Khaf-Herat railway emerges as key transit route linking Asia to Afghanistan
Freight from Turkey, Turkmenistan, India, the UAE, Russia, and even the US has been transported to Afghanistan via the Khaf-Herat railway, an Iranian route that is fast emerging as a key regional transit corridor, a senior transport official said on Sunday.
“Cargo from these countries has passed through this railway, and even goods from the US have reached Afghanistan via this route,” Jabarali Zakeri, Iran’s deputy minister of roads and urban development told ILNA.
According to the official, the volume of cargo transported along the railway between Iran and Afghanistan in east of the country hit a record 63,000 tons last month, with the figure expected to reach 100,000 tons by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2026).
He attributed the rising transit to growing interest from Afghan shippers and India’s government, which is seeking to use the corridor for its exports and transit trade through the southeastern port of Chabahar.
“To meet this growing demand, we have instructed Iranian logistics companies to prioritize resolving existing operational issues,” he said. “We are addressing these problems one by one.”
The deputy minister said Afghanistan’s railway authority has welcomed the route and shown strong interest in boosting freight movement. “The Afghan railway has approved this corridor and is keen to increase cargo transport, and Iran’s railway organization is following up closely,” he added.
Zakeri also noted that construction work is advancing on the Afghan side of the route. “I hope that within a month, another 43 kilometers will be added to the Herat railway. The project is now 90% complete,” he said, adding that Afghanistan has pledged to finish the remaining section from Rahzanak toward Herat within the next month. Once complete, only one more station — currently under construction — will remain before full connectivity.
He pointed out that an industrial zone located near the next station will serve as a key cargo hub. “The strength of this route is that an industrial city lies adjacent to the next station, which will significantly boost freight traffic once it is linked to the rail network,” Zakeri said. The expansion comes as Iran exported its first diesel shipment to Afghanistan via the Khaf-Herat railway last Sunday, establishing the first fuel trade corridor between the two countries and marking a new phase in bilateral economic and trade cooperation.