Baghdad Central Station

Baghdad Central Station is the main railway station in the Iraqi capital, located on the Karkh side of the city. Its foundation stone was laid in 1948, and it was officially inaugurated in 1952 with an English design. It is a twin to two stations built after World War II one in India and the other in London and all three stations share identical designs and architectural elements.

The general architectural style of the building is a blend of several design approaches, predominantly featuring the late Victorian English style with modern touches that emerged after World War II. Architect Wilson G. M. (1887–1965) succeeded in giving the structure a local identity by using Iraqi brick and adopting a low-height truncated spherical dome (ṭāsa) to cover the main hall.

The dome is characterized by a turquoise-blue color that visually links the building to the sky of Baghdad. Structurally, it is also part of Iraq’s traditional architectural heritage, which is based on arches and vaults.

The station’s towers contain two large clocks: one with Eastern Arabic numerals and the other with English numerals. Their chimes resemble the famous chimes of Big Ben in London. Like the station building itself, both clocks were subjected to looting and burning after 2003. However, the Iraqi Railways staff restored them using replacement parts brought from Britain, and they now operate at full capacity.

The station was called al ‘Alamiyya (“the international station”) because its original concept was to serve as a departure point for trains traveling from Baghdad to countries around the world, linking East and West through ambitious projects undertaken by the British at that time. However, it ultimately became a local station serving Iraq’s internal railway lines under the management of the Iraqi Republic Railways.

1916: The first railway administration in Iraq was established under British military supervision.

1920: The administration was transferred to British civilian authority.

April 16, 1936: The administration became fully Iraqi, and this date was adopted as Iraqi Railways Day.

In the same year, negotiations took place between the Iraqi and British governments to transfer ownership for 400,000 dinars and other conditions. The system became known as the Government Railways of Iraq and was linked to the Ministry of Transport and Public Works.

The company suffered major damage due to the war and the subsequent looting and destruction. Only 158 locomotives out of 410 remained operational, and the unstable security situation caused long periods of suspended travel.

Since 2007, however, the company has gradually resumed operating inter-governorate routes, including reopening the Basra–Baghdad line as security conditions improved.