This photo taken on July 11, 2023 shows a train during the opening of a commercial railway line in Herat, Afghanistan. A major trade route via railway between Afghanistan and neighboring Iran was formally opened in west Afghanistan's Herat province on Tuesday. (Photo by Mashal/Xinhua)
HERAT, Afghanistan, July 12 (Xinhua) -- A major trade route via railway between Afghanistan and neighboring Iran was formally opened in west Afghanistan's Herat province on Tuesday.
Speaking on the occasion, the Afghan caretaker government chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid welcomed the step as vital for enhancing economic relations in the region, saying the railway network could connect Afghanistan to Iran onward to Türkiye and Europe.
Mujahid noted that the railway would also transport passengers in the future besides transporting commercial goods.
The 225-km-long cross-border Herat-Khaf railway links west Afghanistan's Herat province to neighboring Iran. The fourth part of the railway would be completed in Afghanistan's Herat province within 2023. ■