Afghanistan’s railways

Photos of Hayratan and its railway facilities

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

A good set of photos in, around and above Hayratan, taken by “Robert” in July 2010 during his Afghanistan Deployment. I have selected some of the railway shots, but the whole album is worth a look.

  • Here’s a shot of the new railroad.
  • I was excited to see this train hauling track parts south
  • Cargo being moved by rail in Afghanistan! A big first for this country.
  • The Friendship bridge which crosses the Amu Darya into Uzbekistan. It’s used for both rail and road traffic (although not at the same time).
  • The Hairatan border crossing is a major fuel transfer point for Afghanistan.
  • one of the cargo yards
  • A train that has just rolled in to Afghanistan. So nice to see commercial trade taking place in this country.
  • Rail car being unloaded at the Hairatan crossing.
  • Another shot of the railroad. The Afghans have made tremendous progress on it.
  • (photo of a yellow machine)

    • Technical assistance to the National Railway Authority

    Posted on by Andrew Grantham

    An OJEU notice.

    09/11/2010 S217 External aid programmes – Service contract – Prior Information Notice – Prior information or periodic indicative notice 

    AF-Kabul: DCI — technical assistance to the National Railway Authority in Afghanistan

    2010/S 217-331687

    Location: Asia — Afghanistan

    Contract forecast notice

    Services

    Common procurement vocabulary (CPV):

    Main object:

    71356200 Technical assistance services

    Additional object(s):

    79314000 Feasibility study

     1.Publication reference:

    EuropeAid/130690/C/SER/AF.
     2.Procedure:

    Restricted.
     3.Programme:

    DCI.
     4.Financing:

    Financing agreement.
     5.Contracting authority:

    European Union, represented by the European Commission, on behalf of and for the account of the beneficiary countries, Kabul, AFGHANISTAN.
     6.Nature of contract:

    Fee-based.
     7.Contract description:

    The forecast service contract aims to provide technical assistance to the Government of Afghanistan in order to:
    1) help establish a National Railway Authority;
    2) provide support to capacity building;
    3) provide assessment of country-wide railway feasibility;
    4) provide assessment of country-specific technical issues (e.g. gauge).
    The most important criteria for contracting an expert team will be proven expertise in the areas of:
    — institutional building,
    — capacity building,
    — transport economics, and
    — railway engineering.
    The indicative duration of the service contract will be 30 months and the team will be based in Kabul (Afghanistan), working closely with the involved ministries, governmental agencies and international donors. Coordination with the neighbour countries will be channelled via the Secretariat for Regional Cooperation.
     8.Numbers and titles of lots:

    The contract is divided into lots:
    No, 1 lot only.
     9.Budget:

    Maximum budget: 1 550 000 EUR.
     10.Intended timing of publication of procurement notice:

    December 2010.
     11.Additional information
     12.Legal basis:

    DCI-ASIE.
     13.Date of dispatch of this notice:

    27.10.2010.

    Remarks:

    There must be a minimum period of 30 calendar days between the publication of this contract forecast and the publication of the corresponding procurement notice.

    No applications or requests for information should be sent at this stage.

    Steam loco at the National Museum of Afghanistan

    Posted on by Andrew Grantham

    The Museum And The Palace at the From UBC to Kabul blog by Brian Platt has some photographs of the Kabul museum and its plinthed Henschel steam locomotive which were taken on 30 October 2010. One of the locos with a collapsed cab is also visible in one of the shots.

    After wondering around inside for a while, I explored the outside yard of the museum. The most interesting piece was this, the rusted-out body of a steam engine. It’s from the 1920s when Amanullah, the leader of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929, worked his ass off to modernize the country.
    …
    However, Amanullah’s policies were attacked viciously by various conservative factions in Afghanistan, and eventually he was forced into exile in Europe. All that’s left of his grand train visions are sitting on the lawn of the National Museum.
    Source: From UBC to Kabul, 2010-11-03

    Herat railway “will start operation soon”, says Iranian official

    Posted on by Andrew Grantham

    The Iranian-backed railway from Khaf in Iran to the Afghan city of Herat will open “in the near future”, reports Iranian news agency Fars. Unfortunately there is no definition of “near future”!

    A previous report earlier this year suggested that a lot of work was still required within Afghan territory. Does anyone know the current situation?

    Iran to Inaugurate Transit Railway with Afghanistan Soon

    A senior Iranian legislator announced on Saturday [30 October 2010] that the country plans to inaugurate a transit railway line linking Iran’s eastern parts to the western regions in Afghanistan in the near future in a move to facilitate transfer of goods and cargos between the two neighboring countries.

    “The transit line which will link Torbat Heidariyeh (in Northeastern Iran) to Herat (in Western Afghanistan) will start operation soon and it is due to be extended to Iran’s Southern-most port city of Chabahar (on the rims of the Persian Gulf),” member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mohammad Ali Rezaee told FNA.

    [More…]

    Source: Fars News Agency, 2010-10-30


    View Larger Map

    Coal mining loco identification

    Posted on by Andrew Grantham

    There is some discussion of the coal mine railways on the Feldbahnforum website; see the Afghanistan Kohlenminen thread from 20 Okt 2010, 14:29 (you may need to register, and it is auf Deutsch).

    The locomotive in this photograph is identified as a BND15. The hopper wagons at the mine are apparently the Czechoslovakian JDV (“unified mining car” design), manufactured by Zelezárny Vítkovicé (Vítkovice iron works).

    If I have understood the thread correctly, some BND15 locomotives and also one BND30 were supplied to Afghanistan.

    Minister says Turkmenistan link is next

    Posted on by Andrew Grantham

    Megha Bahree of Forbes interviews Afghanistan’s Minister of Mines, Wahidullah Shahrani, about mining projects. The article includes this about the next phase of the railway plans:

    Shahrani: Right now we have up the railway line from Uzbekistan to Mazar-i-Sharif, which is a big commercial center. This 75 km long railway line cost $175 million and was funded by the ADB. Next phase will be from Afghanistan to the Turkmenistan border. This is 257kms and will take three years and we expect the tenders out by early next year. Apart from this, MCC is also constructing a 921km long railway line that will link Kabul with Turkmenistan, Pakistan, central highland to Mazar-i-sharif.

    Source: In The Shadow Of The Taliban, Afghanistan’s Mining Sector Is Open For Business, Megha Bahree, Forbes, 2010-10-21

    Turkmenistan to fund Andkhoy line

    Posted on by Andrew Grantham

    Turkmenistan is to fund, survey, design and construct a 126 km railway to northern Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Wahid, Financial & Administrative Deputy at Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Works said in a 17 October 2010 interview with TOLOnews.1 This would be Turkmenistan’s second line to Afghanistan, after the Towraghondi line.

    Starting from the existing 1520 mm Turkmen rail network at Atamurat (also written Atamyrat, previously known as Kerki) the proposed line will run to Aqina on the Afghan border, then run 36 km within Afghanistan to Andkhoy district in Faryab province. It is not clear whether 126 km is the total length, or the length of the section within Turkmenistan.


    View Turkmenistan – Andkhoy railway plan in a larger map

    Although the article refers to “Aqina harbor”, looking at Google Maps I suspect this is a mis-translation for a border crossing facility, which appears to be well away from any river – well away from anything, in fact.

    The Turkmen frontier post is Kolodets Imam-Nazar (also Imamnazar etc), where new border facilities were formally opened on 13 August 2007 with assistance from the USA and United Nations.2

    The railway project was discussed in July 2008 and again by various officials from the Afghan and Turkmen governments in August 2010, when ministers also talked about the railway which will connect the Afghanistan via Shabarghan, Aqina and Imamnazar to Turkmenistan.3 An extension from Andkhoy could connect with the planned Mazar-i-Sharif to Herat line at Shirbirghan (Shabarghan and variants).

    According to the Ministry of Public Works the railway will boost trade, help to grow the Afghan economy and provide Afghanistan with access to the Caspian Sea and Europe.

    However there are no timescales given for construction.

    1. Afghanistan to Build 36km Railway in the North, Tamim Shaheer, TOLOnews, 17 October 2010 ↩
    2. Imamnazar new post control was opened at the Turkmen-Afghan border, State News Agency of Turkmenistan (TDH) | 15 August 2007 ↩
    3. The Agreement of Support for Implementation of TAPI Project was Signed, Ministry of Mines, 30 August 2010 ↩

    Construction of the Friendship Bridge

    Posted on by Andrew Grantham

    Just south of Termez, at Heratan, on the Amu Darya river, diplomats understand that a reinforced steel bridge is being constructed. The aim, it would seem, is to improve the roads and garrison facilities right from the Soviet border to Kabul

    Russians switch to commando-type raids in Afghanistan, Karan Thapar, The Times, 19 September 1980, p1 and p6 (Issue 60728; col C)

    Video of Hayratan to Mazar-i-Sharif construction works

    Posted on by Andrew Grantham

    From the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif to the Uzbek border, the land runs flat with barely a hillock to block the way. It is perfect terrain for building a railway

    says Afghanistan’s First New Railroad On Track, an 14 October 2010 by Charles Recknagel at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

    There are details of construction and security on the new line from the Uzbek border to near Mazar-i-Sharif:

    Currently, the railroad is guarded by a force of 500 police. The headquarters of the force is a small, windswept outpost halfway between Mazar-e Sharif and the Afghan border crossing of Hairaton, where the new rail line starts.

    There is also a video showing construction work. This feature a twin-unit locomotive (a 2TE10?) in action at 55 sec, and then a smaller blue locomotive, both presumably belonging to Uzbek state railway UTY.