Hayratan

Afghanistan acquires two locos

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

Via Google Translate, this says something the effect that a locomotive from Kazakhstan is expected to arrive in Hairatan on 30 January 2023, and a second one by 7 February. This means Afghanistan will be able to handle operations itself, without needing Uzbekistan to operate the trains.

Hairatan freight trains restart

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

The first freight train to cross from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan since the Taliban take over arrived in Hairatan on 1 September 2021, after 17 days of no service.

Chinese transit goods arrive at Hairatan

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

The 1st shipment of Chinese commercial-transit goods arrives at Hairatan port

The 1st shipment of Chinese commercial and transit goods arrived at the commercial port of Hairatan on Sunday.

This shipment includes 51 containers of commercial-transit goods of the People’s Republic of China, which entered the country through the railway for the 1st time in the solar year.

The cargo was loaded from the Chinese city of Urumqi and the Afghan Cargo Company transited the shipment to Hairatan port.

Officials at the port say, the shipment includes electrical appliances, medicine and cosmetics, various types of clothes, toys, and other commercial goods, and the transfer of commercial goods from Hairatan port indicates an improvement in the country’s ports.

Afghanistan shares a 137-kilometer border with the Republic of Uzbekistan, where most of Afghanistan’s trade goods enter the country through the port of Hairatan. Hairatan port is one of the connecting points of the country with Central Asia.

Source: Ministry of Industry and Commerce, 15 July 2021

Uzbekistan Railways launches ‘high speed’ freight services to Afghanistan

Posted on by Andrew Grantham


With the aim of supporting small and private-sector Uzbek exporters, Uzbekistan’s national railway UTY has launched a thrice-weekly accelerated freight service to Afghanistan. This ‘high speed’ service reduces the normal transit time from Tashkent to Hairatan from 5-6 days to 2 days.

The first of the ‘high speed’ freight trains left Tashkent on 16 April with 14 wagons, and an additional 36 wagons were attached along the route. As of 24 April 2020 four trains had been operated, moving a total of 218 wagons.

UTY said it accepts all types of cargo, and provides various types of wagons, containers and tanks. Payment is made ‘in any convenient form’, and the transport tariff remains unchanged.

Details: Information for entrepreneurs on high-speed freight trains, Uzbekistan Railways, 24 April 2020

Trains in the Visiting Hairatan Port with Mitra video

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

The video Afghan Scene – Visiting Hairatan Port with Mitra / افغان سین – سفر دیدنی میترا به بندر حیرتان from “Toot” includes some railway action, including the presenter enthusiastically greeting a maintenance vehicle at 2:20 and a locomotive hauling an single Uzbek Railways liveried coach at 2:56.

Freight arriving at Hayratan

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Friendship Bridge photos

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First Afghanistan to China rail freight service

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

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.

  1. Afghanistan – China rail freight service sets off, Railway Gazette International, 9 September 2019. ↩