Home
After Decades of War, Iraq Adds Fleet of New Trains to Its Aging Railway
By Keith Barry 03.24.146:30 AM
Brand new trains were delivered to Iraq for use on a popular railway route, another sign that the country is rebuilding the public transportation network that had fallen into disrepair over decades of neglect and war.
The 10 new trains will roll on the Baghdad-Basra line, between Iraq’s capital and one of its key cities. It’s a line that’s been of strategic importance since it was built as part of the Baghdad Railway in the years surrounding World War I, and now it’s getting trains capable of 100 mph.
That’s a big step for a country that only had two passenger trains as of this summer. And that old rolling stock could only travel around 40 mph on a 400-mile trip.
The new trains, built by China’s CSR, were delivered in February and will cut the journey time in half. They’re each made up of two diesel locomotives and eight passenger cars capable of holding 343 passengers, and come standard with air conditioning and sleeper compartments.
According to Railway News, the new trains are specially designed for use in Iraq’s hot desert climate, and even on-board diagnostic systems are meant to work in a dusty environment.
There was talk in 2011 that Iraq would build a high-speed railway from Baghdad to Basra, with trains capable of speeds upwards of 160 mph. That plan fizzled, along with a few others.
But Iraq still has big plans for improving public transit. It’s upgrading infrastructure across the country, and in 2012 built a new line to carry religious pilgrims to an important holy site. It also signed contracts to study elevated and underground metro systems for Baghdad.
Those plans certainly sound ambitious, but deliveries of actual trains are a good first step.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
By Keith Barry 03.24.146:30 AM
Brand new trains were delivered to Iraq for use on a popular railway route, another sign that the country is rebuilding the public transportation network that had fallen into disrepair over decades of neglect and war.
The 10 new trains will roll on the Baghdad-Basra line, between Iraq’s capital and one of its key cities. It’s a line that’s been of strategic importance since it was built as part of the Baghdad Railway in the years surrounding World War I, and now it’s getting trains capable of 100 mph.
That’s a big step for a country that only had two passenger trains as of this summer. And that old rolling stock could only travel around 40 mph on a 400-mile trip.
The new trains, built by China’s CSR, were delivered in February and will cut the journey time in half. They’re each made up of two diesel locomotives and eight passenger cars capable of holding 343 passengers, and come standard with air conditioning and sleeper compartments.
According to Railway News, the new trains are specially designed for use in Iraq’s hot desert climate, and even on-board diagnostic systems are meant to work in a dusty environment.
There was talk in 2011 that Iraq would build a high-speed railway from Baghdad to Basra, with trains capable of speeds upwards of 160 mph. That plan fizzled, along with a few others.
But Iraq still has big plans for improving public transit. It’s upgrading infrastructure across the country, and in 2012 built a new line to carry religious pilgrims to an important holy site. It also signed contracts to study elevated and underground metro systems for Baghdad.
Those plans certainly sound ambitious, but deliveries of actual trains are a good first step.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
