Over One Million Tons of Goods Transported via Khaf-Herat Railway Line
The CEO of the Afghanistan Railway Consortium announced that from March 2024 to the end of April 2024, a total of 1,012,000 tons of export and transit goods were transported to Afghanistan through the Khaf-Herat railway line. According to him, this figure indicates an increase in trade exchanges between Iran and Afghanistan via this rail corridor.
Mostafa Rezaei told IRNA news agency that about 80% of these shipments consist of Iranian exports to Afghanistan, while the remaining 20% are transit goods transported from the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Turkey, and China through Iran to Afghanistan.
He added that among the transported items, Iran-produced Type 2 cement holds the largest share with approximately 606,000 tons, recently becoming the main export commodity from Iran to Afghanistan via the rail network. Following cement, iron products account for 11%, diesel fuel and other light and heavy hydrocarbons 10%, and both tiles and sugar about 5% each.
Rezaei also mentioned that during the spring of this year alone, an average of over 100,000 tons of goods were transported monthly through this route, showing a significant increase compared to the same period last year. He stated that the total volume of rail trade at the Khaf-Herat border last year was around 700,000 tons.
According to the CEO of the Afghanistan Railway Consortium, nearly 100 Afghan traders and economic operators have played a role in the supply and transportation of these goods. The Khaf-Herat railway line, connecting Herat province to Iran’s railway network, has in recent years become one of the most important routes for supplying goods to Afghanistan’s markets.
