ASHGABAT (TCA) — The opening ceremony of the Atamurat-Ymamnazar (Turkmenistan) – Akina (Afghanistan) railroad section, the first link of the Asian transnational transport corridor, took place on November 28 on the Turkmen-Afghan border with the participation of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan reported.
During the ceremony, 46 railroad cars of the first cargo train loaded with flour, grain, cement, carbamide and sulphur left Atamurat-Ymamnazar (Turkmenistan) for Akina (Afghanistan).
The President of Turkmenistan also opened a new terminal for oil products at the Ymamnazar station on the Turkmen-Afghan border. Oil products will be delivered to the new terminal, the capacity of which is 540,000 tons, by rail and then will be exported by special vehicles.
Construction of the new railway running from Atamurat (Turkmenistan) to Akina (Afghanistan) was started in June 2013. Two railway bridges with the width of 5.8 meters each were built on the 88-kilometer railway section. The length of one of the bridges is 363 meters and that of the other bridge is 256 meters. Moreover, the Gulistan and Ymamnazar rail stations, new rail stations and auxiliary infrastructure facilities were built along the route.
The opening ceremony of the transnational transport corridor took place after completion of the UN Global Conference on Sustainable Transport, which was held in Ashgabat on November 26 and 27 with the participation of the heads of states and governments of world countries and representatives of a number of large international organizations.
