3 Million Passengers to Be Transported via Shalamcheh-Basra Railway Annually: Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The director general of the Iraq Rail Company said three million passengers will be transported once the construction operation of the Shalamcheh-Basra Railway is completed.
Yunis Al-Kaabi said an agreement has been inked between Tehran and Baghdad on the construction operation of the Shalamcheh-Basra Railway following the official visit of the Iraqi minister of transportation to Iran in April this year.
Rejecting the claim of transferring land areas in Iraq to Iran for the launch of the Shalamcheh-Basra Railway project, he said that this issue has been raised with the aim of tarnishing the amicable ties between Tehran and Baghdad.
Al-Kaabi stressed that this project is under construction on Iraqi land and Iran has undertaken the responsibility of de-mining areas as long as 16 kilometers around the project.
He went on to say that the railway is constructed merely for the transport of passengers, adding that it is estimated that quality services will be offered to more than three million passengers annually.
Construction of a navigation bridge on the Arvand River is the most difficult part of the project, he said, adding that 4.5 square kilometers of agricultural land areas in Iraq have been purchased for the project.
