| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iraq |
| Trains running in Iraq - if not always on schedule |
| 2003-06-04 |
| Edited for brevity. Rail service is up and coming in this down and dirty city of 5 million people [Baghdad]. Trains have been running again only for the past two weeks, but already the Iraqi Railroad company has begun daily service from Baghdad to Basra, Mosul and the Syrian border. A passenger ticket for the 10- to 12-hour trip to Basra costs 1,000 dinars (about 75 cents), a first-class sleeper seat is 2,000 dinars and a bus ticket is 5,000 dinars. "This was the first company back in operation since the war," said train engineer Jamal Abdalah, from his air-conditioned diesel-engine locomotive. It's the only air conditioning on the train. In the oven-hot passenger cars the only relief came from a window, which railroad workers removed as the train pulled out of the station. But the sand that poured in as the train barreled down the track made the air circulation a mixed blessing. Though it's been reported that the U.S. Army is helping to get the railroads running again, Abdalah gave all the credit to his co-workers. The railway workers decided to get the trains rolling again on their own, Abdalah said, using fuel that was already in storage, although there is a shortage of engine oil. They are even getting salaries from the company. Engineers get about 200,000 dinars per month, about $150. This month's Trains magazine also has some coverage on Iraqi rail. |
| Posted by:Dar |
| #1 There's a lot of value in the Iraqis believing that most of what is done in Iraq is an Iraqi achievement. The more they believe in themselves, the better they'll do, and the more pressure they'll put on other countries in the region. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2003-06-04 11:32:22 |