Railway reconstruction vital for economic development

A huge restoration project to get Iraq's neglected railways running again is underway, with work starting on three main rail stations in the northern city of Mosul, Baghdad and the southern city of Basra, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) told IRIN in the capital. Work also began in early November on building 28 small stations in towns across Iraq, the MoT said. "This project will give benefit to millions of Iraqis who depend of this mode of transportation," MoT spokesman, Ahmed Abdul Al-Wahab, told IRIN. The railway sector fell into disrepair during the previous regime and as a result of the recent conflict, Al-Wahab said. The situation was exacerbated by UN sanctions in the 1990s which hit investment. The sector as a whole employs around 9,000 people when at full operational capacity, including 500 at Baghdad station alone. Currently just 700 employees have returned to work with the rest waiting for restoration process. "I really wish and need to be back to my job, it would help many unemployed people from the stations," Ali Al-Kareem, a ticket seller from the Baghdad station told IRIN. But there is still much to do to bring the railways up to speed. Bridges remain unrepaired and kilometres of track need replacing before goods and passenger trains can make the journey between the north and south. "I don't have enough money to afford the luxury of travelling by car. Our family is in the south and for months I haven't seen them, if the trains were working it would be really easier and cheaper," Mustafa Khalil, a father of five in Baghdad, told IRIN. According to the MoT, the railways are currently running at about 10 percent of their previous capacity. The war that toppled Saddam Hussein last spring brought a final breakdown of the network as looting became widespread. The MoT expects that reconstruction will take at least until the end of next year to complete. Al-Wahab said that so far the focus has been on upgrading electrical wiring, installing air conditioning systems and painting. A budget of US $310 million dollars has been earmarked for the rail system by US officials and the Ministry of Reconstruction. Al-Wahab said that refurbishing stations will cost more than US $55 million. Getting the important trade/cargo route between Basra and the southern seaport of Umm Qasr going is a priority, MoT officials have said. Extending the line up to Baghdad will then be attempted, although the line has not been upgraded since the 1950s. Using rail transport is also much cheaper than road freight. The Ministry of Trade (MoT) also added that security will improve when more goods are transported by rail as it will make looting more difficult. Al-Wahab said that he was optimistic that the project would progress and that together with US officials responsible for reconstruction in Iraq, they believed that Iraq would have a modern railway system by next year.