There are some very interesting comments about Iraqi Republic Railways from Mark Hemphill on the Trains magazine forum, gving an overview of IRR since the invasion, and what has happened since.

The IRR was never destroyed like a Lawrence of Arabia film. It was looted badly, however – the block signal system was wiped out for the copper, all the spare parts and tools were taken, structures were stripped to naked shells sans windows, doors, wire, and plumbing, and in some cases dismantled for the bricks, and a lot of locomotives and wagons were stripped out. In the first few weeks after the war, the Bagdad-Basra-Umm Qasr main stem was restored to operation thanks to the dedication, moxie, and can-do attitude of Lt. Col Bob Pelletier, USA reserve, whose regular job is corridor manager for UP. “Sheik Bob” figured out how to get the IRR people paid, how to get the US Military out of the way, and gave the IRR people the legal umbrella they needed to get back to work. [Mark Hemphill in “Iraq Railroad Status” thread, 2008-02-28]

He points out that Reconstruction work was performed almost 100% by the IRR itself and Iraqi contractors engaged by the U.S. Government, Project & Contracting Office, under the program management and funding disbursed by the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office. There are also details of what is currently running.

IRR railwaymen are as good as railroaders you will find in any country, and better in some aspects.

Here is another informative posting from him.