The Tejen–Sarahs–Mashhad railway, built in 1996 by Turkmenistan and Iran, links Central Asian-, Russian-, and European rail systems with Turkey, South Asia and the Persian Gulf.

In February 2006, the final construction phase began on the Trans-Karakum Railway, a direct link between Ashgabat and Daşoguz that halves travel time between the southern and northern parts of the country.

It links Uzen in Kazakhstan with Bereket - Etrek in Turkmenistan and ends at Gorgan in Iran's Golestan province.

[3] The project is estimated to have cost $620 million, which was jointly funded by the governments of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and the Asian Development Bank.

[6] The rail line connecting Mary to Serhetabat was completed in 1898, and the train ferry between Kislovodsk (Türkmenbaşy and Baku began operating in 1905.

[9] It was extended 38 km to Andkhoy in January 2021,[10] and is intended eventually to become part of a railway corridor through northern Afghanistan, linking it via Sherkhan Bandar, Mazar-i-Sharif and Kunduz to Tajikistan.

The Asian Development Bank reported in 2021,In 2019, TRA had a rolling stock fleet of 119 diesel locomotives, 10,056 freight wagons, and 425 passenger cars.

[15] In Turkmenistan, starting from 2023, a project was actively discussed by Turkmen and Russian officials to build a sub-high-speed railway (at a speed of 140 km/h[16]) line from the city of Arkadag to Ashgabat and Avaza.