“Those who believed that building a railway network in Afghanistan was impossible should reconsider their point of view,” President Ashraf Ghani said as he opened a railway line from Akina on the Turkmen border to the northern city of Andkhoy, informs Railway Supply  magazine citing Railway Gazette.

Opening of the railway

The Akina – Andkhoy line is a continuation of the 1520 mm gauge route from Atamyrat in Turkmenistan to the Ymamnazar border crossing point (85 km) and the Afghan customs office in Akin (3 km), which opened on November 28, 2016.

An MOU for the renewal was signed on February 21, 2019, and an interstate contract followed on September 4, 2019. As local capacity is lacking in Afghanistan, Turkmenistan has assumed responsibility for financing, exploration, design and construction.

The project encompassed the construction of a 24 km main road, 6 km of sidings on Andkhoi, as well as various small bridges, level crossings and a parallel road. Construction officially commenced on July 26, 2019, when the expanded rail facilities in Akina were opened.

Related:

The first freight train from Iran to Afghanistan

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