Iraq plans Karbala monorail

20 July 2011

The rail system will transport 500,000 people a day when complete

Iraq’s National Investment Commission (NIC) has announced plans to develop a new monorail system in the city of Karbala.

The first phase of the planned monorail would be 15-kilometres long and would cover the areas around the two holy shrines. It would also run to Baghdad Road, Al-Hussain Bridge, Hor al-Seeb train station, Al-Ibrahimia and Karbala University. It would also have between 10 and 15 passenger stations.

The monorail project is aimed at transporting the religious tourists and pilgrims that visit Karbala each year to visit shrines and monuments of religious significance. The network will be able to transport about 500,000 passengers a day when complete.

Canada’s Transglobim International signed a contract in July 2010 to build a monorail in Najaf, which is close to Karbala and also a centre for religious tourism (MEED 4:7:10).

The monorail will be 37km long and is designed to link the three major mosques of Imam Ali, Kufa and Sahla. Transglobim will finance, survey, design, construct and operate the monorail network for a period of 30 years.



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