The Suez Canal changed the geopolitical and geo-economic landscape of the world. Before the Suez Canal, South Africa was vital as a pit stop for every ship going to Europe - Asia route. After the Suez Canal, South Africa’s prominence fell in favour of Egypt. Today, Iran is in shoes of South Africa, and after construction of Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Line, Pakistan can become Egypt for Central Asia. UAP promises to cut five days journey to the Arabian Sea as compared to the current Iranian route taken by Central Asian Republics. But there is a fine print, a technical hitch you may say, which can prevent this.
Every time a train crosses a border, it literally falls off the tracks. That’s the fate of cargo when two mismatched gauges meet—a phenomenon called “break of gauge.” For the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway, gauge choice isn’t a dry technicality: it’s the very fulcrum of who wins the next Great Game in Central Asia.
When two rail networks of different widths collide, freight must be unloaded from one set of wagons and shifted onto another. That process adds labour, equipment and handling time at every border crossing. For a single container, transshipment can tack on 12–24 hours and 10–20 percent extra cost before it even rolls on to the next country.
Today’s proposed trans-Afghan link threads through three incompatible systems: Uzbekistan’s 1520 mm Russian gauge, Iran’s 1435 mm standard gauge in western Afghanistan and Pakistan’s 1676 mm broad gauge. At each frontier lies a breakpoint where goods stall and wallets bleed.
In the 19th-century Great Game, break of gauge was weaponized to define imperial spheres of influence. Afghanistan, determined to remain neutral, refused rail construction altogether—so neither Britain nor Russia could rush troops or supplies across Herat or Kandahar. The result was freedom from invasion, but also from the trade boom rails brought elsewhere.
Fast-forward to today: Iran has laid standard-gauge track into Herat and is pressing Kabul to adopt 1435 mm nationwide (including UAP railway line). From Bandar Abbas and Chabahar, Iranian exports could slide uninterrupted over Afghan steel all the way to Central Asia. Gwadar and Karachi would be sidelined.
With no break of gauge, Iranian goods will undercut Pakistani exporters by virtue of lower handling fees and faster delivery. Afghan and Uzbek/Central Asian markets—hungry for textiles, machinery and staples—would shift their sourcing to Tehran. A standard gauge in Afghanistan for UAP railway line would be most detrimental to Pakistani interests as unloading/loading of cargo from trains would be done twice at TWO break of gauge points, i.e. between Pakistan-Afghanistan and Afghanistan-Uzbekistan border crossing points. This would make our trading goods uncompetitive to Iran and Pakistan’s historical trading links would fray, and our ports’ promise as regional gateways would dim.
Some propose instead a full Russian-gauge corridor from Peshawar through Kandahar to Tashkent. That vision courts seamless freight to Moscow and beyond. But we must ask: did Pakistan invest in UAP railway line to feed Russia, or to empower our exporters in Punjab and Sindh for Central Asia and Afghanistan?
Ambitions of a Russia-Europe freight pipeline risk burying Pakistan’s immediate interests under distant geopolitical dreams. China and Turkey already dominate Eurasian corridors—our few wagons would be lost in the avalanche of cargo from the north.
By contrast, extending Pakistan’s broad gauge straight through Afghanistan creates a single uninterrupted artery from Karachi’s port terminals to Uzbekistan’s markets. No off-loads at Quetta or Mazar-i-Sharif; no extra crew shifts at Kabul; just one continuous steel ribbon to Termez (Uzbekistan).
Broad gauge also carries heavier axle loads—up to 25 tonnes per axle, versus 22 tonnes on standard gauge—boosting per-train payloads by 10–15 percent. Eliminating break-of-gauge can cut per-ton freight costs by at least 20 percent, according to World Bank estimates for similar corridors. Those savings translate into cheaper fertiliser for Punjab farmers, cheaper cotton for our industry and more competitive textiles for European buyers.
Rail corridors aren’t just tracks—they are instruments of influence. A broad-gauge UAP railway positions Pakistan as the indispensable gateway to Central Asia, deepens Islamabad’s diplomatic clout, and anchors Kabul within our economic orbit. It strengthens our ambition of integrated regional prosperity, linking Gwadar, Karachi and Lahore to Central Asia.
Gauge choice is never just steel and sleepers—it’s a statement of intent. Enforcing broad gauge railway line cements Pakistan’s role as the region’s commercial hub, preserves our competitive edge and ensures that UAP rail serves Pakistani trade interests first. As the Great Game enters its 21st-century chapter, let’s not let another strategic detail, or hitch, derail our future. Let’s make this Suez Canal work for us, instead of serving others.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The writer is a scholar of strategic affairs with publications in national and international journals on the topics of Railways and Central Asia