossing in northern Afghanistan.
Source: DVIDS press release, 2011-01-16
This afternoon I was at the British Museum (along with what seemed to be half of London and a significant proportion of Europe) for the newly-opened exhibition Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World.
Enamelled glass goblet from Begram, 1st century AD (© Trustees of the British Museum)
The exhibition offers an impressive display of shiny things from the National Museum of Afghanistan’s archaeological collections, ranging from Classical sculptures, polychrome ivory inlays originally attached to imported Indian furniture, enamelled Roman glass and polished stone tableware brought from Egypt, to delicate inlaid gold personal ornaments worn by the nomadic elite.
These showcase the trading and cultural connections of Afghanistan and how it benefited from being on an important crossroads of the ancient world.
The highlight for many visitors seemed to be a gold crown, though I was impressed by the enamelled glass (above).
All of these objects were found between 1937 and 1978 and were feared to have been lost following the Soviet invasion in 1979 and the civil war which followed, when the National Museum was rocketed and figural displays were later destroyed by the Taliban. Their survival is due to a handful of Afghan officials who deliberately concealed them and they are now exhibited here in a travelling exhibition designed to highlight to the international community the importance of the cultural heritage of Afghanistan and the remarkable achievements and trading connections of these past civilisations.
The earliest objects in the exhibition are part of a treasure found at the site of Tepe Fullol which dates to 2000 BC, representing the earliest gold objects found in Afghanistan and how already it was connected by trade with urban civilisations in ancient Iran and Iraq. The later finds come from three additional sites, all in northern Afghanistan, and dating between the 3rd century BC and 1st century AD. These are Ai Khanum, a Hellenistic Greek city on the Oxus river and on the modern border with Tajikistan; Begram, a capical of the local Kushan dynasty whose rule extended from Afghanistan into India; and Tillya Tepe, (“Hill of Gold”), the find spot of an elite nomadic cemetery.
Source: British Museum, November 2010
The exhibition was very busy on a Sunday afternoon, but I manged to get a ticket for timed admission within 40 min of arrival (you can pre-book online) and spent a bit over an hour inside. It isn’t heavy on detailed labels, just impressive exhibits. The exhibition is on from 3 March to 3 July 2011.
At risk of stating the blindingly obvious, this exhibition of ancient artefacts contains nothing about railways. Having said that, flicking through the catalogue I found a description of the problems the Kabul museum has suffered. In 1995,
In the no-man’s-land behind the museum, one locomotive from King Amanullah’s railway stood rusting, the second one was stripped down for scrap metal.
Source: Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World, Fredik Hiebert and Pierre Cambon (editors)
This again suggests that there was once two locomotives at the museum, which agrees with some other past news reports. Photos show three locomotives now, so where did the third one come from?
Indian ivory furniture support from Begram, 1st century AD (© Trustees of the British Museum)
The Bildergalerie (picture gallery) section of the website of Hayratan-Logistics has some photos of Hayratan, mainly of lorries but including the Bruecke der Freundschaft (and another view).
The company has been based in Hamburg since October 2009, and specialises in the transport of goods, passenger cars and lorries from Europe to Hayratan.
One photo shows a billboard with a photo of a (US?) freight train.
A logistical game changer
101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs
Story by Sgt. 1st Class Peter Mayes
BALKH PROVINCE, Afghanistan – An ambitious railroad project could see an increase in cargo supply movements and potentially create strong economic development and stability for the northern Afghanistan community.
The 101st Sustainment Brigade Commander Col. Michael Peterman and members of his staff spent several days visiting with key government officials in the Hairaton district to discuss plans to re-establish a distribution network in the north from Europe.
Most of the ground freight in that region comes through Pakistan.
“To say that it’s problematic is an understatement,” Peterman said. “For all the interruptions, attacks, theft, corruption …it has a negative effect on combat power. It can be a game-changer logistically if we get it right.”
The Hairaton Gate crossing is the only border crossing point with a rail line, according to Peterman. The Lifeliner’s role in the project would be to tie the infrastructure in northern Afghanistan to that network, he said.
The brigade sent a team to Hairaton Gate to help build container yards for the project. Peterman referred to Gen. David Petraeus’ initiative on helping get the Northern Distribution Network – a network of trains, ports and airplanes coming directly from Central Europe into Afghanistan- run efficiently.
It would also mean the brigade would coach, mentor and teach Afghan commerce, business and military leaders on how to conduct cross-border logistics in Hairaton, he said.
“The truth is, that freight is going to come. We have to figure out how to educate the Afghans to make sure it moves efficiently down to rest of the battle space. We’ll be critical to have in terms of coaching and monitoring, along with our Afghan partners,” Peterman said.
The commander said while the focus in Regional Command East has been counterinsurgency and security (with the intent to gain a space for economics to grow), the northern region has a strong governor and security.
“We have an opportunity, with that rail line and commercial trucking, to move that portion of the country forward economically and also reinforce governance for tens of millions of dollars that’s going to come across that port in the next year that’s going to go directly to Afghan taxpayers,” he said.
Peterman said he has spent time with the Hairaton District Gov. Atta and other key officials trying to understand, “Afghanistan’s human terrain.”
“We had a great dialogue with Gov. Atta, as well as daily meetings with the port authority … to let him know what this means to him economically. He’s a very smart man, and he understands developmentally what this means to his country,” he said.
Peterman said conversations with the district sub-governor raised concerns about the negative impact the projects would have on the community, such as children being struck by trucks
“Those concerns are no different than a small town in America that’s right next to a rail hub, if you can picture it,” he said. “If we put Afghans to work, it will have less negative effects on his community,” he said.
Peterman said engagements by USAID, the European Union and others are also coming into play regarding Afghanistan’s economic future.
He also said the project fits in with President Obama’s intent of having combat troops leave Afghanistan by 2014.
“The trains are going to have to get that combat power out some way,” he said.
Source: DVIDS, 2011-01-11
Press Conference
Robert O. Blake, Jr. Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
U.S. Embassy Atrium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
February 18, 2011[...]
Assistant Secretary Blake: [...] I noted that the Unites States highly values Uzbekistan’s support for international efforts in Afghanistan, including allowing the transit of non-lethal supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan, the provision of electricity to Afghanistan, and the construction of a railway line from Hairaton to Mazar-e Sharif.
[...]Question: Are you looking at the possibility of transporting military supplies through Uzbekistan?
Assistant Secretary Blake: The supplies that are transiting through Uzbek territory are all non-lethal supplies. Once again I would like to express the appreciation of the United States for the Government of Uzbekistan’s support in this regard.
[...]
Question: What can you say about the Northern Distribution Network? And do you have any statistics on how many containers, how many tons of cargo have moved through Uzbekistan? And another question is – how much is the government of Uzbekistan paid for the transit of one container?
Assistant Secretary Blake: I’m afraid this is a bit too detailed for a non-specialist like me. I suggest you contact the Central Command. They might be able to provide some of that information. But I’m flattered that you think I might know that.
Source: US State Department, 2011-02-18
A correspondent writes:
I know that the roadbed into Herat has been built, including bridges and sidings, for a couple of years into Herat, but I do not know that any rail has been laid inside Afghanistan. The rail line will get a new border crossing south of the existing crossing on the road west out of Herat.
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