The website of the UAE-based Azizi Hotak General Trading Group has some December 2007 photographs of rail operations at Hairaton terminal in Afghanistan, showing Uzbek Railways’ loco TEM2 3199.
Hayratan
NATO rail access to Afghanistan
The address by Uzbekistan’s President at the NATO Summit in Bucharest on April 3 2008 mentions rail access on the Uzbek Railways line to Afghanistan.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to state that Uzbekistan stands ready to discuss and sign with NATO the Agreement on providing for corridor and transit through its territory to deliver the non-military cargos through the border junction Termez-Khayraton, practically the sole railway connection with Afghanistan.
At the same time, the sovereign interests on maintaining the security and legislation of our country must be observed.
The agreement on railway transit of Bundeswehr cargos through the territory of Uzbekistan signed by Uzbekistan with the German side on March 4 this year could be taken as basis for the future Agreement.
An agreement has also been reached “to allow the alliance to ship non-lethal freight across Russian territory to military forces in Afghanistan”
Azizi Hotak Rail Ops
Some more photos of Hayratan, taken by Donald Hill.
Hayratan photos
On Flikr is a collection of photos of the terminal at Hairatan, taken between 16 August and 6 October 2007 by Donald Hill, an American working at the Uzbekistan border importing jet fuel for US and coalition forces.
One photo shows part of a railway siding, another sunset over the Friendship bridge.
Iran – Herat railway project
“Construction of a 191 km railway from Iran to Herat in Afghanistan, with the prospect of an extension across Afghan territory to Sher Khan Bandar, promises to stimulate trade with Central Asia.” reports Murray Hughes in the January 2008 issue of Railway Gazette International.
The current scheme was launched when a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in June 2002 between the Iranian Transport Ministry and the Ministry of Public Utility in Kabul. The project was costed at US$28m and construction was split into four lots, two in Iran, and two in Afghanistan; work officially began in Iran on July 29 2006.
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It is from the penultimate loop at Khaf that the single-track line to Herat begins.From Khaf the route heads slightly south and then east across the border through arid and rugged terrain. Total length of the new line is 191 km, of which 77 km is located in Iran and 114 km in Afghanistan. Of the 10 intermediate stations envisaged, Ghurian will be the largest intermediate town served by the section on Afghan territory.
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Preliminary investigations have been made for an extension from Herat that would run for no less than 700 km across northwestern Afghanistan to Meymaneh, Sheberghan and Sher Khan Bandar on the border with Tadzhikistan. This route would also offer the opportunity to connect with the 1 524 mm gauge line that crosses the Uzbekistan frontier near Termez, penetrating as far as Hariatan. This line is now handling trains nearly every day, mainly carrying petroleum products, machinery, building materials and agricultural produce.
You can read the full article on the Railway Gazette International website.
Afghan railway terminals from above
The two railway terminals in Afghanistan are now visible at a half-decent resolution in Google Earth.
Hayratan
Unfortunately the eastern-most part of the railway line is still low-resolution, including the Friendship Bridge from Uzbekistan. Some sidings are visible, but no trains.
Towraghondi
There is more to see on the line from Turkmenistan, with lots of sidings and buildings, and various wagons.
Freight operations in Afghanistan
Samuel Rachdi of Fahrplancenter has provided me with some information on train operations across Afghanistan’s northern borders.
The Turkmen government has rehabilitated earlier in 2007 the line to Towraghondi and about 20 to 25 wagon loads are brought over this rail line to Afghanistan per week. This line is operated by Turkmen Railways.
In contrast the Termez (Uzbekistan) – Hayratan line is very busy, nearly every day a train is entering Afghanistan, mainly with petroleum products, building material, machines, agricultural products. Every train consits of up to 30 wagons. In the opposite direction very little merchandise is transported, less than 10% against import, so most wagons are leaving the country empty. This line is operated by Uzbek Railways, but with some Afghan employees at Hayratan.
Rail plan for Afghan copper mine
AFP reports on November 21:
Afghanistan has chosen a Chinese bidder to lease a copper mine which is possibly the world’s largest, in a contract that is set to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars, the mines ministry said Tuesday [20 November 2007].
The 30-year lease has been offered to China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC) to develop the Aynak mine 30 kilometres (20 miles) east of Kabul, a Afghan mines ministry spokesman said.
China’s commerce ministry said in a statement on its website that MCC, a state-owned metal producer and contractor, and Jiangxi Copper Co. would jointly develop the mine.
MCC, expected to sign a deal in the coming months, is to invest around three billion dollars to explore and develop the mine, which will also provide jobs for thousands of Afghans, Afghan ministry spokesman Kozhman Ulomi said.
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The company also said it would build a railway line from the town of Hairatan on the Amu Darya (Oxys River) bordering Uzbekistan, through Logar and to Torkham on the Pakistan border to export the minerals, the official said.It added that it would construct a town near the mine for 1,500 families. Other spinoffs would include extra demand for Afghan coal and the creation of small industries using other metal taken from the mine, he said.
First discovered in 1974, the mine is estimated to contain 11.3 million tonnes of copper. About 200,000 tonnes could be extracted a year, Ulomi said.
Heyratan railhead
A Flickr photo collection with lots of pictures of the Heyratan Rail Head, terminus of the ~15 km railway line from Termez in Uzbekistan to a transhipment point on the south bank of the Amu-Darya river.
CRJ Article
The Spring 2006 issue of Continental Railway Journal has a couple of pages on Afghanistan by David Brice, with details of current operations on the two lines. There are 3-4 trains a day to Hayratan, worked by Uzbekistan Railways TEM2 locos, and 1-2 daily trains to Torghundi.
There is also an editorial note on the identities of the three steam engines in Darulaman.