iraq to rebuild rail system as reconstruction gathers pace - small whiteboard1

BAGHDAD (Reuters)-
On a shabby, rusty train just leaving Baghdad for the southern city of Basra, Riyadh Saleh kept moving from carriage to carriage for a comfortable plane
Qualified seats
Saleh is about 200 to take 25-year-
The old diesel train to Basra last week;
He was attracted by fares as low as 7,500 dinars. $6. 50)
Seat of 600 (375 mile)journey.
But like many others, he felt it.
Especially the highest speed of the train 60-70 km/hour -
Left a lot of need.
"The train was uncomfortable and wobbled.
I don't feel safe.
I think it will turn over at any time.
In addition, it was slow, "said retired civil servants, who traveled with 10 other family members to Basra for the wedding of relatives.
After decades of war, sanctions and a recession, Iraq's infrastructure has run out.
In a country full of ruins and incomplete buildings, investment is needed in almost every industry, including electricity and sewage systems.
But the country is making plans to rebuild its historic railway and become a transit hub for shipments from Asia to Iraq's neighbors and beyond.
The Iraqi railway can be traced back to 100;
In 1912, Germany established its first line of defense under the Ottoman Empire.
The line connecting the town of dujar, 60 km kilometers north of Baghdad, was completed in 1914.
In the political and economic turmoil of the past few decades, the network has been ignored.
There are currently only two working passenger trains in the country, state officials-
The railway company admitted that the passenger and cargo volume of the railway company was not enough to pay the wages of its employees, not to mention the transformation of the railway network.
This leaves Iraq with little public transport to connect all parts of the troubled country.
Most people rely on minibuses and taxis for national travel, which can be expensive and dangerous on poorly maintained roads.
"Our passengers have the right to complain because when they go abroad, they see modern trains with new technologies and advanced technologies, and our lines are the same old things, they say, 'I want our trains to be like the rest of the world,' said Hadi Ali, manager of the train station in downtown Baghdad.
Plans to restore the railway system are accelerating as the country's oil boom and full rebuilding.
If successful, it can not only gain economic benefits by promoting trade and domestic tourism, but also by making travel easier and possibly even contributing to the political unity of the country.
Last year, the railway company completed the construction of a 32 km-kilometer line between Musayab south of Baghdad and the holy city of kbala in order to transfer thousands of pilgrims during the Shiite religious festival.
It is also building a new railway parallel to the old Baghdad.
The cost of a bus pull line of about $0. 7 billion;
The line will be put into use by the end of this year.
Currently, for most days, only about 250 passengers are on the Iraqi railway, but when the New Baghdad --
The bus pull line has been completed and the figure could soar to between 2,000 and 3,000, officials said.
A line connecting Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul is still out of service, but traffic officials hope to start renovating next year.
Last year, Iraq signed an agreement to import 10 trains from China, with 450 passengers per train and 140 passengers running at a speed.
160 km/hour, $0. 115 billion.
Iraq currently has a rail line of about 2,000 km kilometers and hopes to eventually increase that to 10,000 km.
Rail, electrified trains run at speeds of up to 200
250 km/hour connecting all major Iraqi cities and neighbouring countries.
Mohammad Ali Hashem, project manager of the railway company, said the goal was to unload goods from Asia in southern Iraqi ports and ship them to Europe through Turkey through the northern Iraqi city of Zakho.
"So it takes 24 hours to get through Iraq, not a long trip to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean.
Iraq will become a transit point for cargo transfers.
"Hashem expects that once the rail project is completed within five years, the annual shipment through Iraq is approximately 25 million tons, with an estimated cost of more than $60 billion.
At present, there are enormous obstacles to such an idea.
First, financing;
This year, the government allocated only $0. 175 billion to the project of the Iraqi Railway Company.
Hashem said there are two options for funding projects: annual funding from the government and effective borrowing from companies employed in infrastructure work --
These companies will be paid on staggered schedules.
However, the staggered payment model will require the Iraqi Parliament to adopt an infrastructure law that has been delayed for several years due to political wrangling.
It is not clear when it may pass.
Khudhair Abbas, deputy head of another transportation project company operated by the Ministry of Transport, said that the Iraqi railway is not yet attractive to foreign investors, because before the completion of the big FAW in the southern port of the country, these railways will not be profitable, and it will take a few years.
In the long run, Iraq may be able to find funds for its railways;
The International Monetary Fund expects its oil exports to grow to $152 billion in 2018 from $94 billion last year, and government funding has increased.
But there are other problems.
Talib Kadhim, head of the operations and transportation department of the railway company, said that many traders tend to transport goods through private car carriers, although the price is higher, because the company provides the doorto-
Door service and train station are far from the city center.
Security concerns remain.
The recent negotiations with a foreign company were to transfer crude oil by rail to Akashat, near the Jordan border, to foreign countries, but the increasingly volatile situation in the western Anbar province, which borders Syria, undermined the negotiations.
"When stability is achieved, the transportation in the country will increase in general," Kadhim said . ".
In the Baghdad station hall, the ticket booth is still closed except for the windows in Baghdad --
The bus pulls the line and a small whiteboard shows the train time and fare written in red.
"I have a lot of memories of the train in the 1960 s," said Emad Maki, 54, a unemployed man who traveled to Basra with his wife and four children to express his condolences for the death of a relative.
"I hope our trains are the same as those in Europe.
It's hard to achieve, but I believe things will get better if there is determination.
It would be great if we achieved 50% of what others have.