The first rail shipment from Afghanistan to China via Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan was dispatched earlier today during a high-level ceremony attended by officials and diplomats from four countries in the Hiratan Port. The shipment includes 1100 MTs of goods from Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/EmjF75Z6qc
— RECCA (@RECCAfghanistan) September 5, 2019
An inaugural service carrying freight for export to China by rail left Hairatan on 5 September 2019.1 It was carrying 1 100 tonnes of talc in 41 containers, which were expected to arrive in China’s Jiangxi province in around 14 days, travelling 6 700 km via Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
The locomotive from Uzbekistan’s national railway UTY and the containers were decorated with banners showing the flags of the four countries, and a portrait of King Amanullah.
Guests at the despatch of the first export train included Minister of Transport Yama Yari, various national and local government officials and representatives of the embassies of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and China.
The first rail freight service from China to Afghanistan ran in September 2016, but the start of services in the opposite direction was delayed by bureaucratic issues.
- Afghanistan – China rail freight service sets off, Railway Gazette International, 9 September 2019. ↩