Alwaght- Though a major part of the world trade is maritime, today the railways and land routes play an important role in the trade among the nations, and it is important for the landlocked countries to focus on them. Driven by this reason, the Central Asian states and Afghanistan in recent years have been working to expand their rail networks to break out of the geographical lock.
Although the world community has not yet recognized the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, new Kabul rulers hope to expand their trade relations and take advantage of the regional transit by playing a role in linking corridors, especially the foreign railways.
The Taliban railway authority has announced that the third stage of Khaf-Herat railway will be completed in the next two weeks and the transit will start from this route. Abdul Sami Durrani, the spokesman for the railway authority, said: "A delegation will be sent from Kabul to Tehran in the coming days, and specific issues such as railway cooperation and the beginning of goods transfer will be discussed there."
The Chamber of Industries and Mining of Afghanistan said that the operation of the Khaf-Herat railway is important in reducing the cost of transportation, and besides the lower cost, commercial goods reach Afghanistan in a shorter time.
The construction of Khaf-Herat railway has been negotiated for several decades to increase commercial exchanges and facilitate the transfer of goods between the two countries, but some issues prevented the construction operations. With the approval of the Iranian government in 2012 and at the height of the Western occupation of Afghanistan, the initial stages of the construction work began, but due to technical and financial problems, this railway did not make much progress for many years. However, since December 2020, the development of route accelerated and its first and second sections were completed, and the third section will open soon.
The railroad is 225 kilometers long and its implementation was designed in four sections, the first and second sections of which are located in Iran and the third and fourth sections in Afghanistan. According to the agreements, Iran was supposed to build the first three parts at its own expense, and the completion of the fourth part was assigned to the Afghan side. The construction work of its four parts was set to be implemented jointly, but due to the problems Afghanistan had in providing finances for the fourth part, no significant progress.
About 140 kilometers of this rail line is located in Iran and 85 kilometers in Afghanistan, and the cost of construction of three sections is estimated at around $1 billion. It includes 9 stations, 5 of which are inside Iran and 4 in Afghanistan.
Railway influence on Iran-Afghanistan bilateral ties
Expansion of railways with neighbors is a top foreign trade priority of Iran and the transit routes play an important role in its trade strategy. The completion of Khaf-Herat railway coincides with the completion of Khash-Chabahar railway with 154-kilometer length, which means practically Afghanistan will be linked to the ocean via Iran. On Thursday, Iran's vice president and local authorities of Sistan and Baluchestan province inaugurated this very important railway that connects Iran's only ocean port to the North-South Corridor.
Once this communication route is complete, the cost of exports between the two countries would be reduced, and exports and imports to Afghanistan will take place in a short time. It is expected that three million tons of goods and 200,000 passengers be moved on this route every year with the use of these transportation lines, and costs and high truck traffic would be cut.
So far, the trade between Iran and Afghanistan was mainly done by land routes, but once the railway is opened, the land transportation monopoly would be broken and transit security would be enhanced. According to the reports, currently 40 percent of Afghanistan's import volume takes place through Dogharun border terminal in Taibad town of Iran. So, by operating the Khaf-Herat railway route, the number of 180,000 trucks that transport goods between Iran and Afghanistan through Dogharun would be cut by 50 percent, and not only the railway lowers the cost of transportation, but also it is expected to significantly increase the volume of economic exchanges between the two neighbor.
The annual Iranian-Afghanistan trade volume is more than $1 billion, and is expected to expand with railway operation and cause economic prosperity in the cities located along the route. Iranian officials believe that if this railway is properly used, especially in the not-so-distant future when other connecting links to the international railway network are facilitated by Iran and Afghanistan, the border provinces in the east of Iran will become active economic centers and facilitate good economic, social, and cultural relations with Afghanistan.
At a time when Iran is under Western sanctions, access to safe transit routes for the export of goods is Tehran's priority in order to solve part of its economic problems through rail and road trade, and Khaf-Herat railway and Khash-Chabahar routes are part of projects serving this goal.
Given Afghanistan being a landlocked country, the Khaf-Herat railway with its connection to Iran's North-South Corridor would bring access to Chabahar Port and Indian Ocean. According to some experts, Afghanistan considers the construction of the Khaf-Herat railway as a plan to realize its dreams of becoming a transit and sustainable development crossroads, and Iran, as the main factor in realizing Afghanistan's long-standing dream, can now transform its eastern provinces by connection of the railways to its mines and export hubs.
On the other hand, Afghanistan is a import-reliant country, and Iran also needs neighboring countries to export its goods to them, especially industrial goods and construction materials. Khaf-Herat railway can be facilitating in this field, and Afghanistan is the shortest route for Iran helping it enter Central Asia markets. Actually, the new railway would play an important role in the trade interactions. Currently, Iran is considered as one of the largest trading partners of Afghanistan, and with the use of this railway, the amount of economic, cultural, political and social exchanges between the two countries will increase significantly in the future.
Helping boost to regional trade
In addition to serving Iran-Afghanistan trade, Khaf-Herat railway is advantageous to the regional states since it is part of the project to link to the Central Asia and China corridors. It is located at the center of a broader regional corridor and can facilitate trade interactions in a shortest possible time.
Trade between Herat and Khaf can turn Herat into a commercial hub, and if the 5-country rail corridor project is, Herat will become Iran's gateway to Central Asia or Central Asia's gateway to Iran.
Central Asian countries have been looking for road and rail transit corridors for long years so that in addition to transferring their goods to other parts of the world, they can also access high seas.
Connecting Central Asia's railway to Afghanistan and then to the North-South Corridor, in addition to reducing the time interval for the transit of goods between regional countries, effectively cuts the transit costs.
Regional corridors witnessed an increase in their importance since Ukraine war and closure of trade routes with Europe through Russia. Now, Eurasia, China, and Iran are focusing on railways and land routes to scale up their trade and cooperation.
Since the cost of railway transit is lower than air and sea routes, many countries try to use rail-based transit corridors as much as possible.
The Khaf-Herat railway not only connects Iran and Afghanistan, but also is a complementary to a 2000-kilometer corridor that links East to the West through China, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey. Should this project as a missing ring in trade chain is completed, the East-West trade would see a boost. Therefore, the countries located along the East-West Corridor, in addition to more suitable rail access to other countries, also benefit from transit interests, and this issue facilitates economic relations and increases commercial exchanges between countries. Being on the way of this geopolitical route, Iran can serve as a bridge between China and Europe.
Along the Khaf-Herat railway, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan have also started practical measures to build ‘trans-Afghan’ railway line with the aim of establishing rail connections between Uzbekistan’s Termez and Pakistan’s Peshawar. This rail line, with a length of more than 600 kilometers, will provide Central Asian access to Pakistan's major ports, leading to the uplift of regional trade and relations.
The Khaf-Herat railway is part of the China’s Road and Belt initiative, or New Silk Road, as it is set to be connected to Chinese rail routes. If operationalized, it would effectively increase the Central Asian share in the ambitious Chinese megaproject.
Though civil war-stricken for several decades, Afghanistan can play an important role in regional transit interactions due to its geopolitical position. The Chinese specially count on these transit routes and consider them part of the Road and Belt Initiative. This gives them reasons to heavily invest in these projects. If they gain assurance about political stability and security in Afghanistan, they can develop these railways in a short time for more facilitated regional transit.
