Iraq, Iran sign agreement to build 263 km railway line

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falah ez-Zeydi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed agreements and memoranda of understanding in Tehran on Monday for the construction of the Hussain Karransaray–Khanaqin railway line, a 263-kilometer cross-border route linking the two neighbors. According to Iranian officials, the line will be built in two phases: a 115-kilometer section between Kermanshah and Islamabad Gharb, followed by a 148-kilometer stretch from Islamabad to the Hussain Border Crossing. The state-run Iran Construction and Development of Transport Infrastructure Company said the project is 57 percent complete, with 7 of 8.7 kilometers of tunneling already finished. The company's deputy head for railways, Abbas Hatibi, said approximately $800 million is still needed to finish the line and that an additional 30 kilometers of track are expected to be laid within the year. Once operational, the railway is projected to carry 5 million tons of cargo and 2.7 million passengers annually. Iranian officials described the line as part of a transit corridor extending from Khanaqin through Baghdad and onward across Iraq to Syrian and Mediterranean ports.