Economic Analysis of proposed Ramadi Karbala Railway Project in Iraq
Lamyaa Shaker Alshaebi1, Hussein Jasim Almansori2*, Esraa Riadh Alghurah3
1 Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Babylon, Hilla 51001, Iraq
Email: eng781.a.shakiar@uobabylon.edu.iq – ORCID: 0009-0003-5013-7398
2 Department of Roads and Transport, College of Engineering, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Al-Diwaniyah 58001, Iraq
* Corresponding Author Email: rod.post01@qu.edu.iq – ORCID: 0009-0009-8699-079X
3 Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Al-Diwaniyah province, Iraq
Email: esraa.riadh@qu.edu.iq – ORCID: 0000-0003-0504-2990
Article Info:
DOI: 10.22399/ijcesen.1294
Received : 25 February 2025
Accepted : 09 April 2025
Keywords :
Cost-benefit Analysis,
Railway engineering,
Economic evaluation,
Operating cost,
Transportation.
Abstract:
In the majority of nations, the railway network is regarded as one of the main
pillars of the economy. Here, the user benefit of installing a new railway track
connecting the western Iraqi cities of Ramadi and Karbala was examined. The
new railway line’s operational expenses are contrasted with those of the current
forms of transportation, which rely solely on multilane highways to connect the
two cities. The associated parameters used in the cost-benefit methods were used
in the analysis. The findings demonstrate that there is no user benefit and the
economic assessment is negative when building and other initial costs are
included. In contrast, the implementation of such transportation projects in the
actual world has an impact on the advancement of society. Apart from the upfront
expenses, like in the case of the construction of the road, this article determined
that the proposed project has a great deal to offer users when accidents, timesaving
expenses, and environmental effects are considered operating. Using a
cost-benefit analysis, this study compares the effects of the existing modes of
transportation (roadway travel) and tries to understand the impact of introducing a
new one (railway travel).