Iran’s President Unveils Plans for Railroad Link with Iraq


Iran’s President Unveils Plans for Railroad Link with Iraq

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said the country is working on a railroad linking it to the Iraqi city of Basra, hoping that citizens living in the northeastern city of Mashhad would be able to make a pilgrimage to Iraq’s holy city of Karbala by train next year.

Speaking at a Saturday ceremony to inaugurate a project on the electrification of a main line linking Tehran to the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, President Rouhani stressed the need for linking the country with neighbors by rail.

He also expressed the hope that linking the country’s railroad with Iraq’s Basra would enable Iranian pilgrims residing in cities as far as Mashhad to travel to Iraq’s Karbala by train in the next year’s Arbaeen, the 40th day after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Shiite Imam.

President Rouhani then launched the project, which he said is going to connect Iran’s “religious capital with its political capital” with high-speed rail.

The major project will be implemented by Chinese companies. It follows the finalization of a deal with China, whose president, Xi Jinping, paid an official visit to Iran in January.

The project is expected to be completed in 42 months with $2 billion in funds.

Once completed, the rail route could accommodate electric trains running at 200 km per hour, traveling between Tehran and Mashhad in 6 hours.

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