but that there were obstacles such as budget restraints and contract approvals. CSR Sifang Co Ltd. is supplying 10 new trains in 2014. Rolling stock Current (information partly from 2004) Retired Developments Iraq-Syria Direct Railway Link Syrian Railways had been extending a rail route from Deir ez-Zor Junction towards the modern Husaibah branch terminus on the Iraqi side of the border, which was built as a through station. The route follows the Euphrates river valley and Google Earth shows the route complete to the border, including a new customs exchange yard, but requiring of formation on the Iraqi side. The civil war in Syria and insurgency in Iraq have prevented further progress in the last decade. This route would be more direct than the existing one via the border station at Tall Kushik. Iraq-Jordan Direct Railway Link In August 2011, the Jordanian government approved the construction of the railway from Aqaba to the Iraqi border (near Traibil). The Iraqis in the meantime started the construction of the line from the border to their current railhead at Ramadi. High-speed Baghdad-Basra line In 2011, a line between Baghdad and Basra was planned, with the Iraqi Railways and Alstom designing the route. It started operations since 2014, and at that time not classified as a true high-speed rail. New trainsets for use on the Baghdad-Basra route were unveiled in China in February 2014 before being shipped to Iraq. Iraq-Iran Basra-Shalamcheh line In December 2021, Iran and Iraq agreed today to build a railway connecting both countries.The project would connect Basra in southern Iraq to Shalamcheh in western Iran. There are only around 30 kilometers (18 miles) between the two areas. The railway would be strategically important for Iran, linking the country to the Mediterranean Sea via Iraq and Syria’s railways. Couplings IRR uses Soviet-style SA3 couplers. In order to allow interchange with CFS and Turkish State Railways which both use screw couplers, IRR locomotives and most wagons are equipped with screw couplers and buffers. In Iraqi service the buffers do not make contact and the screw couplings hang down unattached. The railways in adjoining Saudi Arabia use American type Janney automatic couplers. There is currently no rail link planned to Saudi Arabia. Rail links to adjacent countries Iran - one link partially under construction and a second link planned Khorramshahr, Iran, to Basra, Iraq - almost complete (2006) Kermanshah, Iran, and the Iraqi