Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan sign deal to study long-delayed Trans-Afghan railway
New agreement revives plan for major cross-border rail link connecting Central and South Asia via Taliban-governed Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan (MNTV) — Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan have signed a framework agreement to launch a feasibility study for the long-delayed Termez–Kharlachi railway, a key component of the broader Trans-Afghan Railway project aimed at linking Central Asia to the Arabian Sea.
The trilateral deal was signed in Kabul on July 17 during a meeting between the three countries’ transport ministers. According to Daryo News, the agreement marks a significant step toward implementing a corridor that could reshape regional trade dynamics across one of Asia’s most geopolitically complex regions.
The planned route will connect Uzbekistan’s border town of Termez with Pakistan’s Kharlachi crossing via Naybabad, Maidan Shahr, and Logar — a corridor cutting directly through Afghan territory. The proposed railway would create a direct overland freight route from Uzbekistan to Pakistani seaports, bypassing longer routes through Iran or the Caucasus.
Officials say the feasibility study will be coordinated by an international transport corridor development office, headquartered in Tashkent with satellite branches in Kabul and Islamabad. This body, established in 2023, will act as the central authority managing technical, financial, and geopolitical assessments.
Originally proposed in 2018, the railway is designed to transport up to 20 million tons of cargo annually. Uzbekistan previously estimated the project’s cost at $5 billion, with a five-year construction timeline. However, Pakistan’s Ministry of Railways revised that figure to $8.2 billion in late 2024 — a nearly 80% increase over earlier projections.
The current agreement builds on a July 2023 meeting in Islamabad and follows a bilateral summit between Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif held in February. With internal approvals now secured, the three countries have cleared the way for formal assessments to begin.
Beyond the core stakeholders, Kazakhstan has also expressed interest in the project. In 2023, it signed an MoU with Afghanistan to support the construction and operation of the railway — a sign that broader Central Asian support for the corridor is growing.
Analysts see the railway as both an economic opportunity and a geopolitical gamble. If completed, the line could offer landlocked Central Asian states faster access to global markets.
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