Iran, Iraq ready to connect rail networks
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iran and Iraq are ready to connect their national rail networks together.
In a meeting between Iranian transport minister Abbas Akhoundi and Iraqi Transport Minister Baqir Jabr Al-Zubeidi, it was announced that just 32 kilometers of railroad should be established to connect the two railways via the Shalamcheh border, Iran's transport ministry website reported Dec. 30.
Akhoundi said that the Iranian railway network is already connected to the Central Asian, Chinese,and Russian networks.
The rail transportation network of Iran transported over 25 million passengers during the last fiscal year (ended on March 21), Mohammad Reza Nosrat Nezami, deputy head of Iran Railways said Dec. 11.
Iran currently has over 8000 kilometers of standard railways.
The Islamic republic plans to increase passenger transfer capacity of the railway network to 40 million people in the next two years.