Video showing freight service from China arriving at Hairatan.
Photographs
Afghanistan’s railway door to Europe
Some pictures have appeared showing the new railway at Aqina on the Turkmenistan – Afghanistan border.
#Aqeena railway gate,Door to #Europe from #Afghanistan.
In near future will inaugurate pic.twitter.com/fmcAsUgXmy— Waheed Faizi (@waheedfaizisafi) November 20, 2016
It would be nice if the opening ceremony led to a consensus on romanised spellings of the various place names – it would make tracking the project so much easier!
Photo of the Atamurat – Aqina railway?
The Khaama Press story Lazuli railway network to link Afghanistan to Europe and China soon published on 19 October 2016 has a photo which might be of the new railway from Atamurat in Turkmenistan to the Afghan border and Aqina. If so, this is only the second time I have seen photos of the line.
Lazuli railway network to link Afghanistan to Europe and China soon
https://t.co/ru3GniaIny pic.twitter.com/8q5HkVufdI— Khaama Press (KP) (@khaama) October 19, 2016
Photos of development in Afghanistan
The Asian Development Bank website has published some photos by Kabul-born documentary photographer Jawad Jalali, who “traveled across Afghanistan to capture the country’s development through his lenses”. He said “the most amazing thing for me is the railway, for the first time I was experiencing a train in our own soil and country.”
According to ADB, “an expanded railway system covering 4,425 kilometers is expected to be developed in the future and is expected to connect the majority of the country’s population centers”.
Amo Hairatan Oil Refinery video
A video of the Amo Hairatan Oil Refinery. There are no trains in the video as far as I can see, but a railway siding features from 09:54 and 10:18.
According to its website, Amo Hairatan Refinery LLC was registered in Afghanistan in 2012 by a partnership between citizens of Afghanistan and Azerbaijan. The plant was built on 4 hectares land, and has a monthly capacity of 15,000 tons of Afghan crude, which can be converted into diesel, gasoline, kerosene and furnace fuel oil.
Naibabad station photo
Chris Austin, Afghanistan Country Director for the UK’s Department for International Development, tweets a picture of Naibabad station (bottom left).
Great to go to #Mazar_e_Sharif to see how #UKaid is helping improve roads, rail and electricity in #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/SelwaHC6dv
— Chris Austin (@ChrisAustinDFID) September 1, 2015
Photos from the Northern Afghanistan Railway Study
Naibabad Railway junction, Mazar Sharif, Afghanistan, pic.twitter.com/IFNHCHUH24
— Md. Mohsin Almaji (@bizurani) June 19, 2015
North Afghanistan Railway Study (NARS) Project- Some @EarthBeauties of Sample Collection-Air, Noise and Water Sample. pic.twitter.com/4amaePoE5f
— Md. Mohsin Almaji (@bizurani) June 20, 2015
Surface Water Sample Collection From Aqcha River for NARS Project. pic.twitter.com/Hv02xpNgbv
— Md. Mohsin Almaji (@bizurani) June 20, 2015
Photo of the Mazar-i-Sharif rail freight terminal
The Asian Development Bank has published this rather fine photo, captioned:
Railway terminal in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, January 5, 2014. The railway has provided easy transportation for oil, wood, flour, wheat, asphalt and other important products
There is what looks like a TEM2 diesel locomotive in the background.
Despite the date in the caption, the metadata says the picture was taken on 19 December 2013, by Jawad Jalali (presumably this Afghan photographer).
Aerial view of the Afghan railway
That looks rather like a passenger station, despite the Uzbekistan to Mazar-i-Sharif railway being freight only.
Gliding over #Afghanistan's first railway, a 75km line that goes from Mazar-e-Sharif to #Uzbekistan. pic.twitter.com/6UTCQTa7wK
— Elissa Mirzaei (@ElissaMirzaei) November 12, 2014
Dutch railway engineer’s Afghan photos
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