The Rail Ministers of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan met in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Jan. 5, to discuss the initiation of a feasibility study, for the construction of the Trans-Afghan Railway, following the evaluation of the initial technical studies that had been conducted.
The railway project was first proposed by Uzbekistan in December 2018, although there had been previous proposals in this direction. The three countries already signed a “roadmap strategic plan” to construct the new line of 573 km. Uzbekistan is not only landlocked, but is also surrounded by landlocked countries. Land-locked Afghanistan is one of them. The new rail line would extend from Termez in Uzbekistan, to Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan, thence to the Afghan capital Kabul, and cross over into Pakistan at Peshawar. Once in Pakistan, goods and passengers will be offloaded to connect with the Pakistan rail system, and from there can eventually travel to the Pakistani seaports of Karachi, Gadar, and Qasim.
