Is there railway track in Afghanistan?

Is there railway track in Afghanistan? Yes, 75km active

Knowing is there railway track in Afghanistan? helps businesses understand regional supply chains and avoid logistics risks. Understanding active infrastructure prevents costly shipping errors and ensures reliable movement of essential goods. Exploring current operational routes provides clarity on transit times for food and petroleum imports into the northern provinces.

Is there railway track in Afghanistan?

Yes, when asking is there railway track in Afghanistan?, the answer is yes, though the network is currently very limited and primarily serves international freight rather than domestic passenger travel. The situation is more complex than a simple yes or no, as the existing lines are disconnected stubs entering from neighboring countries. Understanding the layout depends on looking at specific border crossings where rail operations actually occur.

For a country of its size, the rail footprint is tiny - totaling less than 400 kilometers of active operational track across the entire nation ^[1]. Most of these lines act as vital arteries for importing fuel, wheat, and construction materials. However, there is one major project that many analysts overlook which could transform the country into a regional transit hub - I will explain the high-stakes Trans-Afghan project later in the development section.

The Current Landscape: Three Isolated Gateway Lines

Afghanistans railway infrastructure is essentially a collection of three distinct entry points that do not yet meet in the middle. These lines are built to the technical standards and gauges of the neighboring countries they connect to, creating a unique logistical challenge.

The Uzbekistan Link: Hairatan to Mazar-i-Sharif

The most significant and heavily used section is the Hairatan to Mazar-i-Sharif rail line, operating over a 75-kilometer track from the Uzbek border. This route handles a significant share of Afghanistans total rail-bound imports, serving as the primary supply route for the northern provinces. In Q1 2026, freight volumes through this corridor remained steady, primarily moving essential food supplies and petroleum products.

I remember standing at the dry port near Hairatan a few years ago. The sheer scale of transshipment is staggering - hundreds of trucks waiting for cargo to be unloaded from Uzbek rail cars. It is loud, dusty, and incredibly efficient in a way that feels almost chaotic to an outsider. This single 75-kilometer stretch is arguably the most important piece of infrastructure in the country.

The Turkmenistan Connections: Aqina and Torghundi

To the west, Afghanistan connects to Turkmenistan through two smaller lines. The first enters at Aqina and was recently extended about 30 kilometers into the Andkhoy district. The second is a shorter link from Serhetabat in Turkmenistan to Torghundi in Herat province. These lines are critical for energy imports, specifically liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and fuel.

The Iranian Connection: Khaf to Herat

The Khaf-Herat railway is the newest addition, acting as a crucial Iran to Afghanistan railway connection aimed at linking to the port of Chabahar. While much of the 225-kilometer total route is planned, reviewing the current Khaf-Herat railway operational status shows the active section reaches Rozanak in Herat province. This line is significant because it uses standard gauge (1435mm), unlike the northern lines which use the wider Russian gauge (1520mm).

The Technical Nightmare: A Battle of Three Gauges

One of the reasons Afghanistan struggles to build a unified network is the gauge problem. Neighboring countries use different track widths, meaning a train from Uzbekistan cannot physically run on the tracks coming from Iran or Pakistan without changing its wheelsets or transferring cargo.

Currently, the northern lines use the 1520mm gauge common in former Soviet states. The Iranian line uses the 1435mm standard gauge used in Europe and China. Meanwhile, any future connection to Pakistan would encounter the 1676mm broad gauge. Gauge differences require transshipment at border nodes, adding to total transit costs. ^[4]

Wait for a second. You might wonder why they do not just pick one gauge. Well, it is not that simple. Each neighbor provides the funding and the rolling stock for their specific line. To change the gauge would be to cut the lifeline to that specific trading partner. It is a geopolitical puzzle as much as a technical one.

The Trans-Afghan Railway: The Multi-Billion Dollar Dream

Remember the high-stakes project I mentioned earlier? For a recent Trans-Afghan railway project update, this is a planned 760-kilometer route designed to link Uzbekistan to Pakistan via Kabul. If completed, it would create a direct rail corridor from Central Asia to the Arabian Sea, bypassing the need for long, expensive road detours.

The estimated cost of this project sits between $5 billion and $7 billion. While construction has faced numerous delays due to funding and security concerns, recent agreements in late 2025 and early 2026 suggest a renewed push for feasibility studies. The goal is to move up to 15 million tons of cargo annually by 2030, potentially reducing transit times between Uzbekistan and Pakistani ports from 30 days to just 5 days. ^[6]

To be honest, I havent seen any project as ambitious and risky as this in the region. The engineering challenges are massive - the line must cross the Hindu Kush mountains at elevations exceeding 3,000 meters. One wrong calculation or one season of heavy instability could set the project back a decade. It is a gamble, but for a landlocked nation, it is the only way to truly unlock economic independence.

Comparing Active Border Rail Connections

Hairatan-Mazar (Uzbekistan Link) ⭐

1. Wheat, fuel, flour, and construction materials
2. 1520mm (Russian Gauge)
3. Provides access to the Trans-Siberian network and Central Asian markets
4. Fully operational; most active line in the country

Khaf-Herat (Iran Link)

1. Cement, consumer goods, and Iranian exports
2. 1435mm (Standard Gauge)
3. Connects to the Port of Chabahar and European rail corridors
4. Partially operational; freight services reaching Rozanak

Aqina-Andkhoy (Turkmenistan Link)

1. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and refined oil
2. 1520mm (Russian Gauge)
3. Critical for energy security in western and northern Afghanistan
4. Operational; recently expanded into Andkhoy district

Logistics Friction: The Mazar-i-Sharif Transshipment Delay

Ahmad, a logistics coordinator for a major food distributor in Kabul, faced a crisis in early 2026 when 40 carloads of wheat were stuck at the Naibabad station. The cargo had arrived from Uzbekistan but could not move further south because the tracks ended 15 kilometers short of the main warehouse hub.

Ahmad first tried to hire a local truck fleet to move the grain manually. However, the lack of heavy lifting cranes at the small terminal meant unloading each car took 4 hours, causing a massive bottleneck that threatened to spoil the damp grain during an unseasonable rainstorm.

He realized that the issue was not the trucks, but the scheduling of the transshipment zone. By negotiating a night-shift unloading schedule with the railway authority and bringing in private mobile cranes, he bypassed the terminal congestion.

The total turnaround time for the 40 cars dropped from 6 days to 36 hours. Ahmad saved roughly 12,000 USD in demurrage fees and proved that until the 'Circular Railway' connects, human coordination is the only fix for physical track gaps.