The Baghdad–Basra high-speed rail line is a proposed high-speed rail line that is planned to operate between the cities of Baghdad and Basra in Iraq.
The line was first announced by Thierry Mariani, a French junior transport minister, at the 2011 Paris Air Show on 24 June 2011.[1] He said that French company Alstom and the Iraqi government had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding a contract to build the proposed line.[2] Alstom will conduct exclusive talks with the Iraqi government for a year.[1][2] During the announcement of the deal, Mariani also said that he planned to travel to Iraq to discuss the project later in the year.[1] According to an Alstom spokesperson, the company planned to seek a contract that would cover the design, construction and operation of the line.[2]
The completed line would be roughly 650 kilometres (400 mi) long, with endpoints in Baghdad and Basra, with intermediate cities including Karbala, Moussayeb, Najaf, and Samawah.[1][2] The line would be built for a top speed of 250 kilometres per hour (155 mph).[1]
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