A goods train carrying aid for stricken Afghanistan rolled over the Friendship Bridge from Uzbekistan on Sunday, the first time the bridge had opened to traffic for four years.
The bridge was reopened following talks in Tashkent between US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Uzbek President Islam Karimov on Saturday.
The train, bringing some 15 coachloads of flour across the Amu Darya river and flying the Uzbek flag, shunted across the symbolic midway line marking the border between the two countries and came to a halt on the Afghan side, steaming up as it prepared to head for an as yet unknown destination.
A sign in Russian on the side of the coaches read: "Aid from the Uzbek people to the fraternal people of Afghanstan."
The bridge is likely to become the main channel for relief supplies to the north of Afghanistan, where experts say large supplies of aid are urgently needed.
Powell, who arrived in Uzbekistan on Friday, hailed Tashkent's decision to reopen the Friendship Bridge in spite of continuing fears of possible border incursions.
He later flew on to Kazakhstan and was due to arrive in Moscow later on Sunday for a two-day visit including talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin – Afghanistan (AFP)
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