Transporting goods by rail up 25 percent: officials

Afghanistan Railway Authority announced Saturday that the volume of commercial goods transported by rail has increased 25 percent in the first quarter of this year.

Presenting the annual accountability report, Bakhtur Rahman Sharafat, head of Afghanistan Railway Authority, said that in the past one year, 4.5 million metric tons of goods have been transported through the country’s railways, and ARA has earned 3.1 billion afghanis in revenue.

According to him, the construction work of the first phase of the fourth section of the Herat-Khaf railway line with a length of 43 kilometers will start soon and will be completed in the next 16 months.

He emphasized that the trans-Afghan railway project, which connects Central Asia to South Asia is being worked on quickly with the coordination of countries.

“Following the recent meeting of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, a joint office was opened for the one-year plan, whose responsibility is to complete the survey, prepare for the start of practical work, and find financial resources to fund this project,” Sharafat said.

Officials said that there are plans to start the construction of Spin Boldak-Chaman railway and Sheberghan-Andkhoy railway this year.

“We are starting these projects and most of the preparations for it have been taken. The land acquisition process is almost complete, and in the current year, we will regularize the monitoring and maintenance of the railway line in the country,” Abdulbari Sediqi, the financial and administrative deputy of Afghanistan Railway Authority, said.

ARA officials said that the country’s railway problems will not be fully resolved until Afghanistan buys wagons, and ARA seeks to buy wagons which will speed up the transportation process.