Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan have taken a significant step toward realizing the long-planned TransAfghan railway. According to Uzbekistan Railways, the three countries signed an intergovernmental agreement on July 17 in Kabul to launch a technical and economic feasibility study for the proposed “Termez-Naibabad-Maidan Shar-Logar-Kharlachi” route.
The deal was finalized at a trilateral summit attended by Uzbekistan’s Transport Minister Ilkhom Makhkamov, Pakistan’s Railways Minister Muhammad Hanif Abbasi, and Afghanistan’s acting Public Works Minister Mohammad Esa Thani. The route itself was agreed upon in July 2023 in Islamabad by representatives of all three nations. A project office established under the International Transport Corridors Development Strategy, launched in May 2023 in Tashkent with branches in Kabul and Islamabad, will oversee the study.
Originally proposed in 2018, the TransAfghan railway is envisioned to link Termez in Uzbekistan with Mazar-i-Sharif and Kabul in Afghanistan, before extending to Peshawar in Pakistan. The line would run over 700 kilometers through Afghanistan, creating a direct land corridor between Central Asia and the Arabian Sea.
Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov reiterated the project’s importance during a July 17 meeting with Afghanistan’s acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani. Saidov noted that trade between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan has nearly tripled over the past year, emphasizing that deeper ties among Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan could benefit the broader region.
Haqqani, in turn, praised Uzbekistan’s “goodwill, constructive cooperation, and spirit of brotherhood,” describing the railway as a strategically vital project that could spur economic growth across Central Asia.
The initiative has drawn support from Russia, Iran, and several international financial institutions. The railway is expected to reduce transit times for Central Asian exports to Pakistani ports from several weeks to just a few days. While the project’s initial cost was estimated at $4.8 billion, later projections have placed it at $7 billion, according to Tolo News.
The forthcoming feasibility study is a critical next step. It will evaluate engineering challenges, projected costs, trade flow potential, and security conditions along the proposed route. If the study confirms the project’s viability, the three governments can proceed with securing funding and establishing a construction timeline.
Regional analysts say the railway could transform trade and logistics across Central Asia. It would offer landlocked countries, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, direct access to seaports in Karachi and Gwadar, opening new markets in South Asia and beyond.
For now, officials in Tashkent, Islamabad, and Kabul are concentrating on completing the study. With strong political backing and expanding trade links, they believe the TransAfghan railway stands a strong chance of becoming a central artery in the region’s future transport infrastructure.
