Transport in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

consists of railways, highways, waterways, pipelines, ports and harbors, marines and airports.

Railways

''total:'' 2,272 km
''standard gauge:'' 2,272 km For more than two decades there have been plans for building a metro system in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. It is possible that part of the

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

s have been built, but that they are now used for military, shelter, hiding, and escaping purposes. U.N. inspectors have heard of the tunnels for years, but have not found their entrances
map
In November, 2008, an overground service dubbed the Baghdad Metro began service. Local government in Baghdad is arranging feasibility studies for the construction of two new underground lines A 37 km monorail is planned in Najaf, which would link three Shi'ite holy sites. The first Iraqi Republic Railways train to

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

since the overthrow of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

's regime arrived on 26 April 2003. British troops hope to use the 68 km long railway to transport much-needed aid supplies from the port town of

Umm Qasr Umm Qasr (, also transliterated as ''Um-qasir'', ''Um-qasser, Um Qasr. Kurdish: ئومقەسڕ, Ûmqêsir'') is a port city in southern Iraq. It stands on the canalised Khawr az-Zubayr, part of the Khawr Abd Allah estuary which leads to the P ...

to Basra. In June 2011, it was announced that planning had begun for a new high-speed rail line between Baghdad and Basra, with a memorandum of understanding with

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

having been signed.

Maps

UNHCR Atlas Map

UN Map

Railway links with adjacent countries

All adjacent countries generally use , but may vary in couplings. Neighbours with electrified railways – Turkey and Iran – both use the world standard 25 kVAC *

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

– via Syria *

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

– one link partially under construction and a second link planned ** Iraq-Iran Basra-Shalamcheh line – almost complete (2006) **

Kermanshah Kermanshah is a city in the Central District (Kermanshah County), Central District of Kermanshah province, Kermanshah province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is from Tehran in the western pa ...

, and the Iraqi province of Diyala – construction commenced. *

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

– no railways *

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

- *

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

– partially constructed –

break of gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and railroad car, rolling stock g ...

/ gauge *

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

– same gauge – at Rabiaa/ al-Ya'rubiya

Road Transport

An overland trans-desert bus service between

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

and

was established by the '' Nairn Transport Company'' of Damascus in 1923.

Roads

''total:'' 44,900 km
''paved:'' 37,851 km,
''unpaved:'' 7,049 km (2002)

Waterways

5,729 km (

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

River (2,815 km), Tigris River 1,899 km, Third River (565 km)); Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km. The channel has been dredged to 3 m and is in use. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers have navigable sections for shallow-draft watercraft; the Shatt al Basrah canal was navigable by shallow-draft craft before closing in 1991 because of the Gulf War.

Pipelines

crude oil 5,432 km; natural gas 2,455 km; refined products 1,637 km; liquid petroleum gas 913 km

Ports and harbors

Persian Gulf

* Umm Qasr Port * Khawr az Zubayr * Al Basrah has limited functionality * Grand Faw Port (Under construction)

Merchant marine

''total:'' 32 ships (with a volume of or over) totaling /
''ships by type:''

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

14,

passenger ship A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off ship 2 (1999 est.)

Airports

Iraq has about 104 airports as of 2012. Major airports include: * Baghdad International Airport * Basra International Airport * Mosul International Airport * Erbil International Airport * Sulaimaniyah International Airport * Najaf International Airport

Railways

Maps

Railway links with adjacent countries

Road Transport

Roads

Waterways

Pipelines

Ports and harbors

Persian Gulf

Merchant marine

Airports

Airports – with paved runways

Airports – with unpaved runways

Heliports

See also

References

External links