New Route Between Central and South Asia: Russia and Uzbekistan Consider the Economics of the Trans-Afghan Railway

Russia and Uzbekistan continue to work on a large-scale transport project – the Trans-Afghan Railway. Its purpose is to connect Central and South Asia with a new logistics corridor. Currently, specialists from the two countries are preparing a feasibility study for the project. This was announced by the First Deputy Head of RZD, Sergey Pavlov, at a meeting of the Council for Railway Transport of the CIS member states.

In February 2021, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan adopted a roadmap in Tashkent for the construction of the Termez – Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul – Peshawar railway. The project preparation was then expected to be completed in May, and construction to begin in September. However, after the change of power in Afghanistan, the implementation of plans slowed down.

In July 2022, an expedition began to determine the route and prepare a feasibility study for the Trans-Afghan Railway.

A feasibility study is a document that calculates how a project can be implemented, how many resources it will require, and how justified it is from a practical point of view.

The 84th meeting of the Council for Railway Transport of the CIS member states was held in Ashgabat on May 13–14. The previous meeting took place in Baku. In 2026, the chairmanship of the CIS bodies passed from Tajikistan to Turkmenistan.