A train has run for the first time on Afghanistan's only major railway, between the Uzbek border and the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.
The seven-carriage train pulled into a new station in the city after travelling the 75km route without any cargo.
The line was completed last year at a cost of $US165 million.
The BBC reports the new line could also become a supply route for NATO forces in Afghanistan.
The first journey on Wednesday was intended to test the track and signals.
President Hamid Karzai is expected to attend the formal opening of the project.
