د هرات-کندهار د اوسپنيزې کرښې د تفصيلي ډيزاين اړوند (۵) تړونونه د شاوخوا (۲۶۴) ميليونه افغانيو په ارزښت له پنځو شرکتونه سره لاسليک شول
۷مه، شعبان المعظم ۱۴۴۶
د ا.ا.ا د ټولګټو سرپرست وزير محترم الحاج ملا محمد عيسی ثاني د هرات-کندهار د (۷۳۷.۵) کيلومتره اوسپنيزې کرښې د ۱٫۱ pic.twitter.com/rJN59oGoBd— Ministry of Public Works – د ټولگټو وزارت (@mopw_afg) February 6, 2025
Acting Minister of Public Works Mohammad Issa Sani has signed five contracts for domestic companies to produce detailed designs for a 737.5 km railway from Herat to Kandahar.1
The contracts announced by the ministry on 6 February 2025 have a total value of 264m afghanis (about €3.5m, which doesn’t sound like very much for a major railway project!). The studies are to be completed within eight months.
Section | Route | Length, km | Contract value, afghanis | Contractor |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Herat – Shindand | 120 | 51 978 999 | Afghan-German Construction, Road Construction and Railway Company |
2 | Shindand – Farah | 120 | 45 631 267 | Hask Engineering Services Company |
3 | Farah – Zaranj – Ghor Ghori | 188.8 | 69 278 567 | Hask Engineering Services Company |
4 | Ghor Ghori – Lashkargah | 171 | 60 331 408 | Arya Khan Afghan Construction, Road Construction and Logistics Services Company |
5 | Lashkargah – Kandahar | 137.7 | 37 315 742 | Arya Khan Afghan Construction, Road Construction and Logistics Services Company |
The ministry said the start of practical work for the project would be dependent on the budget and financing.
The 1435mm gauge line from Khaf in Iran is currently being extended towards Herat. There are also ambitions to extend the 1520 mm gauge railway from Turkmenistan which currently terminates at Towraghondi onwards to Herat.2
There have been various proposals over the years for a line linking Kandahar to the 1676 mm gauge railhead at Chaman in Pakistan.
References
- X (Twitter) thread, Ministry of Public Works, 2025-02-06 ↩
- Turkmenistan – Afghanistan rail link to be extended, Railway Gazette International, 9 October 2024 ↩