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Today's New York Times has a lead International article regarding present day Iraq travel during the ISIS/L insurgency. With new equipment, including Sleeping, Dining, and Lounge service, it appears "almost Amtrak":
BAGHDAD — Saad al-Tammimi is in his fourth decade working for Iraq’s railroads, a career that has taken him all around his country, and around the Middle East. Nowadays, though, he can go only from Baghdad to Basra, across the relatively calm Shiite-dominated south of this war-torn country.
“If we have a problem and have to stop, it’s safe,” he said on a recent evening as he drove his regular route. “Even the Sunnis feel comfortable going to Basra.”
With so much violence, neglect and political dysfunction here, it has been years since passenger trains leaving Baghdad went anywhere other than Basra. In recent years, however, grand ambitions to link the country by railroad had begun taking shape. Freight trains shuttled goods around Iraq, and a few years ago there were test runs of a new train service between Mosul and Turkey. But as the militants of the Islamic State have advanced around the country, those efforts have halted.
At least Mr. Tammimi has a new train to drive, a sleek and shiny one built in China that glides out of the station at dusk and through the closed-in thicket of this city. It almost kisses the storefront awnings and low-slung homes that line the track as it moves past waving families, boys playing soccer and trash being burned, before reaching the rural south, past endless rows of date palms, on an overnight journey to Basra.
It appears that Iraqi Railways intends to maintain, and someday expand, passenger service; note the new equipment reported within the article. However, the current insurgency obviously must be addressed before any such plans move further.
A final note: Saddam's private train; could it someday become a "luxotrain"?
palmland Member # 4344
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Don't think I want to try the Bagdad Limited just yet. At one point, a recently retired CSX senior manager worked with their national railroad after the gulf war to try an help resurrect it.
Pulling out a Cook's overseas timetable for 1995 to see what service they had in the past. From Baghdad there were three express trains (two overnight)south to Basrah(Basra) with connection to Kuwait) and two north to Mawsil (Mosul) which is prime ISIL territory I believe. First, second, and tourist class offered with 'refreshment and sleeping cars operate on some trains'.
Suppose they accept AGR points for the new Basra train? I think the old french version sounds more interesting - must be the railfan in me.
PullmanCo Member # 1138
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Standard European Equipment 1980s-90s is what I see.
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