Iraq Iran Rail Connection to Move Forward
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) and first Vice President of Iran Mohammad Mokhber (L) attend the ceremony of the construction of a 32-kilometer railway project linking Basra with the southern Iranian border town of Shalemcha in Basra.
Construction of a railway line linking Iran's Shalamche border town with Iraq's Basra city began on Saturday in the presence of top officials from both countries, Anadolu reports.
Iranian Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia Al-Sudani attended the ceremony at the joint border in southern Iran's Khuzestan province.
The border crossing between Iran and Iraq at Shalamche is located 15 kilometers west of the Iranian port city of Khorramshahr and 20 kilometers south of Basra.
It is expected that the 32-kilometer railway stretch between two border cities will be completed in 18 months.
For the $200 million project, Iran will demine and build a bridge over the Arvand River in Basra, while Iraq will pave and lay the tracks.
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During Saturday's ceremony, Mokhber called the project "strategic" for the two countries and said it would transform the region.
In addition to connecting the two neighboring countries and boosting economic cooperation, the railway line will also facilitate international transport and transit.
According to Mokhber, the Shelemche-Basra railway line will also connect holy shrines in the two countries, including Imam Reza shrine in Iran's Mashhad city and shrines in Iraq's Karbala and Najaf.
Recently, millions of Iranians and non-Iranians have traveled to Iraq for the Arbaeen pilgrimage through Shalamche and other joint border crossings.
Two countries first signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the project in March 2011, but nothing came of it.
The two sides signed another MoU in 2014 for the construction of this railway line, but no significant progress was made until 2021 when they resumed it.
