Baiji-Baghdad-Anbar railway under works

BAIJI, Iraq, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Iraq is revamping a railway enabling the shipment of oil and other goods from Baiji to Baghdad and on to Anbar province.

"This line will mean there can be much faster exchange of goods around the country," a top transportation adviser to the Iraqi government told the Middle East Economic Digest. "The work should be completed in 45-60 days."

The more than 621 miles of railway is part of a $250 million project to restart all five of the country's rail networks. The passenger line between Baghdad and Basra, Iraq's oil and former cultural capital in the south, has recently restarted.

The track from Baiji will link the country's largest oil refinery south to Baghdad and then west into Anbar province. Oil, and perhaps products, will be able to be transported to other areas of the country in need.

Anbar province, like much of Iraq, is in need of more movement of such goods, as well as cement and fertilizer, to help boost the various economies.