Iran Reports Hike in Rail Freight to Afghanistan, Plans Capacity Expansion

Rail freight transport from Iran’s Shamtigh border crossing to Afghanistan has recorded an unprecedented surge, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (RAI) said on Saturday, highlighting plans to further expand capacity and deepen bilateral cooperation in rail transport and economic development with the neighboring country.

Speaking at a joint meeting in Kabul with Afghanistan’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs and the minister of mines and petroleum, Jabar Ali Zakeri, Iran’s deputy roads and urban development minister, said, “Rail freight transport of goods from the Shamtigh border toward Afghanistan has seen an unprecedented jump.”

The chief executive of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways said rail cargo volumes at the beginning of last calendar year stood at around 5,000 tons per month, adding that through targeted planning and the railway company’s role in facilitating exports and transit to Afghanistan, volumes had risen to more than 70,000 tons per month.

“Based on the technical and executive coordination carried out with Afghanistan’s railways, this capacity will reach 100,000 tons per month in the near future,” Zakeri said. During the meeting, the two sides reviewed what they described as a new chapter of strategic cooperation between the two countries in the field of rail transport and economic development.

Zakeri said rail transport plays a key and infrastructural role in Afghanistan’s economic development and logistical stability. “The construction of the Herat–Mazar-e-Sharif railway line is the first phase of the strategic Iran-Afghanistan-China corridor and a decisive step toward turning Afghanistan into a strategic transit route in the East–West corridor,” he said.

He also proposed the participation of private-sector rail operators from both countries in financing and implementing the major railway project, with a focus on using Afghanistan’s mineral resources as financial backing for the plan.

In the same meeting, Afghanistan’s deputy prime minister praised the strong and effective performance of the Khaf-Herat railway in ensuring the continuous supply of essential goods to Afghanistan and welcomed the proposal put forward by the head of Iran’s railways.

At the end of the talks, both sides agreed to form joint working committees to draft the operational and executive framework for the project in the areas of railway construction, development, and mining cooperation. - Iran Daily