Plans to construct a new Baghdad-Tehran railway link will be discussed during a visit of an Iraqi ministry of transport delegation to the Iranian capital later this month, reported Al-Rafidain. The former foes, which fought a bitter decade-long war in the 1980’s, shelved early plans to lay a railway line between the southern Iraqi city Basra and Iran's Ahvaz city.
In mid-September, IRNA reported that Iran, Iraq and Syria are studying the possibility of connecting their railway networks, seeking to form a crucial link between the Levant, the Persian Gulf and Central Asia.
According to preliminary designs, Iran's southern railway is to be connected to the Iraqi network near Khorramshahr, and a bridge constructed over the Arvand River. Iraq and Syria have already signed an agreement to jointly construct a new railway link between Deir Al-Zour in and Al-Qayem City, stretching 150 kilometers. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
