Transport and Logistics - The Times Of Central Asia

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Transport

Trans-Afghan Corridor Becomes Central Asia’s New Trade Gateway Amid Competition

Kazakhstan plans to join in the Trans-Afghan Corridor project by constructing a 120-kilometer railway from Turgundi to Herat and establishing a transport and logistics center on Afghan territory. The new route is expected to expand the volume and improve the efficiency of Kazakhstan’s export and import shipments, while also providing access to the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, and the Persian Gulf. In August, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy, Serik Zhumangarin, announced that the country plans to invest $500 million in the construction of the Turgundi-Herat railway in Afghanistan. The 120-kilometer line will provide the shortest route to the Indian Ocean, linking Kazakhstan and Central Asia with Pakistan’s seaports of Karachi and Gwadar. Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Transport, Zhanibek Taizhanov, told The Times of Central Asia that the project is expected to take about three years from the approval of the design and cost documentation. “More precise timelines will be determined after the completion of all design stages, approvals, and the signing of contracts with contractors and investors,” said the ministry representative. The railway will give Kazakhstan access to new transport routes and markets. Amid intensifying global competition for transit flows, it offers a cheaper alternative shipping option and represents an important new logistics solution for the republic. This promising route, however, also carries risks, as Afghanistan remains one of the world’s most unstable countries. Even so, trade potential between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan is considerable. In 2024, bilateral trade turnover reached $545.2 million, with $527.7 million accounted for by Kazakh exports. Kazakhstan remains one of Afghanistan’s largest trading partners and a leading supplier of grain and flour. Looking ahead to exports and imports moving toward Pakistan, India, and beyond, the potential is considerable. Yet market participants have repeatedly noted that logistics remains the main barrier to trade in this direction. “Projected freight volumes along the route are estimated at 35–40 million tons per year. A comprehensive study of the region’s economic potential, logistics flows, and expansion prospects is underway,” Taizhanov told TCA, adding that once operational, the line is expected to become a crucial link in the international transport system, boosting trade between Central Asia and South Asia. In Afghanistan, the Taliban resumed nearly all regional and interregional transport projects initiated under the previous government. Active negotiations are underway on the construction of the Termez–Naibabad–Maidan Shahr–Logar–Kharlachi line, commonly referred to as the “Kabul Corridor,” the Mazar-i-Sharif–Herat railway, and the completion of the Khaf–Herat line, among others. Regional countries have also joined this large-scale effort. The Trans-Afghan project involves the interests of Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran, all of which are seeking to benefit from its implementation. Geopolitics and transport interests In pursuit of greater export, import, and transit opportunities, Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan are actively participating in these initiatives, offering their own rail routes through Afghanistan to Pakistan’s borders. For Iran and Tajikistan, the transnational corridor through Afghanistan is also attractive, providing a potential route to China via Kyrgyzstan. Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan plan to...

United Nations

Trump and Tokayev Secure a Historic $4.2 Billion Locomotive Deal

Washington, D.C. – The United States and Kazakhstan have finalized the largest locomotive agreement in history, a $4.2 billion deal that underscores American industrial strength and deepens ties between the two nations. The announcement came following a call between President Donald Trump and Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, which officials say directly helped bring the deal across the finish line. The U.S. Department of Commerce confirmed that Pennsylvania-based Wabtec will supply about 300 Evolution Series locomotives, in kit form, to Kazakhstan’s state railway over the next decade. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick emphasized the scale of the export package, writing on X that the deal is “more than just a huge success story. It’s about American innovation leading the world, supporting thousands of jobs in TX & PA, and strengthening the U.S.–Kazakhstan partnership.” For Trump, the Pennsylvania tie is notable — the state is both home to Wabtec and a perennial battleground in presidential politics. What Trump and Tokayev said President Trump celebrated the breakthrough personally on Truth Social: “I just concluded a wonderful call with the Highly Respected President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev. They have signed the largest Railroad Equipment Purchase in History, $4 Billion Dollars Worth of United States Locomotives and Rail Equipment”. He continued: “Congratulations to President Tokayev on his great purchase. This Country, and the World, was built on reliable, beautiful Railroads. Now they will be coming back, FAST!” Earlier in September, Trump had told reporters he had a “great conversation” with Tokayev — a remark that signaled improving ties between Washington and Astana ahead of the deal. On Sept. 22, the Commerce Department formally confirmed the $4.2 billion agreement. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in a separate statement on X, emphasized that the leaders’ engagement helped pave the way and argued the deal strengthens an enhanced strategic partnership while embedding American technology in Eurasian connectivity. President Tokayev, for his part, has emphasized transport and logistics as central to Kazakhstan’s role as a “link between Europe and Asia,” calling for expanded rail infrastructure and modern customs systems. In July, amid tariff tensions, he assured Trump in a letter that Kazakhstan was “ready for constructive dialogue” and was confident a compromise could be reached — a posture that laid groundwork for the closer economic cooperation reflected in this deal. Why It Matters: Unlocking Regional Corridors to the West The locomotives will reinforce capacity along the Trans-Caspian “Middle Corridor,” a trade route carrying goods from Central Asia through the South Caucasus and into Europe—an alternative to Russian and Iranian transit that governments have accelerated since 2022. A critical gap in that chain was addressed through U.S.-brokered diplomacy in August 2025, when President Trump hosted Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the White House. The two leaders signed a peace declaration after decades of conflict and committed to reopening transport links, most notably a 42-kilometer passage through Armenia’s Syunik province, commonly called the Zangezur corridor or the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP). By...

Transport and Logistics

Opinion: Bridging Histories, Building Futures – Central Asia, Pakistan, and the Dream of a Railway

On 5 September 2025, the Times of Central Asia published an article titled “Trans-Afghan Railway: Can Uzbekistan Build a Railway Through Afghanistan to Reach the Sea?” Reading it stirred something deep within me. The piece was not just about steel tracks or trade corridors - it was about dreams, history, and the future of a region I have long been passionate about: Central Asia. I am not a political analyst; I am an engineer by training and a student of history by passion. Having worked in Afghanistan and witnessed the landscape of its geography and politics up close, I feel a personal connection to the idea of connectivity between Pakistan and Central Asia by rail. This is not just a policy debate for me - it is a lifelong vision tied to my family history, my professional journey, and my fascination with the region’s rich past. When the Soviet Union withdrew its last troops from Afghanistan on 15 February 1989, ending its long and bloody war, the region entered a new and uncertain chapter. That very moment coincided with the beginning of my own career. Just two months earlier, I had started my first job as a Junior Engineer. For me, the Soviet withdrawal was not only a historical milestone; it was also a symbolic reminder of how deeply Afghanistan and its neighbors were tied to global currents of power, conflict, and change. Standing at the threshold of my professional life, I wondered how this region - so often defined by wars - might instead be remembered for bridges, trade, and railways. My fascination with Central Asia is also deeply personal. From my mother’s side, my family traces its lineage back to Bukhara. This explains why many families in Pakistan carry the name Bukhari, as their ancestors once migrated southward from that historic Central Asian city. History was not abstract for me - it lived in the stories of my elders and in the books I devoured as a student. In my school years, I read the Baburnama twice. These memoirs of Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad Bābur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, fascinated me. Born in Andijan in the Ferghana Valley (modern-day Uzbekistan), Babur’s life was a reminder of how Central Asia and South Asia have always been linked - through migration, culture, politics, and ambition. In 1992, I made my first trip to Tashkent. The journey was more than a visit; it was a pilgrimage to the heart of a region I had admired from afar. That first encounter left an indelible mark on me, and more than three decades later, my passion for Central Asia remains unending. Long before modern projects and international agreements, history itself carved the routes of connectivity. The Khyber Pass, lying between present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan, has for centuries served as a gateway between Central and South Asia. Caravans laden with silk, spices, and stories once passed through its rugged cliffs. Empires - from the Mughals to the British - understood its importance. And...

Afghanistan

Rail, Water, and Helicopters – Uzbekistan’s “Limited Recognition” of the Taliban

Uzbekistan has spent the middle of September embroiled in an increasingly tetchy press battle over an unusual topic: helicopters. The Taliban, who run the de facto government in Kabul, have long claimed that several dozen military aircraft and helicopters currently residing in Uzbekistan are rightfully theirs. On September 11, a Taliban official announced publicly that Uzbekistan had agreed to hand them back. This was reported widely in the regional media, with the Uzbek foreign ministry slow off the mark in denying these claims. The dispute goes back to the fall of Kabul in August 2021, when a total of 57 aircraft were flown from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan as Ashraf Ghani’s government collapsed. “The helicopters came from the Afghan territory to Uzbek territory illegally, so actually we had the right to confiscate them,” Islomkhon Gafarov, an Afghanistan expert at the Center for Progressive Reform, a Tashkent think tank, told the Times of Central Asia. However, Gafarov adds that the aircraft were the property of the U.S. military loaned to the previous government of Afghanistan, and therefore, Washington will have a say in their return. This has not stopped the Taliban from continuing to demand the helicopters back for use in “humanitarian operations,” in the words of Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. Such wrangling is part of the daily diplomatic in-tray for Tashkent when dealing with a neighbor whose government has not been recognized by almost the entire world. “Afghanistan is our neighbor,” said Gafarov. “According to the geopolitical situation, we have to conduct a dialogue with this government. It’s true, Uzbekistan hasn’t recognized the Taliban government, but de facto, we work with them; we’ve had diplomatic relations with them since 2018.” Tashkent certainly has reasons to work with the Taliban. Helicopters are a mere sideshow compared to two far larger issues that will define their relations for years to come: rail and water. Railway On the positive side of the ledger, the Taliban have brought to Afghanistan a reasonable degree of stability - enough to start contemplating large-scale infrastructure projects. In July, an agreement was struck between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan to conduct a feasibility study for a trans-Afghanistan railway, with 647 kilometers of new track being laid to link Uzbekistan with Pakistan’s Indian Ocean ports. This railway could bring significant benefits to Uzbekistan, one of only two double-landlocked countries in the world. Currently, sea-bound exports must travel via Turkmenistan to Iran. Other routes almost all rely on going via Kazakhstan. The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, currently being constructed, should remove some of the need for sea-bound routes, but the Pakistan route would be faster. “The trans-Afghan route is the shortest way to the seaports of Karachi and Gwadar,” Gafarov told TCA. With a line from Termez, Uzbekistan, to Mazar-i-Sharif in Northern Afghanistan already operational, this only leaves two sections unbuilt - from Mazar to Kabul, and then from Kabul to Peshawar in Pakistan. The teams are still only at the feasibility stage right now, and have, with some chutzpah, predicted...

China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway

Opinion: A Railway to the Future – Uzbekistan’s Bold Path to Connectivity and Carbon Cuts

I still remember the thrill of boarding the sleek high-speed train from Tashkent to Bukhara. What could have been an ordinary journey turned into something unforgettable - the kind of experience that stays alive in the memory long after the trip ends. The speed, the comfort, and above all, the hospitality of Uzbekistan Railways revealed more than just modern engineering; it was a glimpse into the vision of a country determined to connect its people and its future to the wider world. The resonance of this project is deep. The Silk Road was once the artery of global exchange, moving not just goods but ideas, cultures, and entire civilizations between East and West. From Xi’an to Samarkand, Bukhara, and Tashkent, caravans carried silk, porcelain, and paper eastward, while wool, stones, fruits, and glassware travelled west. The CKU Railway is not simply another infrastructure project; it is the revival of this legacy, adapted for the 21st century. By shortening transport routes by nearly 900 kilometers and halving transit times, it promises to transform Uzbekistan’s geographic disadvantage into a strategic strength. For a landlocked country, this is more than steel on tracks - it is a lifeline to global markets. That is where railways carry an underappreciated advantage. Beyond the economics, rail is also a climate solution. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has found that rail freight is three to four times more energy-efficient than trucks. Trains use 65–80% less fuel per kilogram of cargo. The European Environment Agency calculates that a ton of freight moved by train emits 14–20 grams of CO₂ per kilometer, while the same tonnage on trucks produces 60–120 grams. That is a four- to fivefold difference. If the 20th century belonged to highways, the 21st must belong to railways. To grasp what this means for Central Asia, consider the region’s emissions profile. According to the EDGAR 2023 dataset, annual greenhouse gas emissions (excluding LULUCF, 2022) stand at roughly 320 MtCO₂e for Kazakhstan, 214 MtCO₂e for Uzbekistan, 99 MtCO₂e for Turkmenistan, 22 MtCO₂e for Kyrgyzstan, and 21 MtCO₂e for Tajikistan. Transport is responsible for around a tenth of that, and road freight dominates. The opportunity for reductions through a modal shift is therefore enormous. Take Uzbekistan as a case in point. The country moves about 90 billion ton-km of freight annually, within a regional total of some 350 billion. At present, 70% of this moves by road and 30% by rail. Imagine that by 2035, half of current road freight shifts to electrified rail - around 32 billion ton-km. On trucks, that freight would generate 2.9 MtCO₂e per year. On electrified trains, it would produce only 0.54 MtCO₂e. The savings: 2.4 MtCO₂e annually, or more than 1% of Uzbekistan’s entire national emissions. For a single infrastructure project, that is an extraordinary return in climate terms. The regional potential is just as striking. If similar shifts occurred across Central Asia, annual savings would reach 7–9 MtCO₂e by 2035 - the equivalent of removing two million cars from the road....

trans-Afghan railway

Trans-Afghan Railway: Can Uzbekistan Build a Railway Through Afghanistan to Reach the Sea?

For years, Uzbekistan has planned to gain access to the sea by passing through Afghanistan: The Trans-Afghan Railway is one of the country’s top transport projects. The railway could not only bring Uzbekistan to the sea, but also turn it into a transit hub connecting the north and south. However, no matter how promising the project looks, existing obstacles leave its fate uncertain. The Taliban has not yet established full control over Afghan territories, and many of its state assets are frozen. This leaves the construction costs to Uzbekistan and Pakistan. The Taliban government’s lack of recognition may also complicate attracting international institutions and companies to the project, even after its completion. So how realistic is Uzbekistan’s new Trans-Afghan railway project? Why Is the Railway Needed? Proposed by Uzbekistan in December 2018 for the first time, the Trans-Afghan railway project aims to extend Afghanistan’s rail network from Mazar-i-Sharif through Kabul and Logar, before crossing into Pakistan via Kharlachi - replacing the earlier plan to run through Nangarhar Province. The railway would cross the Torkham border and pass through Peshawar into Pakistan. Once in Pakistan, cargo would be linked to the Pakistani railway system, reaching the country’s seaports of Karachi, Gwadar, and Qasim. However, in July 2023, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan finalized a different route: Termez → Naibabad → Maidanshahr → Logar → Kharlachi. This means the corridor will not pass through the Torkham border as originally described. Now construction scheduled to start within five months, the railway is expected to handle up to 20 million tons of cargo annually and reduce transit time from Uzbekistan to Pakistan from 35 days to 3–5 days once operational. Financial Obstacles The line is planned to be 647 km long, with an estimated construction cost of $6.9 billion according to more recent Uzbek statements (though earlier estimates ranged from $4.6 to $7 billion). This figure remains subject to change until the final feasibility study is complete. Given Afghanistan’s complex ecological terrain, estimated costs could rise significantly. Pakistan has stated it would raise funds for the construction and financing of the part of the line to be built on Afghan territory. Observers believe the first issue to resolve before construction starts is the provision of security by the Taliban. Independent political analyst Yunus Sharifli argues that statements made by ISIS and threats targeting countries cooperating with the Taliban are further delaying construction. “At present, the deterioration of Afghanistan’s security situation makes it even harder to secure credit lines with financial institutions. The Taliban continues to struggle to establish legitimacy in Afghanistan. Yet the country as a whole remains bogged down in ethnic conflicts,” Sharifli stated. The Taliban’s policies toward women are also seen as one of the reasons complicating access to international financing mechanisms. Multilateral financial institutions and donor states condition their support on certain governance principles. This has become one of the main challenges in securing financing and attracting Western investors. Geographic Obstacles Part of the line is planned to cross the Salang Pass...