IRR Transversal Line
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The IRR Transversal Line, also known as the Haqlaniya-Kirkuk Railway is a single-track 1435mm standard gauge unelectrified railway line running for 252 km (157 mi) from Haqlaniyah via Bayji to Kirkuk. It is distinct from other Iraqi Rail lines as it is the only one not to pass Baghdad. The tracks allow for 100 km/h (62.1 mph) operation.[1] The Line is currently out of service and many parts are either unmaintained or destroyed like the Bridge over the Tigris.
History
Prehistory and Metre-Gauge Railway
Ever since the latter half of the 19th century, a railway line to Kirkuk was discussed but due to the Great War construction was postponed and eventually started in 1930-1932 on the Kirkuk-Baghdad-Haifa Railway. The Kirkuk Railway Station was already built in 1925. The idea of the section from Baghdad to Haifa was abandoned due to the Arab-Israeli War. In 1949 a 105-kilometre extension to Erbil was started with an iron bridge over the Great Zab River near Al-Tun. A project for an extension to Sulamaniya was initiated by the then Iraqi Director of Railways Major General Saleh Zaki Tawfiq in 1963 but was eventually abandoned with the regime change in 1968.[2]
Standard-Gauge Railway
It was planned by the Ba'athist Regime to renew the idea of replacing the original railway with a standard-gauge railway and to simultaneously extend the line to Sulaymaniya but after further considerations of a fully new standard-gauge railway from Kirkuk to Haditha with an interchange with the Berlin-Baghdad Railway at Baiji. The construction of the railway line was started on August 26th 1982 during the Iran-Iraq War and because of it the opening was delayed.[2] The new line was opened in 1988. A ground-breaking ceremony by the then Minister of Transport Mohammed Hamza Al Zubaidi was held on November 7th, 1987. The cost for the construction of the line was 960 Million USD. Soon after it was opened the metre-gauge railway connecting Erbil to Baghdad over Baquba and Kirkuk was closed following the decision by the Office of the Presidency of the Iraqi Republic in 1984, because it was seen as useless as the connection to Kirkuk, not only because the journey from Baghdad to Kirkuk was faster over the new line, but also because since the Baghdad-Basra Railway was converted from metre- to standard-gauge which removed the intercompatiblity between the lines. Many landmarks such as the Erbil Railway Station, the Baba Kiwan Junction, Bridges, residential and service facilities, rest houses and hotels were demolished. [3][2]
Recent Progress
On November 8th, 2022 the Baiji Field line was rehabilitated by the Central Government.[4] Currently, there is no progress on the rehabilitation of the Kirkuk Branch due to the dispute between Baghdad and Erbil over the disputed territories, of which Kirkuk is part of.