The Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhundi announced that agreement has been reached between Iran and Iraq on railway link at Shalamcheh border point. He said the border bridge in that route will be completed in 18 months.
The Iraqi Transportation Minister Baqer Al-Zubaidi also said that the Iran-Iraq rail link through Shalamcheh-Basra and also through Khosravi border will become operational as soon as possible.
A new railway line that will enable Pilgrims from Iran to visit the country’s two Shiite sites is nearing completion. Thus, 30km of railway will be built in Iraq to Najaf and Karbala and a river crossing at Shalamcheh will need to be built to achieve this.
Iraq has asked Iran for help in building the new railway between Najaf and Karbala to enable Pilgrims to pass between the two cities. Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli announced that Iraq has asked for Iran’s help in the construction of Najaf-Karbala railway.
On average, 35 million tonnes of rail freight has passed between the two countries in the last few years but this new railway investment should boost that by 198 million tonnes per year.
The railway will also carry 58 million passengers per year, as trade strengthens and deepens between the two countries.
Following the preliminary agreements between officials from Iran and Iraq, the Basra-Shalamcheh railway was constructed 15 kilometers up to the Iraqi border.
In order to be completed, the railway needs 37 kilometers more construction work and a 700 meter long bridge to be constructed. In addition to efforts to connect Iran’s railway to Iraq, the Iranian government is planning to extend the domestic Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway to the Republic of Azerbaijan.
“Iran’s railway system is linked to railways of Central Asia, China and Russia and if the 32-kilometer Shalamcheh-Basra railway will be constructed, Iraq can transfer goods and passengers to Russia and China and vice versa,” Minister Abbas Akhoundi added.
Iran is set to be a transportation hub in the region. In December last, Iran, along with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan inaugurated the long awaited Kazakhstan – Turkmenistan – Iran railway corridor, part of the North-South international transport corridor, which will facilitate freight transport from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf and its launch would reduce the route of freight transport between the two regions by over 600 km. The corridor will be the most important international connection between China and Europe.
Moreover, in an effort to speed up the economic and transportation development, Iran and Turkey have agreed, this February, to establish the second railway between the two countries to boost bilateral trade.
by Elena Ilie
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