Rail freight in Afghanistan has more than doubled. Ministry of Public Works spokesman Mohammad Ashraf Haqshinas said on Thursday that 4,888,268 metric tonnes of commercial goods passed through the Hairatan, Aqina and Torghundi ports and the Khaf-Herat railway in the first six months of the solar year 1405.
In the same period of 1404, the four routes carried 2,182,312 tonnes. Imports included fuel, liquefied gas, wheat, flour, cooking oil and other food and construction materials, while dried fruit, soft drinks, mineral stones, cotton and other Afghan products were exported to regional countries, the spokesman said.
Haqshinas said the growth in rail transport and exports had helped create jobs, raise national revenue and strengthen economic stability and self-sufficiency, adding that the railway authority was working to offer traders better facilities and conditions.