Tehran, Kabul Sign Railroad Agreement

Iran and Afghanistan have agreed to launch a railroad as of August 4, as per a deal signed in Tehran on Sunday. The agreement was signed by CEO of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways Saeed Mohammadzadeh and his Afghan counterpart, Mohammad Yamma Shams, IRIR said in a press release. According to Shams, Afghanistan will allocate $2 million per year for the security of the route. The $40-million railroad project, which has been constructed by Iran, runs 30 kilometers on the Afghan soil from the border city of Shamtiq in eastern Khorasan Razavi Province. It is part of an under-construction railroad from the mine-rich Iranian city of Khwaf to Herat, Afghanistan’s third largest city. The agreement also includes the construction of facilities in the neighboring country and holding training courses for the Afghan workforce. IRIR has said the remainder of the railroad is scheduled to be completed by March 2018. The route will allow Iran to take advantage of burgeoning trade between Afghanistan and India. At least 5 million tons of cargo will be transported annually via this railroad and the first shipment will be cement. Iran inaugurated a route from Khwaf to Shamtiq in September and went on to implement the project in Afghanistan.