AVA - Construction of First Phase of Khaf-Herat Railway Project Will Start Soon

An agreement has signed with the Iranian Railway Consortium to operate the Khaf-Herat railway line. The Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA) said.

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA)_Monitoring, According to ARA, Iran will send 100,000 tons of goods via this railway line in the first year of operation. From then on, the volume will increase by 100,000 tons per year.

Bakhtur Rahman Sharaft, the head of the railway authority, said that the construction of the first phase of the 4th section of Khaf-Herat Railway Project will start next week, ARA reported.

Also, with the signing of this contract, transfer of goods will continue normally through Khaf-Herat, while work is done on the 4th section. This line is connected to Turkey and European countries through Iran and the Iranian railway network.

Earlier this year, the first trial run of cargo from Iran to Afghanistan via the Khaf-Herat railway was completed.

This shipment included 17 wagons that transferred 655 tons of railway equipment for the further construction of the rail line.

The Khaf-Herat railway is 225 kilometers long, with 140 km of the railway track traversing Afghanistan and the remaining 85 km running through Iran. The construction of the Khaf-Herat railway line, which links Khaf in eastern Iran with Herat in western Afghanistan, started in 2007. The project has a reported value of $75 million and is being funded by Iran.