Iraqi Republic Railways
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Iraqi Republic Railways Company is the national railway operator in Iraq.
The IRR is composed of 1905 route-km of standard gauge. The railway suffered approximately U.S.$1 billion in war and looting damage from 1980 to 2003. The IRR has one international interchange, with Chemin de Fer Syriana (CFS) at Rabiya. The system runs from Rabiya southward through Mosul, Bayji, and Baghdad to Basra, with a branchline from Shouaiba Junction (near Basra) to the ports of Khor Az Zubair and Umm Qasr, westward from Baghdad through Ramadi and Haqlaniya to Al Qaim and Husayba, with a branchline from Al Qaim to Akashat, and east-west from Haqlaniya through Bayji to Kirkuk.
[edit] Couplings
The IRR uses Soviet-style SA3 automatic couplers. In order to allow interchange with CFS and TCDD (the Syrian and Turkish railways, respectively), which both use screw couplings, IRR locomotives and most wagons are equipped with screw couplings and buffers. In Iraqi service the buffers do not make contact and the screw couplings hang down unattached. The railways in adjoining Saudi Arabia use American style Janney automatic couplings.
[edit] External links
- Andrew's Locomotive and Rolling Stock in Iraq Page -- excellent website with comprehensive roster of IRR locomotives; occasionally updated with news from Iraq.
