BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 6. The operation of the Shalamcheh-Basra railroad between Iran and Iraq is scheduled to be completed by the end of next Iranian year (March 20, 206), Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadegh told local media, Trend reports.
According to her, based on an agreement with the Iraqi side, work on demining the territory and construction of a bridge across the river is currently underway. The construction of this bridge is difficult from a technical and engineering point of view.
Sadegh noted that the corridors passing across the country are of great importance for Iran. Accordingly, serious steps are being taken to build and improve railroad lines.
To note, the southwestern Iranian village of Shalamcheh in the Khurramshahr district of Khuzestan province is located on the border with Iraq. The railroad line from this point to Basra, Iraq, will be about 32 kilometers long. Some of the railway line passes through the Arvand River, and an 800-meter-long bridge is planned to be built across the river.
The Iranian side claims that with the commissioning of the Shalamcheh-Basra railway line, it will be possible to transport 8-10 million tons of cargo and about 12 million passengers a year.