First Indian Rail Transit Shipment Arrives in Afghanistan via Iran

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Kabul: Mustafa Rezaei told the media on Tuesday night: This transit shipment included 6 containers carrying almonds and oilseeds, which arrived at the Roznak station in Herat, Afghanistan after crossing the Shamtig railway border in Khawaf city.

 

He said, according to IRNA: This shipment was first transported from India by ship to Bandar Abbas and then entered Afghanistan through the country’s rail network through the Shamtig border.

 

The CEO of the Afghanistan Rail Development Consortium continued: This rail consortium, with the support of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development and the Islamic Republic of Iran Railway Company, has transported more than 30,000 tons of export and transit cargo between Iran and Afghanistan by rail since the start of operation of the Khaf-Herat rail corridor this year.

 

Rezaei said: With the operation of the Khaf-Herat rail corridor, the trade balance of the two countries has increased with greater security and transportation costs for traders and manufacturers will be reduced.

 

It is worth noting that the Khaf-Herat rail corridor plays a key role in regional communications by connecting Iran's rail network to Herat in western Afghanistan and, as part of the world's East-West rail corridor, has created a 2,000-kilometer route from China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and Europe.

 

The Shamtig border customs crossing between Iran and Afghanistan was opened in 2020 in the Khaf border district/city located in southeastern Khorasan Razavi Province.

 

Shamtig is located as an official border customs crossing on the Khaf-Herat railway route, about 50 kilometers from Khaf. The center of the 150,000-person Khaf district/city is located 267 kilometers south of Mashhad.

 

It is worth noting that in recent years, given the close trade relations between Iran and Afghanistan, the trade and transit process between the two countries has been facilitated.