page_title: Transport in Turkmenistan
section_title: Railways
hierarchical_section_title: Transport in Turkmenistan / Railways
caption_attribution_description: English: A newly constructed railway station in Bereket city, October 2013
context_page_description: Transport in Turkmenistan includes such as roadways, railways, airways, seaways, waterways, oil, gas and water pipelines.
  The transportation and transport infrastructure in Turkmenistan are the fastest developing sectors of the national economy.
  During Soviet times Turkmenistan's transportation infrastructure was in general disrepair and neglected.
  Since 1991 Turkmenistan has completed a number of major national and international transportation projects.
  Turkmenistan is also part of the international transport corridor created under the Ashgabat agreement, signed by India, Oman, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, for creating an international transport and transit corridor facilitating transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.
context_section_description: In 2014 Turkmenistan had 4,980 km (3,094 mi) of rail line, most of which runs close to the northern and southern borders. The Tejen – Serakhs – Mashhad railway, built in 1996 by Turkmenistan and Iran, has become a vital link of Central Asian, Russian, and European rail systems with South Asia and the Persian Gulf. In February 2006, the final construction phase began on the Trans-Karakum Railway, a direct link between Ashgabat and Dashoguz that will halve travel time between the southern and northern borders. Urban transportation systems are being upgraded in Ashgabat, Dashoguz, and Mary.
  The Kazakhstan - Turkmenistan - Iran railway link is a part of the North–South Transport Corridor and is a 677 km (421 mi) long railway line connecting Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan with Iran and the Persian Gulf. It links Uzen in Kazakhstan with Bereket - Etrek in Turkmenistan and end at Gorgan in Iran's Golestan province. In Iran, the railway will be linked to national network making its way to the ports of the Persian Gulf. The project is estimated to cost $620m which is being jointly funded by the governments of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran.
  The project also aims to create a multi-modal transport system to provide seamless connectivity in the region for passenger travel as well. The link of the North-South Transnational Railway will run up to 137 km in Kazakhstan, 470 km in Turkmenistan and 70 km in Iran.
  Work in Turkmenistan commenced in Bereket in December 2007 and in Kazakhstan in July 2009.
  In May 2013, a 311 km (193 mi) Bereket – Uzen section of the 677 km (421 mi) North-South Transnational Railway was completed. 
  In February 2014 256 km (159 mi) long section between Bereket and Etrek was completed. Currently railway stations along the new railway are being constructed.
  The Kazakhstan - Turkmenistan - Iran railway link will be officially inaugurated in October 2014.
  In late 2016, a railway line from Atamyrat south to Imamnazar on the border with Afghanistan and further to Aqina in Andkhoy District was opened. It is expected to become part of a railway corridor through northern Afghanistan.
caption: Bereket Railway Station in (Kazandjik) is an important crossroad of the Trans-Caspian Railway and North-South Transnational Railway.
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