Officials from Iran and Iraq have reached an agreement to begin work on a 32km railway between the Iranian town of Shalamcheh and the Iraqi city of Basra.

The project has been planned for 20 years and is expected to take 18 months to complete. Despite an agreement signed on December 26, 2021, the development's advancement has been hindered due to bridge construction and land acquisition delays in Iraq. It is worth noting that the proposed link would be integrated with a 17 km railroad constructed between Khorramshahr and Shalamcheh back in 2011.