On 18th July 2023, representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan signed an agreement regarding the routing of the Trans-Afghanistan Railway, a railway project connecting the three countries via a single railway line. The project is being planned as a joint initiative among the three countries to promote regional connectivity and provide Central Asia with access to Pakistan’s seaports. According to the agreement, the proposed line would start at Mazar-i-Sharif, the terminus of the existing 1,520 mm gauge line from Termez in Uzbekistan, and run across Afghanistan to Logar province and the Kharlachi border crossing with Pakistan. This routing has been selected rather than the Khyber Pass border crossing, which has long featured in proposals for cross-border railway lines. Furthermore, a one-year plan for the project was approved, with international consultancies to be requested to prepare information to share with financial institutions. According to preliminary estimates, the line would require more than 750 km of 1,520 mm gauge main line and station tracks. The project is estimated to cost more than €4.4 billion (US$5 billion) and construction is expected to take five years.
