Uzbekistan to continue operating Hairaton–Mazar-i-Sharif railway

north_east

Trans-Afghan railway construction will commence soon – Laziz Kudratov

Uzbekistan to continue operating Hairaton–Mazar-i-Sharif railwayThe Ministry of Public Works of the Taliban interim government in Afghanistan has extended the contract with the Uzbek company Sogdiana Trans, which will continue to operate and maintain the Hairaton–Mazar-i-Sharif railway line for two years. This was reported by Pajhwok.com, citing the press service of the department.

According to the Afghan ministry, the new agreement was signed during the visit of the deputy head of the department, Mawlavi Muhammad Ishaq Sikhibzoda, to Uzbekistan. According to the document, Sogdiana Trans, a subsidiary of the Uzbekistan Railways joint-stock company, will monitor the condition of the railway network for 2025 and 2026. However, in January this year, the countries decided to leave the Uzbek company as the operator of this line.

The state company "Uzbekistan Railways" also signed an agreement with representatives of a neighboring country to extend the repair work on the Hairaton section. At the same time, it is highly likely that this company will acquire the right to build a highway along the "Mazar-i-Sharif – Herat" route.

The parties separately discussed the project to build the Trans-Afghan railway, which would connect the countries of Central Asia with the seaports of Pakistan. Success was also achieved in the negotiations on this issue: Uzbekistan undertook to develop the feasibility study for the project, including financing the relevant activities.

For information, the total length of the "Hairaton – Mazar-i-Sharif" railway is 75 kilometers. It was built in 2010 by Uzbek specialists. The construction cost $129 million allocated by the Asian Development Bank. The line is equipped with signaling, telecommunications and power supply devices in accordance with the technical standards and requirements used in Uzbekistan.

The importance of this line is that it will allow organizing railway transport in the most developed and densely populated areas of the northern provinces of Afghanistan, as well as reduce transportation costs between Afghanistan and other countries in the region.

It should be recalled that in August 2024, the restored Naybobad railway station of the Hairaton–Naybobad–Mazar-i-Sharif railway line was opened. The restoration work was carried out by the company in cooperation with the Termez Regional Railway Junction and the Sogdiana Trans branch enterprise under a contract concluded between the Afghan Railways Administration.