The railroad connecting Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, with the Uzbekistan border town of Hairatan, has opened, putting into operation a key node of the U.S. military's overland transport route through Central Asia to Afghanistan. reports Central Asia Online:

TASHKENT – Service began last weekend on the long-awaited Hairatan-to-Mazar-i-Sharif railway.

Uzbekistan Railways (UTY) built the route, which was scheduled to open in July before contingencies forced a postponement.

“We have been working out the route’s status as well as who will run it and how (since early July),” said Rasul Holikov of UTY.

Uzbekistan and Afghanistan signed a three-year cortract August 4 under which Uzbekistan will provide commercial services and operate the 75km railway.

Curiously, the report doesn't mention the military origins of the railroad, even though the website is run by US Central Command. It does, at the end, refer lightly to the security issues related to operating a train in Afghanistan:

“I drove a locomotive through all of the stations up to Mazar-i-Sharif,” said Umid Hursandov, a UTY engineer. “Like all other the new railways built by our company, (it) is reliable and meets all standards. Many railway workers in our country are worried about their safety if they work this route. Of course, it would be foolish not to recognise that tension in the region persists, but I saw sound security along the entire railway and soldiers were guarding every crossing and important railway yard.”

It's also curious that no one else seems to be reporting this, but anyway, for more on the military aspect, see this previous post.