Transportation of
Afghanistan
2019
Overview of Afghanistan Transportation
KFUPM
Mohammad Tamim Kashifi
Tamim_moterbahher@yahoo.com
ID# g201806400
Cell Phone# 0580208251
Table of Contents
Contents
Table of Figures ______________________________________________________________ 1
List of Tables ________________________________________________________________ 3
Afghanistan _________________________________________________________________ 4
Terrain Accessibility ___________________________________________________________ 5
Maritime Transport ___________________________________________________________ 7
Land Transport ______________________________________________________________ 9
Railway Network ___________________________________________________________ 9
Why Railway Network in Afghanistan? ________________________________________ 9
Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA) ________________________________________ 10
Completed Projects ______________________________________________________ 10
Ongoing Projects ________________________________________________________ 11
Proposed Projects _______________________________________________________ 11
Afghanistan National Railway Plan (ANRP) ___________________________________ 13
Active Stations and Volume of Commodity Through Dry Ports _____________________ 18
Significance of Afghanistan Railway in Regional Connectivity _____________________ 21
Asian Highway Network ___________________________________________________ 24
Existing National and Provincial Road Network ________________________________ 28
Road Numbering Methodology _____________________________________________ 29
Aviation ___________________________________________________________________ 32
Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036 _________________________________________ 37
Road Subsector Plan _______________________________________________________ 38
Railway Subsector Plan _____________________________________________________ 40
Urban Program ___________________________________________________________ 40
Civil Aviation Subsector Plan_________________________________________________ 43
Projects in Trade Facilitation _________________________________________________ 43
Kabul City Road Transportation ________________________________________________ 44
Kabul ___________________________________________________________________ 44
Kabul City Transportation ___________________________________________________ 46
Modes of Transport and Trips Distribution ______________________________________ 48
Table of Contents
________________________________________________________________________ 49
Roads Pavement Condition and Intersections and Road Safety _____________________ 50
Public Transport of Kabul ___________________________________________________ 51
Milli Bus _______________________________________________________________ 51
Kabul Trolleybus ________________________________________________________ 52
Works Cited ________________________________________________________________ 54
Table of Figures
Pg. 01
Table of Figures
Figure 1: Afghanistan Geographic Location Source: (Wikipedia, 2019). ..................................... 4
Figure 2: Transportation and Terrain Accessibility in Afghanistan (Humanitarian Response,
2012) ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Figure 3: Existing and future planned modes of Transportation in Afghanistan Source: Author
from data of official authorities ..................................................................................................... 6
Figure 4: Bandar Abbas, Chabahar and Karachi ports route to Afghanistan: Source (Logistics
Capacity Assessment, 2018) ....................................................................................................... 8
Figure 5: Railway Corridors Source: (Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), n.d.) .................... 14
Figure 6: Dry Ports of ARNP Source: (National Railway Authority-ARA) .................................. 16
Figure 7: Proposed Plan and Timeline for Railway Source: (Afghanistan Railway Authority
(ARA), n.d.) ................................................................................................................................ 17
Figure 8: Torghundi dry port which was inaugurated in Herat ................................................... 18
Figure 9: Volume of Commodity Imports from Hairatan Dry Port in 2015 (Tons) ...................... 19
Figure 10: Volume of Commodity Imports from Hairatan Dry Port in 2016 (Tons) .................... 19
Figure 11: Volume of Commodity Imports from Hairatan Dry Port in 2017 (Tons) .................... 19
Figure 12: Volume of Commodity Imports from Aqina Dry Port in 2017 (Tons) ........................ 20
Figure 13: Volume of Commodity Imports from Torghundi Dry Port in 2017 (Tons) ................. 20
Figure 14: Active Railway Stations and Dry Ports of Afghanistan Source: (Afghanistan Railway
Authority (ARA), 2018) ............................................................................................................... 21
Figure 15: Afghanistan as a bottleneck in regional railway network (ARA, 2018) ..................... 22
Figure 16: Planned railway network for Afghanistan in connection with regional railway network
(ARA, 2018) ............................................................................................................................... 23
Figure 17: Asian Highway Network Source: (UNESCSP, 2018) ............................................... 25
Figure 18: Asian Highways in Afghanistan and Their Codes Source: Authors Map Based on
OpenStreetMap data .................................................................................................................. 26
Figure 19: Design Standard of Afghanistan National Roads that are Part of Asian Highway
Network ...................................................................................................................................... 27
Figure 20: Surface condition of National Highways in Afghanistan which are part of Asian
Highway Network Source: (Moon, 2006) ................................................................................... 28
Figure 21: National Highways of Afghanistan and their Numbering Source: Author Map based
on OpenStreetMap and Ministry of Public Works data .............................................................. 31
Figure 22: Domestic Airline Services by Different Airline Agencies........................................... 32
Pg. 02
Table of Figures
Figure 23: Afghanistan Airports Source: Author ........................................................................ 36
Figure 24: Afghanistan Ring Road, Salang Tunnel, and Kabul Ring Road Source:(Amiri, 2017)
................................................................................................................................................... 38
Figure 25: Roads and Highways Budget and Time Source: (Afghanistan Transport Sector
Master Plan 2017-2036, 2017)................................................................................................... 40
Figure 26: Timeline for railway projects (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036,
2017) .......................................................................................................................................... 42
Figure 27: Kabul city location in Kabul Province Source: Author map from data of (Kabul
Municipality , 2019 ) ................................................................................................................... 44
Figure 28: Kabul city districts, urbanized areas, and city center (JICA, 2011) .......................... 45
Figure 29: Road network of Kabul Map Source: Author from data of Kabul Municipality .......... 47
Figure 30: Transport Mode Share in Kabul Source: (JICA, 2009). ............................................ 48
Figure 31: Kabul City Transport Mode Share by Districts Source: (JICA, 2009) ....................... 49
Figure 32: Trips Generation and Attraction by Districts Source: (JICA, 2009) .......................... 49
Figure 33: A road in the downtown. (Telegraph, n.d.) ............................................................... 50
Figure 34: One of Milli Bus Authority bus in Kabul downtown in 1978 (Wikipedia, 2019) ......... 51
Figure 35: Trolleybus routes map Source: (Strana, 2011) ......................................................... 53
Figure 36: Trolleybus in Kabul city in 1977 Source: (Strana, 2011) .......................................... 53
List of Tables
Pg. 03
List of Tables
Table 1: Completed Railway Links Source: (Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), n.d.). ........ 10
Table 2: Ongoing projects of Afghanistan Railway Authority Source: Afghanistan Railway
Authority (ARA) .......................................................................................................................... 11
Table 3: Proposed Projects for Government Approval Source: Afghanistan Railway Authority
(ARA), n.d.) ................................................................................................................................ 11
Table 4: Planned Corridors Source: (Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), n.d.) .................... 15
Table 5: Multimodal Hubs of ANRP Source: (National Railway Authority-NRA) ....................... 15
Table 6: Asian Highway Classification Source: (Moon, 2006) ................................................... 27
Table 7: Road Network of Afghanistan Source: Ministry of Petroleum ...................................... 28
Table 8: Highways and classifications of Afghanistan Source: (MOPW, 2013) ........................ 29
Table 9: National Highways and corresponding Asian Highways Source: (MOPW, 2015) ....... 30
Table 10: List of Airports Source: (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036, 2017)
................................................................................................................................................... 33
Table 11: List of Small Local Airports Source: (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan 20172036, 2017) ................................................................................................................................ 34
Table 12: 20-year horizon investment allocation scenario source: (Afghanistan Transport
Sector Master Plan 2017-2036) ................................................................................................. 37
Table 13: Planned projects and budget requirement Source: (Afghanistan Transport Sector
Master Plan 2017-2036, 2017)................................................................................................... 39
Table 14: Railway projects priority and investment (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan
2017-2036, 2017) ....................................................................................................................... 41
Table 15: Key indicators of Kabul city as per 2015 Source: (Afghanistan Transport Sector
Master Plan 2017-2036, 2017)................................................................................................... 45
Table 16: Estimated investment on 20 year horizon (2017-2036) Source: (Afghanistan
Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036, 2017) ...................................................................... 46
Table 17: Transport Mode Share in Kabul Source: (JICA, 2009) .............................................. 48
Afghanistan
Pg. 04
Afghanistan
The official name is Islamic Republic of Afghanistan which is located in the central and south of
Asia. Afghanistan shared borders with Pakistan on the east and south, Iran on the west,
Being a landlocked
country with highly
mountainous terrain
and dispersed
population,
Afghanistan’s
transportation is
very expensive and
not sufficient.
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan on the north, and north east with China (Wikipedia,
2019).
This country is a landlocked one with plain land terrain northwest and south west and
mountains in the rest of areas. The total surface area reaches to 652,000 square kilometers.
The population was about 30 million people in 2015 with density of 43 people per square
kilometer which is the lowest in Asia. Range of mountains, type of terrain, and low and
dispersed density of people lead to expensive transportation. Despite rich mineral resources,
this country could not manage to establish a network to facilitate access to the resources.
Connectivity overall is very low especially in rural areas (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master
Plan 2017-2036, 2017).
Figure 1: Afghanistan Geographic Location Source: (Wikipedia,
2019).
Terrain Accessibility
Pg. 05
Terrain Accessibility
Afghanistan is a landlocked and mountainous country with dispersed population. Therefore,
transportation is mainly viable by air and land which is expensive due to low density of
population. Additionally, due to lack of train network, the options are further restricted to road
East and
northeast of
Afghanistan has
the lowest
accessibility
compared to other
regions.
and air. Majority of roads in rural areas are still unpaved or paved with gravel which create
challenges for passenger movement and freight. This is while that the new 20 years horizon
master plan (2017 to 2036) considered construction of 5,000-kilometer railway network.
However, due to mountains series, which initiates from regions on the east and northeast and
ends in the middle regions, this option is not also much restricted. Further, accessibility to
remote regions of east and northeast restricted on account of lack of road networks in those
areas. The following map which is prepared by Humanitarian Response organization shows
accessibility in different regions of Afghanistan that considered existence of roads, major
roads, terrain ruggedness index, airport and fields in the region (Humanitarian Response,
2012).
Figure 2: Transportation and Terrain Accessibility in Afghanistan (Humanitarian Response, 2012)
Figure 3: Existing and future planned modes of Transportation in Afghanistan Source: Author from data of official authorities
Pg. 06
Terrain Accessibility
Maritime Transport
Pg. 07
Maritime Transport
Maritime
Afghanistan is a landlocked country (one of 48 non-coastal countries). The two nearest sea
ports to Afghanistan are located in Pakistan and Iran. The one that is in Pakistan has a 1,406-
Afghanistan is a
kilometer distance from Kabul (the capital of Afghanistan) is called Karachi port. The second
landlocked
one is approximately 1,840 kilometers from Kabul is called Chabahar port which is located in
country.
Iran. These countries-Pakistan and Iran-secure the first and second import sources for
Afghanistan with 17.22% and 22.83% of all imports of Afghanistan respectively. Furthermore,
Karachi and
India, Pakistan, and Iran are the top three countries wherein Afghanistan exports largely its
Chabahar ports
products with total value of $220 million, $199 million, and $15.1 million respectively in 2016
are vastly used
for imports of
goods.
(Amiri, 2017).
Landlocked countries face some challenges and their maritime is dependent on neighbor
countries. Maritime trades comprise a large portion of trade which leads to opportunities and
globalization. That is why some of landlocked countries are still in poverty and difficulties.
Human Development Index (HDI) is usually low for landlocked countries and this is due to low
standard education system, crippling economy, low social affairs, and low healthcare (Amiri,
2017).
Low accessibility to the sea is not the only challenge of landlocked countries. Access to the sea
or maritime tradition of landlocked countries are dependent on neighbor countries where land
locked countries use ports. In this case, political issues lead to ban of access to sea and loss of
business in some situations. Pakistan and Iran have not been an exception in this case for
Afghanistan. They looked for political leverage in exchange for use of their sea ports and
Afghanistan experienced huge losses of merchandise due to some political strains between
these countries and Afghanistan (Amiri, 2017).
Moreover, there is another port that Afghanistan use it for trade which is called Bandar Abbas.
This port links Afghanistan to the sea by road and railway which crosses Mashhad, Iran.
Mashhad is connected to Afghanistan via road from Islam Qala to Herat and through railway to
Hairatan border of Afghanistan (Logistics Capacity Assessment, 2018).
Pg. 08
Maritime Transport
Figure 4: Bandar Abbas, Chabahar and Karachi ports route to Afghanistan: Source (Logistics
Capacity Assessment, 2018)
Land Transport
Pg. 09
Land Transport
Railway Network
Why Railway Network in Afghanistan?
“Utilizing our geopolitical position in Asia, we can provide economic transport solutions in the
region. Therefore, the key policy of our Government is to complete the missing regional railway
links in collaboration with our strategic partners and enable Afghanistan to become a transport
and transit hub in the region” – Vision of the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Afghanistan location between Central Asian and South Asian countries can facilitate
intraregional transit. This especially important for connecting Central Asian countries to the
ports of India, Iran, and Pakistan. Further, railway network is very essential for mineral
transport in the future. Mineral extraction has great potential in Afghanistan due to existence of
wide mineral resources that have not been extracted till now (Afghanistan Railway Authority
(ARA), n.d.).
Therefore, studies, which were conducted by Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2010, were
approved by government and Afghanistan Railway Authority. They developed Afghanistan
National Railway Plan (ANRP) in order to construct 5000 km railway. Additionally, the vision
consisted construction of four dry ports and eight multimodal hubs. This railway track would be
for freight via corridors that connect Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, and Iran (Afghanistan
Railway Authority (ARA), n.d.).
Government of Islamic of Afghanistan (GoIRA) intends to implement ANRP through ARA. The
aim is to leverage Afghanistan's geopolitical location for connecting China to the middle-east,
and Europe plus linking Central Asian countries to Southern Asian countries (Afghanistan
Railway Authority (ARA), n.d.).
Importance of Railway According to Afghanistan Railway Authority;
Afghanistan as the land-bridge of the region, connecting Central Asia to South Asia,
will provide land routes for Chinese goods to Europe, serve as the hub for the Silk
Road’s trade and transit route and provide access to warm ports for Central Asian
nations via Chabahar and Gwadar ports. Achieving this vision will result in stronger
regional economic integration, economic growth, employment, and alleviate poverty.
Land Transport
Pg. 10
However, the hard and soft infrastructure can be considered as challenges to this project as
this is huge project. In case of hard infrastructure, there is need for track, transmission lines to
be arranged for this network. On the other hand, soft infrastructure plays an important role as
well. For smooth flow of the system, policies, agreements, and regulations need to be framed
(Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), n.d.).
Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA)
Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA) deals with railway network of Afghanistan. ARA was
established in 2004 as a department of Ministry of Public Works (MoPW), and it was
extended to a Directorate in 2009 under MoPW. Later in 2012, this directorate was
expanded as general directorate. In 2016, this general directorate was considered as an
independent budgetary unit. The aim of this sector is to grow railway network over
Afghanistan (Afghanistan Railway Authorirty (ARA), n.d.).
Completed Projects
These links are constructed by Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), and need to be
connected to main network that is planned by this organization (Afghanistan Railway Authorirty
(ARA), n.d.).
Table 1: Completed Railway Links Source: (Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), n.d.).
Completed Projects
Project Name
Project
Location
(Province)
Project Status
Prefeasibility Feasibility Details
Study
Study
Design and
Construction
Total
Length
(km)
Hairatan-Mazar-eSharif Railway
Balkh
Complete
Complete Complete
75
Aqina Railway Station
Faryab, Aqina
Station
Complete
Complete Complete
4.5
Torghundi Railway
Station
Herat
Complete
Complete Complete
13
Land Transport
Pg. 11
Ongoing Projects
Afghanistan Railway Authority has four railway projects currently as following, which their
studies and provision from government received and need to be executed soon (Afghanistan
Railway Authorirty (ARA), n.d.).
Table 2: Ongoing projects of Afghanistan Railway Authority Source: Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA)
Ongoing Projects
Project Name
Project
Location
(Province)
Project Status
Khaf-Herat 4th Section
(First Phase)
Herat
Complete
Complete
Planned for
2018
43
Kharf-Herat 3 Section
Herat
Complete
Complete
Planned for
2018
62
Reconstruction and
Renovation of the
Torghundi Port
Herat
Complete
Complete
Planned for
2018
13
Construction of Sublines of the Aqina
Railway Station
Faryab
Complete
Complete
Planned for
2019
10
Prefeasibility Feasibility
Study
Study
Total
Length
Details Design (km)
and
Construction
Proposed Projects
For the following projects, feasibility studies are completed and they are submitted for
government approval (Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), n.d.)
Table 3: Proposed Projects for Government Approval Source: Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), n.d.)
Proposed Projects
Project Name
Project
Location
(Province)
Sher Khan
BalkhBandar-Kundus- Kunduz
Project Status
Prefeasibilit
y Study
Feasibility
Study
Total
Length
Details Design and (km)
Construction
Complete
Complete
Planned
187
Land Transport
Pg. 12
Mazar-e-Sharif
Railway
Mazar-e-SharifSheberghanAnndkhoy
Railway
BalkhShebergha
n
Complete
Complete
Planned
320
Aqina-Andkhoy
Railway
Faryab
Complete
Complete
Planned
36
Torghundi-Herat Herat
Railway
Complete
Complete
Planned
173
Khaf-Herat 4
Section Second
Phanse Railway
Herat
Complete
Complete
Planned
44
Herat-Farah
Railway
Farah-Herat Complete
-
Planned
216
Lashkar GahKandahar
Railway
HelmandKandahar
Complete
-
Planned
140
KandaharZabul-GhanzniLogar-Kabul
Railway
KandaharZabulGhazniLogarKabul
Complete
-
Planned
510
Mazar-e-SharifHerat Railway
BalkhJozjanFaryabBadghizHerat
Ongoing
Negotiatio Ongoing
n are going
with
donners to
fund the
required
budget.
657
Feasibility Study
Farah-Zarang
Lashkar Gha
FarahHelmand
Planned
-
-
420
Lashkar GahBaramcha
Helmand
Planned
Planned
-
260
JalalabadTorkham
Nengarhar
Planned
Planned
-
75
Land Transport
Pg. 13
Afghanistan National Railway Plan (ANRP)
ANRP has three major parts which are discussed briefly in the following text with their maps
(Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), n.d.):
1. ANRP Corridors
2. ANRP Railway Ports
3. ANRP Multimodal Hubs
1. Corridors of ANRP
ANRP Corridor 1
This corridor links the north-west and north-eastern regions. By this corridor, china will be
connected to Europe through Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. Further, this
corridor enables Afghanistan’s access to the two seaports (Chabahar and Bandar Abbas) of
Iran (Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), n.d.).
ANRP Corridor 2
North-west and south-west to south of Afghanistan are connected by this corridor. Two railway
corridors for freight between Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Iran are operationalized by ARA
(Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), n.d.).
ANRP Corridor 3
This corridor plans to connect south-west-south, north-ease, and eastern regions of
Afghanistan. Iran, China, and Pakistan connectivity to Afghanistan will be increased by this
corridor (Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), n.d.).
ANRP Corridor 4
This corridor provides an alternative path for transport between central and north of
Afghanistan. Further, this corridor will be an alternate route for Salang Tunnel which has
problem during winter due to cold weather and blockage (Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA),
n.d.)
.
Figure 5: Railway Corridors Source: (Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), n.d.)
Pg. 14
Land Transport
Land Transport
Pg. 15
Table 4: Planned Corridors Source: (Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), n.d.)
No
Railway Corridor
Route
Regional Route
Km
Total Km
1
West-North-Northeast 1132 Km
838 Km
1970 Km
2
West-SouthSoutheast
1260 Km
571 Km
1831 Km
3
North-Southeast
590 Km
75 Km
665 Km
4
Central
574 Km
Main Corridor Km
574 Km
2. ANRP Railway Ports
The following are the list of dry ports of railway network; however, three of them are currently
operational which are discussed in subsequent sections.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
City
Torghundi
Aqina
Spin Boldak
Hairatan
Wakhan
Chah Sorkh
Torkham
Khost
Baramcha
Zaranj
Sher Khan Bandar
3. ANRP Multimodal Hubs
Table 5: Multimodal Hubs of ANRP Source: (National Railway Authority-NRA)
No
City
Province
1
Jalalabad
Nangarhar
2
Mazar-e-Sharif
Balkh
3
Herat
Herat
4
Kandahar
Kandahar
Figure 6: Dry Ports of ARNP Source: (National Railway Authority-ARA)
Pg. 16
Land Transport
Pg. 17
Land Transport
Figure 7: Proposed Plan and Timeline for Railway Source: (Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), n.d.)
Land Transport
Pg. 18
Active Stations and Volume of Commodity Through Dry Ports
Currently, three dry ports of eleven dry ports of Afghanistan are active with the following
stations and volume of merchandises (Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), 2018).
Active Dry Ports
NO
ARA’s Active
Station
•
Torghundi Dry Port
•
Aqina Dry Port
1
Hairatan
•
Hairatan Dry Port
2
Jeratan
3
Taza Omid
4
Naib Abad
5
Mazar-e-Sharif
6
Aqina
7
Torghundi
Figure 8: Torghundi dry port which was inaugurated in Herat
Pg. 19
Land Transport
Figure 11: Volume of Commodity Imports from Hairatan Dry Port in 2017 (Tons)
Figure 10: Volume of Commodity Imports from Hairatan Dry Port in 2016 (Tons)
Figure 9: Volume of Commodity Imports from Hairatan Dry Port in 2015 (Tons)
Pg. 20
Land Transport
Figure 12: Volume of Commodity Imports from Aqina Dry Port in 2017 (Tons)
Figure 13: Volume of Commodity Imports from Torghundi Dry Port in 2017 (Tons)
Land Transport
Pg. 21
Figure 14: Active Railway Stations and Dry Ports of Afghanistan Source: (Afghanistan Railway Authority
(ARA), 2018)
Significance of Afghanistan Railway in Regional Connectivity
Afghanistan plays a crucial role in transportation due to its strategic location between central
and south Asian countries. For instance, connecting Charbahar seaport of Iran and Karachi
and Gwadar seaport of Pakistan to central Asia. This will lead to integration of region
connectivity and economic benefits to Afghanistan. Nonetheless, Afghanistan in the current
situation cannot achieve any benefit from this opportunity as there is no network accept some
short links on north; rather, it is a bottleneck to region network (figure 14). Therefore, a
substantial network is considered by regional and Afghanistan authorities to get advantage of
this opportunity (figure 15)
Figure 15: Afghanistan as a bottleneck in regional railway network (ARA, 2018)
Pg. 22
Land Transport
Figure 16: Planned railway network for Afghanistan in connection with regional railway network (ARA, 2018)
Pg. 23
Land Transport
Land Transport
Pg. 24
Road Transport
Asian Highway Network
By passing 32 countries in Asia, the Asian Highway Network has about 141,000 kilometers of
standard road network which has links to Europe. It was started in 1959 to developed
international land transport in Asia. The network's first phase was successfully implemented
during 1960-1970; nonetheless, its progress faded away as suspension of funding assistance
in 1975 (ESCAP, 2016).
During 1980s and 1990s, the Asian Highway Project got momentum again and was
acknowledged as one of Asian Land Transport Infrastructure Development (ALTID) project.
Further, after an intergovernmental meeting in Bankok in November 18, 2003
Intergovernmental Agreement on this network was reached (ESCAP, 2016).
Till date, about 26 million USD was spent in development and upgrading of the network, but an
18 million USD is still required for this project. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific (ESCAP) is exploring to come up with funding sources for completion and
development of the network among member countries (ESCAP, 2016).
Figure 17: Asian Highway Network Source: (UNESCSP, 2018)
Pg. 25
Land Transport
Land Transport
Pg. 26
Some part of this network is in Afghanistan which goes through Torkham, Kabul, Kandahar,
Dilaram, and Herat and joins national network (OpenStreetMap, 2018). The total length of
Asian Highway reaches to 3,242 km in Afghanistan (Petroleum, n.d.) with the following codes.
•
AH01
•
AH07
•
AH77
•
AH76
•
AH62
•
AH71
Figure 18: Asian Highways in Afghanistan and Their Codes Source: Authors Map Based on
OpenStreetMap data
The following table describes design standards of Asian Highway Network. According to this
classification most of Asian Highway links in Afghanistan are in below class III except some
parts which are in class II (Moon, 2006). Refer to figure below. This shows design speed of
majority of Afghanistan national roads that are part of Asian Highway are low and roads are 2
lanes narrow roads.
Land Transport
Pg. 27
Table 6: Asian Highway Classification Source: (Moon, 2006)
Class
Characteristics
Primary Class
Access controlled highway, Design Speed of 60-120 km/hr, 4 lanes or
more
Class I
Design speed of 50-100 km/hr, 4 lanes or more (divided)
Class II
Design speed of 40-80 km/hr, 2 lanes (wide:7m)
Class III
Design speed of 30-60 km/hr, 2 lanes (narrow: 6m), Surface
Treatment (DBST) can be used for pavement
Figure 19: Design Standard of Afghanistan National Roads that are Part of Asian Highway Network
Land Transport
Pg. 28
Figure 20: Surface condition of National Highways in Afghanistan which are part of Asian Highway
Network Source: (Moon, 2006)
Furthermore, the surface condition of Asian Highway in Afghanistan in majority is bad except
some parts in roads AH01 and AH76. It is while such condition is not much visible in our
neighboring countries. Therefore, it implies that further investments are required in these links
to be considered good in comparison to other links of Asian Highway Network.
Existing National and Provincial Road Network
The existing road network of Afghanistan consist of the following network according to Ministry
of Mines and Petroleum. Further, it states that;
Road
classification
Length
(km)
more than 85% of Afghanistan’s road network is classified
Regional highway
3,242
as in ‘bad’ condition, and a major portion is not passable by
National highway
4,884
motor vehicles. Only half of the roads that connect 34
Provincial roads
9,656
provinces of the country are serviceable throughout the
Urban/city roads
3,750
Rural roads
101,000
Total
122,532
Table 7: Road Network of Afghanistan Source: Ministry of
Petroleum
year, greatly restricting economic growth. Afghanistan has
just slightly over 8,000 km of regional and national
highways as indicated in the summary table below:
Land Transport
Pg. 29
It is while that Ministry of Public Works gives length of highways as following.
Table 8: Highways and classifications of Afghanistan Source: (MOPW, 2013)
Road classification
Length (km)
Regional Highways
3,360
National Highways
Regional Highways
4,958
National Highways
9,600
Provincial Roads
17,878
District to Districts
7,288
Province to Districts
76,198
Rural Access
Provincial Roads
District to Districts
Province to Districts
Rural Access
Total
119,282
The differences between road length between Ministry of Public Works and Ministry of Mines
and Petroleum are minor and perhaps due to time laps between reporting these figures.
Road Numbering Methodology
Road maintenance is one of key factors for saving millions of dollar worth national highway of
Afghanistan which is now not considered sufficiently. For maintenance of roads, a
management system is required to address timely need of road network by timely interventions
like maintenance, rehabilitation, overlay or reconstruction. The management system
necessitates a proper numbering method for all roads of network. Therefore, road numbering
plays an important purpose for road maintenance.
By joint committee of the Minister of Public Works (PW), the Minister of Rural Rehabilitation
and Development (MRRD), and the Minister of Finance, the road numbering was approved in
December 2013 as following (MOPW, 2015).
Land Transport
Pg. 30
National Highways Numbering
NH prefix followed by two-digit number from 01 to 99 was selected to name Afghanistan’s
National Highways in a radial pattern. National highways closed to Kabul numbered from 02 to
25, national highways closest to Kandahar got numbers from 26 to 50, national highways
nearest to Herat were numbered from 51 to 75, and those nearest to Mazar-e-Sharif were
assigned a number from 76 to 99 (MOPW, 2015).
Ring Road which is one of longest road networks in Afghanistan and completes a circle around
it is numbered as NH01. This highway is further divided into four links for purpose of better
management as following (MOPW, 2015).
12.
13.
14.
15.
Kabul-Kandahar: 01
Kandahar-Herat: 02
Herat to Mazar-e-Sharif: 03
Mazar-e-Sharif to Kabul: 04.
These figures are followed by original road numbers. As an example;
NH
01
01
Road Category
Road Number
Section Number
the result is NH0101 which indicates Kabul-Kandahar portion of Ring Road.
Asian Highway Road Numbering
As per "Intergovernmental Agreement on Asian Highway Network", route numbers start with
AH which is abbreviation for Asian Highway and followed by digits. The numbering system is
based on importance of routes. A number between 1 and 9 indicates that the route has passed
more than one region while two-digit numbers indicate lower importance like those linking
neighboring subregions (MOPW, 2015).
Asian Highway Network has routes in Afghanistan as following which are part of National
Highways.
Table 9: National Highways and corresponding Asian Highways Source: (MOPW, 2015)
Asian Highway
National Highway
AH01
NH63, NH01, NH08
AH07
NH37, NH01, NH97
Land Transport
Pg. 31
AH77
NH65, NH67, NH06
AH76
NH01
AH62
NH89
AH71
NH49
According to above table, there are six Asian Highway links that pass through Afghanistan and
these links overlaps with ten national roads. In this study, we show all national highways (as
the following figure) and Asian Highways in different maps as they overlap in major parts.
Figure 21: National Highways of Afghanistan and their Numbering Source: Author Map based on
OpenStreetMap and Ministry of Public Works data
Aviation
Pg. 32
Aviation
Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority (ACAA) is an independent authority that leads all civil
aviation activities in Afghanistan. This authority was created in 2012 after passing Civil Aviation
Law by Parliament. Operation and development of all airports in the country is responsibility of
ACAA with a clear policy to control all air transport activities of agencies. Airports in
Afghanistan follow standards of International Civil Aviation Organization to ensure the safety of
airports. Afghanistan Airports are classified into four groups as following (Afghanistan
Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036, 2017).
•
International Airports: these airports can handle international flights and major cargo
operations and tourism.
•
Regional Airports: these airports are used for domestic and short international flights.
•
Domestic Airports: for inexpensive and immediate flights to provinces theses airports
are used.
•
Access Airfields: these are for immediate access to remote regions of Afghanistan for
humanitarian aids.
Figure 22: Domestic Airline Services by Different Airline Agencies
Aviation
Pg. 33
Table 10: List of Airports Source: (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036, 2017)
No.
City Served
Airport
Province
ICAO Airport
1Code
IATA Airport
Code
International Airports
1
Kabul
Hamid Karzai
International Airport
Kabul
OAKB
KBL
2
Mazar-i-Sharif
Mazar-e-Sharif
International Airport
Balkh
OAMS
MZR
3
Kandahar
Kandahar International
Airport
Kandahar
OAKN
KDH
4
Herat
Herat International Airport
Herat
OAHR
HEA
Ghazni
OAGN
GZI
Nangarhar
OAJL
JAA
Kunduz
OAUZ
UND
Major Domestic Airports
1
Ghazni
Ghazni Airport
2
Jalalabad
Jalalabad Airport
3
Kunduz
Kunduz Airport
Regional Domestic Airports
1
1
Bamyan
Bamyan Airport
Bamyan
OABN
BIN
2
Lashkar Gah
(Bost)
Bost Airport
Helmand
OABT
BST
3
Chaghcharan
Chaghcharan Airport
Ghor
OACC
CCN
4
Darwaz
Darwaz Airport
Badakhshan
OADZ
DAZ
5
Farah
Farah Airport
Farah
OAFR
FAH
6
Khost
Khost Airfield
Khost
OAKS
KHT
7
Fayzabad
Fayzabad Airport
Badakhshan
OAFZ
FBD
8
Khwahan
Khwahan Airport
Badakhshan
OAHN
KWH
9
Koran va Monjan
Razer Airport
Badakhshan
OARZ
KUR
IATA = International Air Transport Association; ICAO = International Civil
Aviation Organization. Source: ADB staff and consultants.
Aviation
Pg. 34
10
Maymana
Maymana Airport
Faryab
OAMN
11
Nili
12
MMZ
Nili Airport
Daykundi
OANL
Qala i Naw
Qala i Naw Airport
Badghis
OAQN
13
Sheberghan
Sheberghan Airfield
Jowzjan
OASG
14
Sheghnan
Sheghnan Airport
Badakhshan
OASN
SGA
15
Taloqan
Taloqan Airport
Takhar
OATQ
TQN
16
Tarin Kowt
Tarin Kowt Airport
Urozgan
OATN
TII
17
Zaranj
Zaranj Airport
Nimruz
OAZJ
ZAJ
18
Sardeh Band
Sardeh Band Airport
Ghazni
OADS
SBF
Parwan
OAIX
OAI
Herat
OASD
OAH
Helmand
OAZI
OAZ
LQN
Military Airports
1
Bagram
Bagram Air Base
2
Shindand
Shindand Air Base
3
Bastion
Camp Bastion
Table 11: List of Small Local Airports Source: (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036,
2017)
No.
City Served
Airport
Province
ICAO
IATA
Airport Airport
Code2 Code
Small Local Airports
2
1
Eshkashem
Eshkashem Airport
Badakhsha
n
OAEM
2
Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad Airport
Nangarhar
OAGA
3
Gardez
Gardez Airport
Paktya
OAGZ
4
Muqur
Muqur Airport
Ghazni
OAMK
5
Panjab
Panjab Airport
Bamyan
OAPJ
GRG
IATA = International Air Transport Association; ICAO = International Civil Aviation Organization. Source: ADB
staff and consultants.
Aviation
Pg. 35
6
Sharana
Sharana Airstrip
Paktika
OASA
7
Taywara
Taywara Airport
Ghor
OATW
8
Yangi Qaleh
Yangi Qaleh Airport
Takhar
OAYQ
9
Yawan
Yawan Airport
Badakhsha
n
OAYW
10
Gardez
Forward Operating
Base Shank
Paktya
OAA
11
Tapa
Tapa Airport
Kabul
12
Sherber Too
Sherber Too Airport
13
Sarhawdza
Aarhawdza Airport
14
Qara Tepa
Qara Tepa Airport
15
Kotubkhel
Kotubkhel Airport
16
Dehdadi
Dehdadi Airport
Balkh,
MazareSharif
17
Delaram
Delaram Airport
Farah,
Delaram
District
18
Dostmohammadkha
n Kelay
Dostmohammadkhan
Kelay Airport
19
Charikar
Charikar Airport
20
Ajrestan
Ajrestan Airport
OAS
OASH
Aviation
Pg. 36
Figure 23: Afghanistan Airports Source: Author
Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036
Pg. 37
Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036
Asian Development Bank (ADB) prepared a 20 years horizon (from 2017 to 2036) called the
Transport Sector Master Plan update for follow up of the first transport master plan which was
for 5-year period in 2006. It is while that the first master plan aims which was targeting 12,000
kilometers of priority roads was accomplished by almost 80% by mid-2016. The new master
plan aim is to prioritize investments and t0 guide organizations that invest in transportation
sector. This master plan covers, railways, civil aviation, roads, trade logistics, urban transport,
and administrative and operative responsibilities related to infrastructure (Afghanistan
Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036, 2017).
This master plan proposed an unconstrained investment budget scenario (unconstrained both
regarding availability of funds and government capability in performing) of $25.9 billion which is
summarized in the table below. The investment covers both rehabilitation and reconstruction of
infrastructure and operation and maintenance. The plan is more delightful in railway sector for
two reasons basically; 1) access to abundant mineral resources and 2) getting advantage of
regional connectivity point that attracts regional transit traffic (Afghanistan Transport Sector
Master Plan 2017-2036, 2017).
Table 12: 20-year horizon investment allocation scenario source: (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master
Plan 2017-2036)
Sector
Amount ($ million)
Share (%)
Railways
11,176
43.1
Roads
13,000
50.2
Urban transport
853
3.3
Airports
568
2.2
Trade facilitation
300
1.2
25,897
100
Total
Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036
Pg. 38
Road Subsector Plan
With a total $13 billion investment, the highways and roads’ program comprise the following
major projects (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036, 2017).;
•
the Salang Tunnel with its access roads (survey, design and construction of this tunnel
with its access roads;
•
completing 474 km remained portion of Ring Road;
•
extending national and provincial road network by approximately 3,300 km (two northsouth routes and the east-west route)
•
construction of border roads (approximately 1,000 km)
•
operation and maintenance of 2,500 km of gravel and asphalt roads; and
•
operation and maintenance of main network of regional and national roads.
(Amiri, 2017)
Figure 24: Afghanistan Ring Road, Salang Tunnel, and Kabul Ring Road Source:(Amiri, 2017)
Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036
Pg. 39
Table 13: Planned projects and budget requirement Source: (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan
2017-2036, 2017)
Rank
Projects
Project
Cost
($ million)
1,115
Comments
High economic returns, owing to the tunnel’s
strategic location
1
Salang Tunnel
2
Ring Road missing links
711
Likely high economic viability, due to proximity
to Ring Road
3
Herat–Islam Qala
189
High significance for regional integration
4
Herat–Turghundee
168
High significance for regional integration
5
Andkhoy–Aqina
54
High significance for regional integration
6
Sherkan Bandar–Kunduz
95
High significance for regional integration
7
Torkham–Jalalabad
114
High significance for regional integration
8
Spin Boldak–Kandahar
156
High significance for regional integration
9
Hairaton–Mazar-e-Sharif
120
High significance for regional integration
10
North–South corridor 1: Dar-iSuf–Bamyan– Daykundi–
Kandahar
801
Increased network efficiency
11
Awlang–Pul e Doshakh
12
East–West corridor
777
Increased network efficiency; significant for
National Resources Corridor Initiative
13
North–South corridor 2:
Shebergan– Delaram–Nimroz
831
Increased network efficiency; significant for
National Resources Corridor Initiative
14
Ring Road–Takhta Bazar
15
16
32
Strategic location on the North–South link
32
High significance for regional integration
Faizabad–Eshkashem
234
High significance for regional integration
Zaranj–Dilaram
329
Mineral resources; regional integration; link to
Chabahar Port
Other national roads
Tertiary roads
1,209
600
Operations and maintenance
3,750
Contingencies
1,689
Total Investments
13,006
Program significant; projects yet to be
specified
Highly significant to enhance social stability
Highly significant to ensure network
sustainability
Pg. 40
Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036
Figure 25: Roads and Highways Budget and Time Source: (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan
2017-2036, 2017)
Railway Subsector Plan
The total investment for railway network is estimates as $11.2 billion which covers more than
5,000-kilometer line network including multimodal centers in Afghanistan. Afghanistan National
Railway Plan (AFRA) starts the process of developing the network gradually. Each link of the
network should be evaluated in order to assess its feasibility to large network of railway. The
existence mines and lower unit cost of railway will be the competitive advantage of the network
to attract sufficient mass of traffic in this mode (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan
2017-2036, 2017).
Urban Program
In 20 year horizon, a total of $854 million is considered for urban improvement. This program
construction of Kabul Ring Road, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Kabul, Public Transport,
implementation of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), public awareness programs to
improve traffic safety (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036, 2017).
Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036
Pg. 41
Table 14: Railway projects priority and investment (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036,
2017)
Rank
Projects
Project Cost
($ million)
Comments
1
Kushk–Torghondi
89
Vital border connector
2
Kunduz–Sherkhan border
167
Vital border connector
3
Herat–Qala i Naw–Maymana–
Sheberghan– Mazar-e-Sharif–
Kunduz
4
Herat–Ghoryan–Chah Sorkh
(Iran)
283
Vital border connector
5
Delaram–Zaranj
422
Mineral resources; regional integration;
link to Chabahar Port
6
Sheberghan–Andkhoy–Aqina
190
Important border connector
7
Kandahar–Spin Boldak
182
Important border connector
8
Herat–Farah–Delaram–
Kandahar–Kabul
2,168
Important southwest section of the rail
ring with access to border crossing
points
9
Torkham–Jalalabad–Kabul–
Parwan–
1,467
Western ring section of dubious
viability; low Afghanistan Railway
Authority (AFRA) priority
2,100
Bamyan–Baghlan–Kunduz–
Mazar-e-Sharif
High-priority Northern Line with best
prospects for viability
10
Kunduz–Takhar–Badakhshan–
Wakhan
1,330
Potentially important link to the People’s
Republic of China; dubious viability; low
AFRA priority
11
Herat–Ghor–Bamyan Railway
1,045
Link not essential and unlikely viable;
low priority also accorded by AFRA
12
Gereshk–Baram Chah
732
Contingencies
1,001
Total
11,176
Parallel north–south link
Pg. 42
Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036
Figure 26: Timeline for railway projects (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036, 2017)
Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036
Pg. 43
Civil Aviation Subsector Plan
A budget of $568 million is estimated for this subsector which majorly focuses on Hamid Karzai
International Airport that exceeds its capacity even though it was completed in 2014.
Additionally, the plan consists of regular maintenance of Afghanistan’s regional airports and
accommodating them with necessary equipment (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan
2017-2036, 2017).
Projects in Trade Facilitation
These projects are in high priority due to compliance to Central Asia Regional Economic
Cooperation Transport and Trade Facilitation Strategy 2020 and Afghanistan National Railway
Plan (ANRP). A tentative investment of $300 million is considered for these projects that
includes the following projects road safety, railway, urban transport in Kabul, aviation, and
roads (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan 2017-2036, 2017).
.
Kabul City Road Transportation
Pg. 44
Kabul City Road Transportation
Kabul
Kabul province is the capital and economic and political center of Afghanistan. Kabul city is
located in Kabul province as shown in the following map. Kabul city a mountainous city that
these mountains separate the city into east and west. The series of mountains restrict road
network construction to some extent. Further, 3.5% yearly growth rate for 15 years, makes this
city one fastest growing cities in the world (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan 20172036, 2017).
Figure 27: Kabul city location in Kabul Province Source: Author map from data of (Kabul Municipality , 2019 )
Kabul city is divided into 22 districts. The city center, which mainly is commercial center,
encompasses mainly District 1 and some portions of District 2, District 3, and District 4 (JICA,
2011) as shown in the following figure. The city follows a radial patter, and the urbanization
rate decreases as districts distance increases from city center.
Kabul City Road Transportation
Pg. 45
Figure 28: Kabul city districts, urbanized areas, and city center (JICA, 2011)
Some of key indicators of Kabul city is written in the following table.
Table 15: Key indicators of Kabul city as per 2015 Source: (Afghanistan Transport Sector Master Plan
2017-2036, 2017)
Total population (million)
3.7
Total land area (square kilometers [km2])
300
Registered vehicle fleet
520,000
Share in total land area
0.05%
Share in total population
12.30%
Share in gross domestic product
25.00%
Share in vehicle fleet
0.00%
Population density (people per km2)
12,333
Kabul City Road Transportation
Pg. 46
Country population density (people per km2)
46
People per Kabul vehicle fleet
7.1
Kabul City Transportation
Transportation system in Kabul city comprises basically road and air transportation. For air
transportation Kabul International Airport (KBL) is used while for road transportation a radial
network with a center in the city center used. The total network has 215 kilometer of arterial
roads and 141 kilometer of collective roads. There are 105 bridges which among them 72 are
vehicular bridges and 33 are pedestrian bridges (Kabul Municipality , 2019 ).
Destructive wars between 1992 and 2001 left majority of infrastructures including road
networks in ravaged situation ( Habibzai, et al., 2016). Additionally, lack of proper maintenance
and asset management added to the problem even more which lead to deterioration of majority
roads in the past three decades. On other hand, after establishment of new interim government
there has been much improvement in the road network of Kabul city ( Habibzai, et al., 2016).
In the Road Sector Master Plan (2017-2036) about $854 million is considered for Kabul city
transport improvement with the following details.
Table 16: Estimated investment on 20 year horizon (2017-2036) Source: (Afghanistan Transport Sector
Master Plan 2017-2036, 2017)
Investment
Kilometers
Cost Per Kilometer
($ million)
Total Cost
($ million)
Kabul Ring Road
95
1.5
142.5
Urban bus rapid transit corridors
100
3.5
350.0
Public transport
150
0.5
75.0
Traffic engineering
100
0.2
75.0
Intelligent transport
50.0
Social mitigation plans
30.0
Campaigns
20.0
Contingencies (15%)
111.0
Total
853.5
Pg. 47
Kabul City Road Transportation
Figure 29: Road network of Kabul Map Source: Author from data of Kabul Municipality
Pg. 48
Kabul City Road Transportation
Modes of Transport and Trips Distribution
Economic condition of people and high density of city favor sustainable modes of
transportation highly in Kabul city. According to a study conducted by Japan International
Cooperation Agency in 2009, only 4.5% of trips are by private cars which is quite good. Public
transport mode comprises the highest proportion which is followed by walk and bike modes as
the following figure and table (JICA, 2009).
Table 17: Transport Mode Share in Kabul Source:
(JICA, 2009)
Mode Trips Share
Walk
Bike
Walk
32.70%
Microbus
Bike
11.10%
Minibus
Microbus
17.50%
Minibus
6.40%
Car
Large Bus
14.10%
Truck
Taxi
11.60%
Car
4.30%
Truck
2.30%
Total
100
Large Bus
Taxi
Figure 30: Transport Mode Share in Kabul Source:
(JICA, 2009).
City center in Kabul has an area of approximately 4.8 square kilometer which mostly comprise
the first and second districts and partially the fourth and tenth districts has the highest
attraction of travels. This is because of most of job centers and official authorities are located in
the city center. Further, we can see that urban travels decrease as we move away from city
center and this is due to low city density of those regions of Kabul city. This is specially the
case for districts 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 which are not considered as urbanized areas in the city.
Pg. 49
Kabul City Road Transportation
Figure 31: Kabul City Transport Mode Share by Districts Source: (JICA, 2009)
Figure 32: Trips Generation and Attraction by Districts Source: (JICA, 2009)
Kabul City Road Transportation
Pg. 50
Roads Pavement Condition and Intersections and Road Safety
There are more than 150 intersection in Kabul; however, only small proportion have signals (18
of them). In majority of cases traffic is guided and directed by traffic police in the intersections.
Congestion at majority of these intersections are very high and often includes crashes
(Habibzai, et al., 2016).
The vehicle number in Kabul city increases in very fast pace with estimated 11% increase in
population every year. There were 341,047 vehicles in Kabul city in 2005 which cars comprised
major proportion (almost 60%). In 2010, on the other hand, the total number of vehicles were
estimated as 1,224,000 vehicles (Habibzai, et al., 2016). This is while that Kabul city has
limited capacity and cannot handle such enormous increase in vehicles population. Therefore,
we experience high congestions in the city center entire day and in peak hours in majority of
intersections.
On account of war from 1992 to 2001 approximately 60% of main roads were destroyed and
maintenance during this period was lacking (Habibzai, et al., 2016). However, after
establishment of new government there has been much improvements in condition of roads
(Habibzai, et al., 2016).
Traffic crash rate in Kabul is high due to lack of driver’s education, poor driving and lack of law
enforcement mainly. The exact figures are not available due to the fact that majority of crashes
are not recorded and are mainly solved immediately by police traffic on the site of crash.
Figure 33: A road in the downtown. (Telegraph, n.d.)
Kabul City Road Transportation
Pg. 51
Public Transport of Kabul
Public transport consists of cars (5 passenger), small vans (7 passenger), mini-buses with
capacity of about 28 passenger and normal buses with capacity of nearly 50 passengers.
Public transit has been successful in Kabul city due to economic matters (low average income)
and high density of the city. During peak hours, the demand for public transit becomes very
high and buses are overloaded to 1.5 of their capacity due to very high demand (Habibzai, et
al., 2016). There is not schedule available for public transit normally but the frequency and
availability of them especially in case of cars and small vans exclude the necessity for
schedule due to high frequency. Specified stops are only the case for mini-buses and buses
but not for small vans and cars. Nowadays, cars (5 passenger) is very popular mode of
transportation due to its vast availability. Although its designed for maximum of 5 passengers, it
is normally used for six passengers due to high price of fuel and other costs.
Milli Bus
Milli Bus authority establishment dates to late 1920 under Ministry of Transport and Civil
Aviation. This authority runs public transport system of Kabul city with buses. In 1979 this Milli
Bus also ran Kabul Trolleybus alongside with its regular buses in Kabul (Wikipedia, 2019). The
Figure 34: One of Milli Bus Authority bus in Kabul downtown in 1978 (Wikipedia, 2019)
Kabul City Road Transportation
Pg. 52
system with its workshops and parking were destroyed due to civil war in 1992. After
establishment of new interim government in 2001, 1000 buses were gifted to Afghanistan from
India, Pakistan, Japan, and Iran. However, because of lack of spare parts and workshops there
became out of operation in 2014. Influence of Milli Bus authority in providence of public
transport is marginal due to lack of vehicles as more than 90% of public transit services are
provided by private individuals (Habibzai, et al., 2016).
There is very high demand and success for public transport improvement in Kabul city. Public
interest for mass transit is high due to low cost and lack of other transportation modes.
Nowadays, during peak hours even small cars are not available for people to travel, and
people stand on downtown stations for very long time to find a public vehicle to go back to
home after work. Even in some cases the have to walk long distances if they do not find a
vehicle. On the hand, high level pollution and congestion require a decent public transport to
deal with these two matters.
Kabul Trolleybus
This public transport system was built by the Czechoslovak in 1976 in Kabul which was
launched for public use in Feb 09, 1979. There were 25 Skoda 9TrH23 trolleybuses in the
beginning of the operation that was increased to 86 in 1988. Millie Bus authority was operating
the system with drivers who were women mostly. The first route connected downtown of Kabul
(Pamir Cinema) to western of Kabul or Kote Sangi (Silo Road). The next route was constructed
by Afghans Themselves which connected Silo Road back to downtown At Deh Afghanan, and
to Jadayi Maiwand and textile factory. The total length of the network was 12.5 km with three
routes which were differentiated by their destinations (Wikipedia, 2019). Trolleybuses were
cheapest mode at that time and due to this they were overcrowded. The buses which were
operated by private companies were five times of trolleybuses costly at that time (Strana,
2011).
The system was successful and popular in the city due to lower cost than regular bus system
of Millie Bus. The trolleybus system transferred approximately 21 million passengers annually.
Due to wars, the system ceased in 1992 but the steel poles still can be seen in Kabul city
(Wikipedia, 2019).
Pg. 53
Kabul City Road Transportation
Figure 35: Trolleybus routes map Source: (Strana, 2011)
Figure 36: Trolleybus in Kabul city in 1977 Source: (Strana, 2011)
Works Cited
Pg. 54
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Mohammad Tamim Kashifi