Afghan railroads, past, present and future
And we are going to put down twelve miles of railway to reach a marble quarry, where the Ameer is going to quarry marble to build a new Cabul with.
Frank H Clemence, in an interview with the Liverpool Post which is quoted in the article “A Cheshire man at Cabul” in the Cheshire Observer of Saturday 20 January 1894.
Does anyone know whether this railway was ever built?
Pakistan Railways issued an international request for proposals for a “Feasibility Study For New Rail Link Between Peshawar And Jalalabad Through Loi Shalman Valley” recently. I can’t track down exactly when it was issued, and the document is just dated “March, 2015”.
The Loi Shilman valley (spelling varies) is in the loop of the Kabul River to the north of the Khyber Pass, while Jalalabad is the first major settlement in Afghanistan, on the route from the Khyber Pass to Kabul. The Loi Shilman valley seems to be a pretty remote and obscure area, which has a small internet footprint compared to the famous pass to the south (I’ve not even found decent maps).
The consultants chosen will be required to propose at least three alternative corridors for the line, including the “existing Khyber railway alignment and the alignment through Lio-shalman valley etc”. Using the existing Khyber Railway would presumably mean the line would not actually pass through the Loi Shilman valley, which is further north.
The RFP documents can be downloaded from the Pakistan Railways website (if you can get it to work) or the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority website.
Proposals were initially required by 14.00 on 31 March 2015, but following a “pre-proposal conference” on 17 March, an addendum was issued on 24 March extending the deadline to 15 April 2015, and extending the timescale from nine months to 10 months.
According to the RFP documentation:
Government of Pakistan has recently sanctioned PC-II for the feasibility study of construction of a new railway line from Peshawar to Jalalabad (Afghanistan). Pakistan Railway now intends to carry out this feasibility study in accordance with these Terms of Reference (TOR).
Most of the Project area is located in hilly terrain and the study aims at selecting and designing most suitable alignment for providing the proposed rail link for a design speed of 100 km/h. A map of the Pakistan Railway Network indicating the Project area is place as Appendix-A of this Terms of Reference. The Consultant will carry out the feasibility study in accordance with the Pakistan Railway’s specifications, design parameters and schedule of dimensions etc. For this study, the areas where Pakistan Railways specifications/design parameters are either not available or need any revision / updation, the European Norms (EN) and UIC/AREA standards will be followed with the prior approval of the Employer.
Afghanistan is a land-locked country and three gauges of railway track are in use in its neighboring countries; standard gauge (1435 mm) in Iran and China, broad gauge (1520 mm) in Central Asian States and broad gauge (1676 mm) in Pakistan. The Consultant shall propose the location (s) for change of gauge and arrangements for the trans-shipment at interchange points/stations. The study conducted by World Bank through HB Consultant Bangladesh may also be kept in view in this context while preparing the Feasibility Study Report.
2 OBJECTIVES OF THE FEASIBILITY STUDY
The objectives of the study are:
a. To estimate the present and future freight and passenger railway transportation demand between Peshawar and Jalalabad;
b. To determine the optimal technical solution for the construction and operation of a broad gauge (or Standard Gauge) railway between Peshawar and Jalalabad (hereinafter referred to as “the Project”);
c. To estimate the construction, operating and maintenance costs of the project based on the optimal technical solution at (b) above;
d. To establish the nature and magnitude of the environmental and social impacts of the optimal technical solution at (b) above, and to recommend measures necessary to mitigate the adverse impacts and/or enhance the positive impacts;
e. To establish a basis for the future detailed engineering design and construction bid documentation for the project;
f. To determine the economic and financial viability of the project basing on – among other factors – the rail transportation demand determined at (a) above and the development/operating/maintenance costs estimated at (c) above.Source: Request For Proposals For Feasibility Study For New Rail Link Between Peshawar And Jalalabad Through Loi Shalman Valley, Pakistan Railways, March 2015
The RFP specifies a single track line suitable for 80 km/h freight and 100 km/h passenger trains, with diesel or electric traction. The line should be to either Pakistan’s 1676 mm broad gauge or to standard gauge (1435 mm, as used in China and Iran).
It is hard to see what purpose would be served by using standard gauge for this particular line; even if the Chinese eventually build a standard gauge railway to the Mes Aynak copper mine, a break of gauge on this section would make little sense.
There have been been past proposals for a railway through the Loi Shilman valley, with the British authorities undertaking surveys and actually starting work in the early 20th century.
Having rejected a route through the Khyber Pass, there were two options for a line from Peshawar to the Afghan frontier: one following the Kabul River gorge to an appropriate site for a terminus, and the other initially following the river route but then turning left and running up the Loi Shilman valley, with a significant tunnel needed to reach a suitable terminus on the side of the hills facing Afghanistan.
Construction of the line was approved as far as the point where the two potential routes diverged, pending a final decision on the rest of the alignment, and work began. However the Anglo-Russian Convention of St Petersburg in 1907 reduced the threat which the British military authorities felt Russia might pose to the northern frontier of India, and the civilian authorities were getting concerned about the rapidly increasing cost of the project. As a result, work was halted. Maps of the various alignments which were considered can now be found in the British Library.
Further surveys subsequently showed that a railway through the Khyber Pass was feasible, and the construction of this line which opened in 1925 made the Kabul River or Loi Shilman lines unnecessary. Although the Khyber Pass line never crossed into Afghanistan, preliminary studies were undertaken by the British for an possible extension to Dakka, the first suitable place for a major army camp, and from there to Jalalabad, as it was felt that the rapid construction of such a line could prove useful in the event of any future war with Afghanistan.
The Khyber Pass railway survived, albeit moribund, until sections were destroyed by floods in 2006-09.
This is a perhaps somewhat surprising idea for a brand new line, especially given the many problems which Pakistan Railways is currently reported to be facing on its existing network. While I cannot claim any knowledge of the area, I find it very hard to believe that anything other than a reinstatement of the out-of-use Khyber Pass line, perhaps combined with an extension to Jalalabad, could be even remotely viable.
I wonder if in reality this is about reinstating the Khyber Line, and the Loi Shilman route is there purely to give something to compare it with, or as a legal technicality to show that some alternative options have at least been considered?
The Dutch ambassador to Afghanistan tweets about a book by Khalil Wedad which includes photos by a Dutch railway engineer who worked in the country in the 1920s.
1/2 A century of Afghan history: book by Khalil Wedad with photo's from 1928 by Dutch railway engineer Adrianus Maas pic.twitter.com/GuMwSHp9ik
— Henk Jan Bakker (@HenkJanBakker3) April 1, 2015
2/2 Maas was invited by King Amanullah. Honored by presence of his daughter princess India. pic.twitter.com/X43mz2qwLQ
— Henk Jan Bakker (@HenkJanBakker3) April 1, 2015
The President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, discussed the political and economic priorities of the Afghan government with Robert Rubin, co-chair of the Council on Foreign Relations in the USA on 26 March 2015.
There were a number of mentions of railways, including:
Now in the next 25 years, Asia is going to become the largest continental economy. What happened in the United States in 1869 when the continental railroads were integrated is like—very likely to happen in Asia in the next 25 years. Without Afghanistan, central Asia, south Asia, east Asia and west Asia will not be connected, so this is our first advantage. We—our goal is to become a transit country, for transport, for power transmission, for gas pipelines, for fiber optics. It’s a networked approach to the economy because this will create massive jobs and opportunities.
The constraint, of course, is lack of infrastructure. We have created the road network, but the railway network—we have only one of our cities linked to our neighboring country, which is with Uzebekistan. But now, our attempt is to get linked to China and to all our neighbors. So this is the first step.
There is a mention of the Chinese copper mine project needing a railway: “Without rail, there is no possibility of creating the economies of scale.”
Our first great law (ph) in terms of transit is coming by Central Asia to Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. In three years, we hope to be reaching Europe within five days. So, Caspian is really becoming simple to our—our economy. And in three years, we could have 70 percent of our imports and exports by the Caspian.
The Afghanistan Railway Authority (AfRA) executed and officially singed a new Operation and Maintenance (O&M)
The Afghanistan Railway Authority (AfRA) executed and officially singed a new Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Contract for the Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif railway line on 15th of March 2015, with the Operator “SE Sogdiana Trans” of the Republic of Uzbekistan. This new contract is called MOMTC (expires on 4 December 2017) and will provide the following four services: Management, Operation & Infrastructure Maintenance of the line and will provide a comprehensive, theoretical and practical Training for the AfRA’s personnel.
Hairatan on the border with Uzbekistan serves as gateway for half of Afghanistan’s external trade, while Mazar-e-Sharif is Afghanistan’s fourth-largest city and major trading center in the north. The construction of this railway line of 75Km was completed in 2011 and since then the operation and maintenance work has been going on. During each operation year, about 2.5 million tons of goods were transported on the Hairatan – Mazar-e-Sharif railway line, strengthening the local economy, increasing regional trade, promoting regional cooperation, and helping Afghanistan begin to redefine its role in the region.
The Hairatan – Mazar-e-Sharif railway line has brought positive economic effects since it was built. The lower transport cost have reduced the price of goods and have resulted in higher quality goods coming into the country. More than 7 million people have benefited from this line through jobs and increased trade. This has included freight operators, traders, businesses, and the local communities.
Having an efficient, safe, and reliable railway transport network operating in northern Afghanistan has shown an overall employment growth of over 10% per year since 2010. About 1,200 people are currently employed in logistics and unloading operations, while more jobs are expected to merge in logistics services at railroad stations.
This railway line forms part of the Transport Corridors 3 & 6 of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC), connecting the Central Asia to the South Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East. At a later stage, this railway network will be extended to Herat in the West via Sheberghan – Andkhoy – Aqina with connection to Turkmenistan and Tajikistan in the east via Kunduz – Sherkhan Bandar, which is part of another project called (Northern Afghanistan Railway Project).
Source: Afghanistan Railway Authority, 24 March 2015
Last year the Afghanistan Railway Authority invited expressions of interest in contracts to operate and maintain the 75 km railway from Hairatan to Mazar-i-Sharif.
On 15 March 20151 Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Works awarded Uzbek national railway UTY a new contract to operate and maintain the line.2
This contract replaces the original 2011 operating contract, which was worth worth $32m/year. On 8 February 2011 UTY established its Sogdiana Trans subsidiary to undertake operations and maintenance in Afghanistan.3
The latest contract runs for three years and will see UTY paid $19m/year to manage the line. UTY will pay taxes, and is to provide training for 50 Afghans each year. Until now the railway has only been used for imports, but the new contract should see the line used to carry a total of at least four million tonnes of Afghan goods for export.
Advanced Geomatics & Design LLC’s website has some 2010 plans for a Concept Layout for an Afghanistan Railroad, running from Kabul to Kandahar and then paralleling the Iranian border through Pakistan to Pishukan.
TEN YEARS AT EUSTON
Tens of thousands of railway passengers will miss the short, stout, cheery-faced figure of Mr T. P. Wenlock, station master at Euston who is retiring after 45 years’ service with the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. […] He has been decorated personally by the King with the M.B.E., presented with a diamond tie pin by the Prince of Wales, received the order of the House of Orange from the Queen of Holland, and given an order by ex-King Amanullah when he visited this country.
Source: Northern Daily Mail, 30 September 1930
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved the administration of a European Union (EU) grant for the Transport Network Development Investment Program. The EU grant will help upgrade the Afghanistan Railway Authority and support efficiency improvements for traffic moving along CAREC Corridors 5 and 6 in Afghanistan, and across key cross border points as part of the fourth tranche of financing for the program. The program, which was approved in 2011, is supporting infrastructure upgrades and improved sector governance to strengthen access to domestic and international markets, which in turn will support increased trade, job creation and economic growth.
Amount
$109 million grant from ADB’s concessional Asian Development Fund. Cofinancing grant of up to $21 million equivalent from the EU, administered by ADB.Source: Afghanistan – Transport Network Program Administration of Grant New Briefs, Asian Development Bank, 12 December 2014
A couple of photos of the Khyber Railway at the British museum website. As is all too common in Britain, the terms and conditions of the website are written in complicated legalese and don’t really give a clear answer to the question “can I use the image on my own website?”, so here are links instead.
Bagiari Cutting through the Khyber Pass
Photograph of a railway engine [2287] stopped in a narrow defile in the Khyber Pass (NWFP, Pakistan) with two persons standing next to it, one a local man and the other a European identified in the caption as Dr E S Appleby. A third local man stands on the front of the engine itself.
Photograph of a railway engine [2287] stopped at Jamrud Station (NWFP, Pakistan) at the eastern end of the Khyber Pass. Dr E S Appleby and ‘Guard’ Garlick said to be in the scene. The station name is visible in the photo.