Afghan railroads, past, present and future
The politics behind “Pakistan’s gift of a steam engine to UK in 1981 and the interesting story of this loco’s arrival in Manchester” at All Things Pakistan.
The Museum of Science & Industry in Manchester has a page on the loco, Vulcan Foundry 4-4-0 works no. 3064 of 1911, while The Vulcan Foundry Newton-le-Willows “electronic museum” has information on other Vulcan Foundry survivors.
A glance at the network of road and railway communications, which forms an essential feature in the scheme for efficient control, shows how comprehensive are the detailed arrangements for the protection of the North-West Frontier.
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The outbreak of 1897, and the consequent isolation of the Malakand, showed the necessity of a railway line from Nowshera to Dargai; though a broad gauge line would certainly help better to develop the trade which is yearly increasing. The road up the Khyber Pass has been so far improved that heavy guns can go with ease as far as Torkham, on the Afghan border. The broad gauge line extends now to Jamrud. Work on the still incomplete Loi Shilman railway came to a standstill during the late Mohmand expedition. It is finished and ready for use as far as Shahid Miana, about six miles up the Cabul River gorge, beyond Warsak.
The Pathan borderland; a consecutive account of the country and people on and beyond the Indian frontier from Chitral to Dera Ismail Khan, by CM Enriquez, 21st Punjabis (Thacker, Spink & Co, 1910)
In an article at Asia Times Online, Syed Fazl-e-Haider writes about co-operation between China and Pakistan, including plans to extend the Khyber Pass line and build the Spin Boldak line. There is also discussion of a direct China – Pakistan railway.
Chinese shun Pakistan exodus
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China has also shown interest in early laying a track between the Pakistan border town of Torkham and Jalalabad in Afghanistan, as the Chinese want to use the Pakistan Railways network to transport their goods and equipment for the development of copper mines and various other projects in Afghanistan. Separately, Pakistan Railways has completed a feasibility study for a rail section between Chaman, in Balochistan, and Kandahar in Afghanistan that is part of a proposed link across Afghanistan to Turkmenistan.
Source: Asia Times Online, 2009-09-11
The demonstration Islamabad – Zahedan – Istanbul train started its journey from Pakistan on 14 August 2009.
There are more details of the service (in Turkish) on the TCDD website. The photo is of a Pakistan Railways broad-gauge train. The containers are transhipped between gauges at Zahedan in Iran.
TCDD says the journey is 6566 km – other sources say about 6500 km with 1 900 km in Pakistan, 2 570 km in Iran and 2 036 km in Turkey – and the plan is to carry textile products, cotton, medical hand tools(?), toys, games and sporting goods westbound, with machinery and parts, chemical products, paper and paper products, cars spares and agricultural tools going eastbound.
According to PakTribune the journey “will take 15 days from Pakistan’s federal capital to the Turkish capital”, compared to “40-45 days from Karachi to a Turkish port” (do they really mean the Turkish capital, which is Ankara, or do they actually mean Istanbul, which people often mistakenly think is the capital?).
There is also a suggestion that Pakistan may join OTIF, which provides a common legal framework for international rail operations.
According to Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency, regular services are expected to begin next year.
There are details of the background to the train in an article by Mohammad Mirzaei Kahagh, Director Transport & Communications at ECO, in the May 2009 issue of ECO Times. Despite the photos used in ECO Times, I don’t think Norfolk Southern or Norway’s Flåm railway are involved in the project!
Update: Barrie Hughes of the Welsh Highland Railway construction website has spotted that the tracklaying picture in the ECO Times article shows Cae Pawb mixed gauge crossing on the WHR/Cambrian Coast line in Porthmadog, Wales!
Update: The train reached Tehran on 23 August – Iran Daily has a photo of it. Director of Iran’s Railway Company Hassan Ziyari said the railroad is safer and more environmental friendly compared to the roadways and other transport modes. The duration of the entire journey can be reduced to 12 days in the future, he added, and voiced Iran’s preparedness for cooperating in new plans to expand rail networks of ECO members.
Update: It got to Turkey on 25 August – First train on Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul railway arrives in Turkey
Update: It arrived at Haydarpasa station, Istanbul’s Asian station, on 28 August. 
A Reuters report saying Russia’s President Medvedev backs Afghan railway projects.
Russia aims to spur Afghan region economy, win aid
By Roman Kozhevnikov and Anastasia Onegina
DUSHANBE, July 30 (Reuters) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday brought together the leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and their neighbour Tajikistan to try and spur regional economic recovery and attract huge aid flows.
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“We have a common space, which should be filled with all sorts of projects,” Medvedev said in the Tajik capital after meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.“We were talking about energy projects, railway projects,” he told a news conference after talks also attended by Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon.
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Source: Reuters 2009-07-30
This is a border with no boundaries, boasting a frontier town with no frontier
, said Jason Burke in describing the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Chaman in an article in The Independent published on 21 January 1999: Frontline: Chaman, Pakistan-Afghan frontier – Legacy of the Raj: fine railways and lousy borders.
Even the home secretary in Quetta – the second-most senior civil servant in the province – admits the frontier, effectively created as the western boundary of British India, is a farce: “It is an imaginary border. You Britishers built us good railways but gave us some lousy boundaries.”
Pakistan Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission has used satellite images for Route Selection for Chaman Kandhar Railway Line. The client was Pakistan Railways, but unfortunately there is no date.
Scope of Work:
- To locate feasible route from Chamman, Pakistan to Kandhar, Afghanistan. The route had been marked on the satellite image
- Processing of satellite data. Geo-referencing. Digitization of SRS data for Chamman-Kandhar Railways Route Location and alignment
Various recent news reports, when taken together, imply that there could be some progress with the plans for a rail link from Pakistan to Spin Boldak.
This would be a 10-15 km extension of the Pakistan Railways line which currently terminates at Chaman, just short of the Afghan border.
On the other hand, it might just be talk. Does anyone know anything hard about what might be happening?
Building this long-proposed extension would seem to make sense. A line from Chaman to Spin Boldak would just be a cross-border extension of Pakistan Railways’ 1676 mm gauge rail network to the first settlement on the Afghan side of the border.
It would be comparable to the lines to Hayratan and Towraghondi in the north of Afghanistan, which are simply cross-border extensions of the Uzbek and Turkmen railway networks. Customs formalities and the like could be completed with Afghanistan, rather than Pakistan.
View Chaman – Spin Boldak railway in a larger map
Pakistan has helped Kabul to construct Chaman-Kandahar Rail Link
claims a 1 August 2009 report by NN Khattak in The Frontier Post.
Blame game must end
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Pakistan is doing its best within its resources to help Afghanistan in its rebuilding efforts. Both countries agreed to cooperate on a pipeline project that would transport energy from Central Asia via Afghanistan into Pakistan. There is also talk of running a railroad through Afghanistan that would connect the republics of Central Asia with Pakistan and, through Pakistan’s ports, to overseas markets. Similarly, there are ongoing discussions about bus links between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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Pakistan has constructed 75km long Torkham-Jalalabad Road and internal roads in Jalalabad to promote Afghanistan’s economy and trade. To bring the people of both countries closer, Pakistan has helped Kabul to construct Chaman-Kandahar Rail Link. This will help the people of Afghanistan to enter a new phase of industrialisation and development. Pakistan has provided 100 buses to Afghanistan to promote people-to-people contacts. The bus service between the cities of Pakistan and Afghanistan would enhance the cooperation between the people of both countries.Source: The Frontier Post, 2009-08-01
Then there is this:
Pakistan turns to China to modernise railways
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China have agreed to cooperate for modernization of Pakistan Railways network, DawnNews quoted Railways Minister Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour as saying.
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Bilour said that Pakistan Railways wanted to strengthen and expand the Torkham railway line [Khyber Pass] to meet the international standard, Quetta-Chaman-Kandahar section [Chaman – Kandahar doesn’t yet exist], Quetta-Iran [presumably the Zahedan route], and Quetta-Peshawar railway link via Zhob- D I Khan-Bakhar.
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The railways minister said that Chinese side emphasized the need for early laying of Torkham-Jalalabad railway track [an extension of the Khyber Pass line] as they wanted to connect this section with Afghanistan so that they could use the Pakistan Railways network to transport their goods and equipment for the development of copper mines and various other projects launched in Afghanistan.
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Source: Dawn, 2009-07-28
A line from Chaman across the border to Spin Boldak has been discussed for a very long time, with Britain contemplating building a line on to Kandahar in the nineteenth century. A line from Quetta to New Chaman opened by 1891, running 5 km beyond Chaman fort to terminate within 200 m of the frontier. This railway did not enter Afghanistan as such – the 1893 Durrand line was drawn around it – but rumour had it that track materials were stockpiled in case a military emergency required the rapid construction of a line over the border.
Proposals for the extension have resurfaced every so often, including in 1966, when Railway Gazette reported “Work on the proposed rail link between Chaman in Pakistan and Spin Baldak in Afghanistan is to begin soon and will take about a year and a half to complete. The link will be over seven miles long and will cost about $800 000. Over two miles of the link will be in Pakistani territory.”
This was to have been funded by the US Agency for International Development, but was canceled in 1968. Despite this, the line is actually shown on some maps.
The scheme has been discussed many times since, with studies in 2004 and 2007. In May 2009 the government of Pakistan said preliminary work had begun.
Maybe something is finally happening? ISAF is in need of a reliable transport route to Afghanistan, and perhaps has been the spur to action which has been needed?
In the longer term and given a suitable political climate, a Chaman – Spin Boldak line could be extended onwards a further 80-100 km from Spin Boldak to the city of Kandahar. This would be a significant destination in its own right, rather than just a border town. And from Kandahar, we can look at the map and dream of taking the permanent way onwards towards Herat, and thus Iran. And maybe one day Central Asia…
An official government of Pakistan press release dated 19 May 2009 claims preliminary work is underway for the long-planned Chaman – Spin Boldak – Kandahar extension of Pakistan’s rail network into Afghanistan.
The press release also says similar work is underway on a line from Peshawar to Jalalabad; presumably the rehabilitation of the famous Khyber Pass line combined with an extension over the frontier.
PR No. 206
PRESS RELEASEUKRAINian ambassador calls on minister for railways
Islamabad; May 19, 2009
Ukrainian Ambassador, Mr. Ihar Pasko called on Federal Minister for Railways Ghulam Ahmad Bilour here today.
The matters of mutual interests in the backdrop of extending cooperation and business in Railway sector between the two countries came under discussion.
The Federal Minister for Railways briefed the Ambassador about on-going development in Railways Sector and told that preliminary work has been started on Chaman-Qandhar section and Peshawar-Jalalabad section.
The Minister said that establishment of rail link with Afghanistan, Pakistan may provide an easy access to Central Asia Russia and rest of Europe.
The Ukrainian Ambassador briefed the Minister about the achievement and development of Ukrainian Railways and expressed his eagerness to extend cooperation in railway sector with Pakistan.
The Ambassador highlighted the characteristics of Ukrane locomotives, Tracks and other technicalities.
The Secretary and Chairman Railways welcomed the offer made by Ambassador and said that Ukraine might also participate in Tender Process by following the rules and procedures laid down by the Railways Ministry regarding procurement.
The Secretary Railways further said that the exchange of Railway experts from both sides will benefit each other in professional backdrop.
SA/Ahmad
Source: Press Information Department, Government of Pakistan 2009-05-19
Unfortunately it does not specifiy what “preliminary work” means.
Reduction in deficit of Pakistan Railway witness in current financial year: Bilour.
ISLAMABAD, 13 May, 2009 (Frontier Star) — Federal Minister for Railways, Ghulam Ahmad Bilour has said […] while talking to media on the occasion of inauguration of “Islamabad Express” […] the under-construction Railway project from Chaman to Afghanistan would be completed very soon, reducing not only the travelling difficulties of passengers but also save their time.
Source: The Free Library/Asia Pulse/Frontier Star
The idea of a line to Kandahar has been discussed for many years – it was one of the first proposals for an Afghan railway way back in the 19th century.
On 1 October 2004 the Pakistan Times reported:
Quetta-Kandhar Bus Service to begin Shortly
[A meeting between] Governor Balochistan Owais Ahmed Ghani and Governor Kandhar Engineer Mohammed Yousuf Pashtoon […] decided to start construction of Railway line between Pakistani border town Chaman and Afghan city Kandhar for which survey has already been conducted. […] The 100 km Railway track would be completed at an estimated cost of US dollar 110 million with the coorporation of Pakistan Railways.
Source: Pakistan Times 2004-10-01
Various news reports suggest that the Bam – Zahedan railway line in Iran is now physically complete. While there is no direct connection to any of the Afghan rail projects, this railway is important for “joining the dots” on the global railway map, as it is the missing link between the Iranian railway network and Zahedan, terminus of the 5’6″ gauge line which runs into Iran from Pakistan.
It seems there has been some kind of opening ceremony for the Bam – Zahedan line, but other articles suggest this might only have been held so that it was nominally finished before the recent Iranian elections were held.
Some reports suggest regular services might start on August 14 – which, whether by accident or design, is Pakistan’s Independence Day.
Until now Zahedan has been joined to the Indian subcontinent’s rail network, but not to the Iranian network. IRFCA has some history, and Dr John Stubbs wrote about the construction of the new line in the January 2007 issue of Railway Gazette International.
Via Google’s new Persian machine translation, I found this press release from Islamic Republic of Iran Railways. It gets a bit mangled in the translation (I don’t speak Persian), but is more or less understandable after some tidying up:
First passenger and goods trains to Zahedan station on the Kerman – Zahedan railroad
With the opening of the Kerman – Bam – Zahedan railway on 19/03/1388 [9 June 2009] southeast Asia was connected to Europe via Iran.
M. Hajian, Supervisor General at the Office of Public Relations of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways, said: The first cargo and passenger trains were welcomed into Zahedan station in the presence of the Deputy Managing Director of Islamic Republic of Iran Railway, [list of bigwigs which hasn’t quite survived translation], the Governor of Sistan & Baluchestan province and a group of regional VIPs.
Hajian added that the railway links Kerman – Bam – Zahedan and Sistan & Baluchestan province.
He said: This rail route will save energy, reduce road traffic, create employment in the east and south-east of the country and through economic development will reduce the causes of deprivation in the province of Sistan & Baluchestan and Kerman, and offer the possibility of bypassing the port to connect the port of Chabahar with north – south transit routes.
He added: “The railway has 11 bridges, the largest bridge 400 meters long, and 20 tunnels totalling 5320 meters.
Seat61 is probably the place to start if you are planning a journey from Britain to India by train (and two ferries – shortly to be one ferry when the Marmaray project in Istanbul is completed).
