{"id":7543,"date":"2021-01-12T22:57:42","date_gmt":"2021-01-12T22:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andrewgrantham.co.uk\/afghanistan\/?page_id=7543"},"modified":"2021-01-14T11:25:15","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T11:25:15","slug":"aqina-to-andkhoy-railway","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrantham.co.uk\/afghanistan\/railways\/aqina-to-andkhoy-railway\/","title":{"rendered":"Aqina to Andkhoy railway"},"content":{"rendered":"

Previous page: Turkmenistan to Imanazar and Aqina <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The cross-border railway from Turkmenistan to the Afghan border facilities at Aqina<\/a>1<\/a><\/sup> has been extended by around 31 km to Andkhoy,2<\/a><\/sup> the first major town in northern Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\"Aqina<\/a><\/p>\n

Construction<\/h3>\n

On 25 January 2012 the Afghan Minister of Mines said design work and studies for the Atamyrat – Imamnazar – Aqina – Andkhoy railway had been finalised.3<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Following a March 2013 meeting between the presidents of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan<\/a>, Afghanistan formally invited the Turkmen authorities to undertake studies for a 38 km route from Imamnazar across the border to Aqina and Andkhoy. <\/p>\n

\"Aqina<\/a><\/p>\n

The project was funded and undertaken by the Ministry of Railway Transport of Turkmenistan. Because Afghanistan lacked indigenous capabilities for railway construction, Turkmenistan had previously agreed to take responsibility for surveying, designing and constructing the route within Afghanistan as donation to the country.4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

The railway from Atamyrat to the Ymamnazar border crossing point (85 km) and Afghanistan\u2019s customs facilities at Aqina (3 km)<\/a> was officially opened by Turkmenistan\u2019s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Afghanistan\u2019s President Ashraf Ghani<\/a> on 28 November 2016.5<\/a><\/sup> This was the second rail link between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, after the line to Torghundi<\/a> further west. <\/p>\n

The Presidents of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan met on 3 July 2017, and agreed to increase capacity on the line to Aqina.6<\/a><\/sup> A memorandum of understanding for the expansion of the freight terminal at Aqina, including the construction of 10 track-km of main line and sidings, was signed by the Afghanistan Railway Authority and Turkmenistan\u2019s Ministry of Railways in Ashgabat on 2 November 2018.7<\/a><\/sup> Work was officially launched with a ceremony on 21 November 2018.8<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Afghanistan’s President Ghani made an official visit to Turkmenistan at the invitation of President Berdimuhamedov on 21 February 2019. During this visit, a memorandum of understanding was signed for Turkmenistan to build the 30 km railway extension to Andkhoy<\/a>.9<\/a><\/sup> Agreements were also reached for the regulation of cross-border rail traffic.<\/p>\n

The upgraded facilities at Aqina were inaugurated on 26 July 2019, and construction of the Andkhoy extension was officially launched.10<\/a><\/sup> <\/p>\n

A government-to-government contract for design and construction of extension was signed on 4 September 2019. The works included 24 km of main line, 6 km of sidings at Andkhoy, and various small bridges, level crossings and a parallel road.11<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n