Taftan (Balochistan)
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Taftan تُربت |
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| State : |
 Pakistan
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| Province : | Balochistan | ||
| Coordinates : |
28 ° 57 ' N , 61 ° 35' E
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| Time zone : | PST ( UTC + 5 ) | ||
| Telephone code : | (+92) 0825
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Taftan ( Urdu تفتان, Baluchi تفتا) is a small town in the Chagai District in Balochistan Province , Pakistan .
Geographical location
Taftan is located in the far west of the Balochistan Province, directly on the border with Iran , and is the only official border crossing from Pakistan into Iran. It is about 80 km as the crow flies to the border with Afghanistan (province of Nimrus ) in the north. The place takes its name after about 55 km south-west lying on Iranian territory, 3940 m high mountain massive of the volcano Kuh-e-Taftan . Locals also refer to the place as the "Road to London", as smuggling is flourishing here. The area belongs to the inner-Iranian basin landscape without any drainage and consists largely of mountainous desert.
traffic
The national road N-40 from the provincial capital Quetta , located around 600 km northeast, reaches the border with Iran here or at the “Kuh-i-Taftan” border crossing. The Iranian border town Mīrjāveh in the province of Sistan and Balochistan is about 10 km northwest, the provincial capital Zahedan about 90 km northwest of the border crossing.
The approximately 750 km long Quetta – Zahedan railway ( Trans-Baluchistan Railway ) runs parallel to the N-40 national road ; it also crosses the border in Taftan and continues to Zahedan. The line is the only rail link between Pakistan and Iran and part of the only rail link between Europe and the Indian subcontinent . Twice today operates a passenger train in the month, and since June 2015, moves back a container - pair of trains per week.
Footnotes
- ^ Zahedan - Quetta line . In: IBSE telegram 296, July 2015, p. 7.
- ↑ Zahidan Passenger Train timing. In Pakistan Railway Time Table , accessed August 20, 2017