The 8 a.m. ghost train from Baghdad to Mosul

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IBO634546.htm

BAGHDAD, July 16 (Reuters) - The marble floors have been polished, the chandelier hangs again from the main lobby's dome and the ticket counters boast a fresh coat of paint.

The only thing missing from Baghdad's 1950s train station after a $60 million U.S.-funded renovation is passengers.

So scared are travellers of insurgent ambushes and bombs on the rails that the sole running passenger train, which links Baghdad daily with northern Mosul, runs empty.

Yellow and green locomotives sit idle under the scorching sun at the weed-covered platforms outside the Art Deco-inspired station. A snarling mongrel crept out of a rusty wagon to bark at a group of visitors, including U.S. reconstruction officials.

"We don't have passengers. They are too afraid to travel. Maybe in the future people will have the courage," said Mohammed Ali Hashim, Baghdad director for Iraqi Republic Railways (IRR).

[leftchick]

1. I read that this morning in Yahoo photo gallery

another 60 million down the tube.



U.S. soldiers stand guard on their armoured vehicle outside the newly-renovated train station in Baghdad July 15, 2006. The marble floors have been polished, the chandelier hangs again from the main lobby's dome and the ticket windows boast a fresh coat of paint. But one thing missing in Baghdad's empty 1950s train station after a $60 million U.S.-funded renovation is passengers. So scared are travellers of insurgent ambushes and bomb-infested rails that the sole running passenger train, which links Baghdad with northern Mosul daily, runs empty. Picture taken July 15, 2006 REUTERS/Namir Noor-Eldeen (IRAQ)

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2. probably will get blown up soon. n/t