The railway line that will connect Iraq to Turkey is starting to get shaped. The design of the route has been completed, according to the Iraqi ministry of Transport. The 1,175-km railway line will run from the southern port of Faw in Iraq to the Turkish port of Mersin, on the Mediterranean Sea.

It is just another step forward in this mega project. The Iraqi ministry earlier indicated that it wants to start building the new railway line in early 2024. The feasibility study was completed last year, and the project has been awarded to Alstom, according to news outlet Zawya. The ministry is now studying the design of the railway line.

The new railway connection to neighbouring Turkey could change the position of Iraq on the transportation map. Once completed, it could be a new overland route for goods from the southeast towards Europe. This requires the development of the port of Faw, but this is well understood by Iraq. The port is currently under construction to become one of the world’s largest container terminals.

The railway line

The railway corridor through Iraq will be1,200 kilometres long and will cross Basrah, Diwaniya, Najaf, Karbala, and Mosul to reach the border with Turkey. The project involves a dual line for passengers and freight. It will be electrified and available for high-speed journeys. Moreover, there is a plan to reopen the section from Mosul to the Turkish city Gaziantep, 300 kilometres from Mersin. This rail line has been bombed several times and has been non-operational since 2010.

The freight train will have an initial capacity of 3.5 million containers and 22 million tonnes of bulk cargo per year, to be raised in phases to 7.5 million containers and 33 million tonnes/year.

The port

The Grand Faw Port is located roughly 100 kilometres south of Basrah. The new facility is expected to handle 36 million tonnes of containerised freight and 22 million tonnes of dry bulk by 2028. The plan is to further increase these numbers, respectively to 70 million tonnes and 33 million tonnes, by 2038. The double-track railway connected to the port should enable it to move 80 to 90 couples of trains every day.

The first phase of the project was concluded in 2021. Phase 2, which is expected to last until 2025, will entail the construction of a container terminal as well as large submarine tunnels connecting to the nearby and shallower Umm Qasr Port. For this project, a contract worth over 2,5 billion euros was awarded in 2020 to Korean company Daewoo Engineering and Construction. The third and final phase of the project will include the construction of around 100 berths.

Importance

Overland freight transport from south to north has become increasingly important, as trade flows have started to shift. The importance of India as an export country is on the rise. This is evident in the increase of interest in the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which runs from Mumbai to Russia. However, the region in between is not free from turmoil. The transit route through Iran and Azerbaijan is still not a fact, and with an uprising of unrest in the Caucasus, this transit route is unlikely to be operational soon.

With a railway line from another port in the Arabian Gulf, a new transit route will be born. However, Iraq is not free from turmoil either and it will take time to gain the trust of customers, as the experience learns. Considering the long time frame of the project – the port will receive its first ships in 2025 – time is available for the logistics industry to consider the new possibility.