Afghanistan Times
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KABUL – A new milestone in regional trade was achieved as a freight train, loaded with communication equipment and other essential goods, departed from southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality on Monday, marking the inauguration of a direct rail link to Afghanistan.
The train, carrying 55 forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU) containers, is set to arrive in Afghanistan’s port city of Hairatan within 12 to 15 days. This newly established route, which passes through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and other countries, is expected to significantly enhance logistics efficiency and economic ties between China and Afghanistan.
The communication equipment aboard the train, produced by leading Chinese telecom firm ZTE, will play a crucial role in bolstering Afghanistan’s local communication networks. The direct rail service is anticipated to reduce transportation time by three to five days compared to previous road transport, while also cutting logistics costs by an estimated 15 to 20 percent, according to Liu Jianfeng, an official at ZTE.
Xu Runqiu, an executive at the Yuxin’ou (Chongqing) supply chain management company, hailed the initiative as a significant step in strengthening economic and trade cooperation with Central Asian nations.
“The successful launch of this direct freight train from Chongqing to Afghanistan marks a major advancement in regional connectivity and economic integration,” Xu said.
Chongqing has been actively positioning itself as a major inland logistics hub, with a growing number of freight trains connecting it to Europe and Central Asia. To date, over 18,000 trains have been dispatched along more than 50 regular routes, linking Chongqing with key cities across Asia and Europe.
The establishment of this direct freight service comes amid China’s broader efforts to enhance trade corridors under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Since the launch of the China-Europe freight train (Yuxin’ou) service in 2011, which connects Chongqing to Duisburg, Germany, China has continued to expand its rail links to facilitate faster and more cost-effective trade routes.
This latest development is expected to further strengthen Afghanistan’s trade potential and connectivity with global markets, providing a vital boost to its economic reconstruction efforts.
