Baghdad gets a subway

[jonjj]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081117/...baghdad_subway

How is it that Baghdad can afford a subway and our country is claiming no money? Could it be we are spending our money in the wrong country?????

[tdawg]

geez, that sounds awfully risky to be building now. it's a leap of faith that violence will subside there soon.

[Tom In Chicago]

First of all this is in the wrong sub-forum. . . secondly any further discussion that is NOT related directly to the "subway in Baghdad" will result in a 3 day suspension. . .

[JDRCRASH]

Lay off on the political controversy people; this is a very positive step forward, nonetheless.

[Rilestone75]

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

Lay off on the political controversy people; this is a very positive step forward, nonetheless.

I agree that this is a step forward. I'm curious though, given the current and forseeable future of safety and security in Baghdad, what types of design improvements do you think we will see from a safety/security standpoint?

[alexjon]

Maps?

[brickell]

Looking for a map it appears as this has been planned for a few years already.

http://english.pravda.ru/world/2003/01/27/42583.html

This page has a map of a section of what was previously planned.

http://www.ajg41.clara.co.uk/iraq/metros.html

[M II A II R II K]

I think there were old plans for a Baghdad Metro at one point, but I think this city for sure needs one with a population it's size.

[ardecila]

Yea... Baghdad has about as many people as Chicago or Paris. Tehran has a metro system with 3 lines that are very well-used.

Also, construction costs in the Middle East are 1/10 what they are here, or even less. Union labor and building codes are unheard of, and so things like subways can be built very cheaply. $3 billion is no chump change, but it's buying a hell of a lot of subway miles (24) and a whopping 40 stations. The same money here would perhaps pay for 4 or 5 miles of subway, not even including stations.

[JDRCRASH]

Baghdad is larger than Chicago, at 6 Million.

[ardecila]

I was referring to Metro population, which is around 9,000,000 in each city. Chicago is a bit larger at 9.7 million. Of course, the Baghdad metro is WAY more centralized and far more dense than Chicago, and a couple of subway lines in Baghdad could easily pay for themselves through fares, even with the widespread poverty in the city.

[SHiRO]

Not that it's possible to have an accurate estimate of the Bagdad population, but most sources say 5 to 7 million, not nearly 10 million like Chicago or over 12 million like Paris. Seems to me that Paris is twice the size of Baghdad.
But sure a city of 6 million could use a subway, not sure now is the time to build it though.

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by SHiRO

Not that it's possible to have an accurate estimate of the Bagdad population, but most sources say 5 to 7 million, not nearly 10 million like Chicago or over 12 million like Paris. Seems to me that Paris is twice the size of Baghdad.
But sure a city of 6 million could use a subway, not sure now is the time to build it though.

I think your taking the CITY pop. of Baghdad to the METRO pop. of Chicago. The Metro area of Baghdad is around 9 million. Of course these aren't accurate, they're not made that way. But you may notice that even when you include Metro areas of many cities, they aren't much larger than those cities themselves.

[Trantor]

whats the estimate of time for construction??

the Porto Alegre subway underground line has a timeline of ridiculous 20 years.

I am curious about the Iraqi subway, considering its another 3rd world country.

also, will it be underground (how much % of it)? Because in some countries, the term SUBWAY is not necessarily used by the government regarding the project... in Brazil we say METRO... and metro not necessarily is underground... and sometimes, our surface metros are translated as "subway" to english.

[canucklehead2]

Hopefully this will be an important step towards rebuilding a city that has been neglected for one reason or another over the past few decades...

[SHiRO]

Originally Posted by JDRCRASH

I think your taking the CITY pop. of Baghdad to the METRO pop. of Chicago. The Metro area of Baghdad is around 9 million. Of course these aren't accurate, they're not made that way. But you may notice that even when you include Metro areas of many cities, they aren't much larger than those cities themselves.

No I am talking metro population (incl. Abu Graib, Mahmudiyah).
How can metro Baghdad be 9 million if Baghdad Province is between 6 and 7 million? Metro Baghdad certainly does not extent beyond the provincial border which is 70/80 miles from the city (and the city is very compact).

[JDRCRASH]

Well, I dunno; but according to wikipedia(and some inane wiki user named "Loodog"), Chicago Metro is 9,785,747....and Baghdad Metro is approximately(???) 9,000,000. So yeah..

[10023]

Nobody has any clue how many people live in Baghdad but it's almost certainly less than before the war.

[Zerton]

Are subways, aka cramped tunnels filled with people, a safe option for Baghdad? Bombings seem to happen weekly.

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by 10023

Nobody has any clue how many people live in Baghdad but it's almost certainly less than before the war.

Yes; if i'm correct, over a million people have fled the country since the war began. But that may change if security continues to improve.

Not to mention the other million people that have died related to gunshots, bombs, aerial attacks, etc.