December 20th, 2006
The January 2007 issue of the industry magazine Railway Gazette International has an illustrated article about progress with the construction of a rail link to fill in the gap between Iran and Pakistan. At the moment a Pakistan Railways broad gauge line runs to across the border into Iran as far as Zahedan, but RAI doesn’t yet join up with it from the west.
The article Closing the gap from Bam to Zahedan is written by Dr John Stubbs, who has travelled from London to Mumbai by train (and bus).
The always-useful Seat61 warns Trains run Quetta – Zahedan (Iran) twice a month. However, in October 2006 it’s reported that these trains have been stopped because of repeated bomb attacks. Alternative buses may be available, please check locally.
Posted in Middle East rail | No Comments »
December 19th, 2006
Rainer Fuchs e-mailed with links to two YouTube movies showing a British Pathe film of Iraq in 1954.
Part 1 shows one of the Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns streamlined pacific locomotives in action, along with a steam loco shunting in Basra, assorted buses and some BOAC aeroplanes.
Part 2 is more about the history. No railway content, but still worth a watch. They don’t film ‘em like that anymore.
Tags: Pathe, PC class
Posted in Iraq's railways | 1 Comment »
December 1st, 2006
The November 2006 issue of American magazine Railway Age has a report from former KCS dispatcher, locomotive leasing/maintenance specialist, and Trains magazine editor Mark Hemphill
, who has been in Iraq as senior railway consultant for the U.S. Department of State’s Iraq Reconstruction Management Office
.
It is a very interesting read, describing the scale of the problems faced by IRR, in particular with security.
On the record . . . with railroader Mark W. Hemphill
There have been 1 500-plus attacks on IRR fixed plant, concentrated in areas where there is no local control. Some 90% of attacks use IEDs (improvised explosive devices) placed on the track. Crews go out daily to repair the two to five meters of damage the devices generally cause.
…
Another 7% of attacks are from small-arms fires (firing at trains or repairmen), and 3%, complex attacks using IEDs, small-arms fires, grenades, and machine guns.
Passenger trains are not attacked, according to Hemphill, because “everything in Iraq is local, family, tribal. You don’t attack because your mother-in-law is onboard.”
Posted in Iraq's railways | No Comments »
July 21st, 2006
A 1998 article on what remains of the railways in Lebanon, and lots of photos of rolling stock at Tripoli station and in Jounieh March 2000.
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April 9th, 2006
A note on locos from Gordon Mott, Principal Railway Advisor – CPA (2003-4).
At least two of the 2300 MLW’s were still in service in early 2004 in Mosul and I was told a third was as well. Recent movement reports indicate that 2303 at least remains in service today. They rarely venture outside station limits and clearly are on their last legs. Additionally, I was told [on April 8 2006] by the chief loco guy that three of the five 2100’s are still in the enginehouse at Ramadi West. The other two were destroyed years ago. These are reportedly the all-time favorite locomotives of IRR drivers, and the chief of drivers who was sitting across the table as we were having this discussion agreed as he had been one of the regular drivers of them. Incidentally, these are the only IRR diesels to have also carried names, including “Baghdad”, “Mosul” and others.
Tags: DEM2300, locomotives
Posted in Iraq's railways | No Comments »
