The series of articles from the “Embassy Life”, dedicated to the railways of the Persian Gulf countries, has a very optimistic tone. We do not take credit for this fact at all, but we cannot claim that it distorts reality: agree it is difficult to imagine anything else in the texts that telling about the development of an important logistics industry that affects the economy and transport accessibility of the country’s regions. However, today, when it is time to talk about the travel system of Iraq, a positive tone really seems inappropriate.
The history of the development of Iraqi networks is complex. It begins in 1914, when the new Baghdad Railway, which is sometimes called by publicists “the road that divided the whole world,”[1] almost connected Istanbul, Samarra and Baghdad with two capitals – Vienna and Berlin. Obviously, the new route, which shortened the time of communication between Europe and the coast of the Indian Ocean (and the road according to the projects ended in Kuwait), could not but cause dissatisfaction with the owner of the Suez Canal – Great Britain. In addition, Russia also feared that the new railway, with additional development, would allow the Ottoman Empire to increase the mobility of troops in the Transcaucasian region. Among those who, to put it mildly, “did not like” the new logistics network were France, Belgium and, in fact, those countries that during the First World War would take the side of the Entente. It is not known for sure whether the Baghdad transport line was the main reason for the beginning of all the events of 1914-1918. However, its construction was clearly among them.
Subsequently, part of the Iraqi railway was extended along the Mesopotamia Valley, which connected several regions of Iraq. At the same time, the new track was a meter wide – later in the 1980s it was expanded to standard (approx. – European) sizes, however, some of these tracks were never connected to the Samarra-Baghdad branch and gradually fell into disrepair. The misadventures of the railway network did not end there [2]– the operation of the Baghdad Road continued at the beginning of this century. At the same time, in the 2000s, the elements of the canvas were severely worn out and practically did not undergo any replacement.
Despite the fact that there are attempts by the Iraqi authorities to modernize the country’s railways, this process was no less complicated than the entire history of this industry. To some extent, it is even much more difficult, since the railway was severely damaged during the Iraq War. In the conditions of hostilities, it is not difficult to assume what could have caused the destruction of the tracks[3] – alternatively, the “stumbling block” could have been the transportation of oil, for the possession of which various groups fought during the civil conflict that began.
The country began to restore communication even before the 2003, but the bulk of the work in the railway industry occurred in 2012: it was then that suburban lines in Baghdad and intercity routes from Baghdad to Basra, Fallujah and Mosul were restored. Moreover, two years later, a message was launched between Basra and Baghdad. Unfortunately, in the same 2014, terrorist groups again stopped traffic on the railway line to Mosul due to the invasion of the city. When the settlement was liberated, it turned out that the entire railway infrastructure was not subject to operation. The latest news related to Mosul appeared only three years later: then the Iraqi authorities announced that work was being prepared to restore the railway station and build a completely new line to the Turkish border, bypassing Syria.
Now, it is also known that Al-Burhan Group, a multidisciplinary Iraqi company engaged in the production and installation of reinforced concrete structures, plays a role in the repair and potential construction of railways. In addition to railways, the company is the main partner of the country’s aviation industry.
“Al-Burhan Group has been working along side the Iraqi Republic Railways for several years, bringing technology and raw power into the locomotive industry. Al-Burhan Group has been the main supplier of concrete sleepers for the rail way network, delivering large quantities as and when the need arises,[4]” the company’s official website says.
In addition, the National Railway company of the Republic of Iraq is operating in the country: now it is quite difficult to say about its plans and projects that may be under development (approx. – unfortunately, the editorial office could not verify the information on the official IRR website), but the Iraqi Republic Railways Company is still a symbol of Iraq’s development. After all, as you know, the railway network is an artery for the economy of the whole country.
Finally, the latest news related to the development of Iraqi transport routes appeared online in 2021[5]. Then the profile portal Railway Supply (approx. – with reference to the Railway Gazette) reported on the signing of the Iran-Iraq agreement on the construction of 30 kilometers of railway. These routes should not only connect the stations of Shalamcheh — Basra, but also the two countries with a common communication.
“There is a clear schedule in the agreement, and one of its points is that the implementation of the project will begin within the next month. For almost 20 years, we have been conducting numerous negotiations with the Iraqi side on the construction of the Shalamcheh—Basra railway, and many memoranda were signed that did not lead to the desired result,” Rostam Ghasemi, Minister of Roads and Urban Development of Iran, said after the signing.
The Baghdad Agreement will contribute not only to the improvement of transport and passenger logistics, but also ensure the growth of trade and cooperation with Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and other countries.
Unfortunately, it remains unknown how far the countries have progressed in the implementation of this project. Nevertheless, even just informing about the agreement allows us to hope that the future of Iraq’s railways is not as bleak as their past. We hope that some time later “Embassy Life” will be able to write a more optimistic article about the country’s railway network.
[1] https://diletant.media/blogs/62123/402/
[2] https://www.sinfin.net/railways/world/iraq.html
[3] https://m.lenta.ru/news/2003/12/08/train/
[4] http://www.alburhangroup.com/railway.php
[5] https://www.railway.supply/podpisano-soglashenie-o-zheleznodorozhnom-soobshhenii-iran-irak/
[1] https://diletant.media/blogs/62123/402/
[2] https://www.sinfin.net/railways/world/iraq.html
[3] https://m.lenta.ru/news/2003/12/08/train/
[4] http://www.alburhangroup.com/railway.php
[5] http://www.alburhangroup.com/railway.php
[6] https://www.railway.supply/podpisano-soglashenie-o-zheleznodorozhnom-soobshhenii-iran-irak/
