The choice of future track gauges in Afghanistan presents several difficulties. Afghanistan is the cross-roads of Asia, surrounded by three different kinds of gauge, and yet is almost completely without railways.
Until the 21st century, there were less than 25 kilometres of railway inside the country, all of which is built to 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in) Russian gauge. For strategic reasons, past Afghan governments preferred to discourage the construction of railways which could aid foreign interference in Afghanistan by Britain or Russia.
Iran to the west uses standard gauge, 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in), as does China to the east; to the south, Pakistan uses 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) Indian gauge, while to the north, the central Asian republics of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan use 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in) gauge.
In 2010, the gauge question was resolved so that the internal network would be initially 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in).