After a stalemate of about 14 years, the Syrian and Iraqi arenas are witnessing intensive field and technical movements to revive and connect the railway networks between the two countries.
These strategic efforts are part of a broader regional movement that seeks to create alternative land transport routes capable of overcoming the current maritime crises, particularly the risks surrounding navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Al-Yaroubiya Tour: Qualification to End in Two Months
On the Syrian-Iraqi border, an official delegation from the General Corporation for Railways in Syria inspected the railway linking the two countries to determine the extent of the damage caused to the line and stations due to the years of suspension. The Syrian delegation met with its Iraqi counterpart at the Al-Yarubiya border crossing for direct coordination and the start of the preliminary maintenance phase.
Osama Azzam Haddad, director of the General Corporation for Railways in Syria , confirmed in press statements that the inspection tour revealed that the damage to the line was minor, announcing that the comprehensive rehabilitation works could be completed in just two months. Haddad explained that the maintenance operations are focused on earthworks, berms and light engineering treatments along the line under assessment, which is about 80 kilometers long.
Historically, this line connected the city of Mosul in northern Iraq to the town of Rabia (the last Iraqi border point), then moved to the Qamishli station inside Syrian territory, and to the Turkish Nusaybin station, making it a vital extension of the "development road" linking Eastern Europe and Turkey to the ports and dry ports in Iraq.
The "Baghdad-Al-Qaim" line exceeds the halfway point
In parallel with the movements in the north, Iraqi construction work on the horizontal-western axis is progressing at an increasing pace to connect the capital Baghdad to the Syrian border at the al-Qaim area in Anbar province.
The director of the Western Region Railways in Iraq, Hamid Hussein, announced that the rehabilitation work of the overall "Baghdad-Al-Qaim-Akashat" railway line has reached beyond the halfway point, as the track is fully ready from Baghdad to Heet with a length of 180 kilometers and a full completion rate.
Hussein added that the completion rate in the sector between Heet and Baghdadi in western Anbar ranged from 85% to 90% within the third phase of the project, and that only the completion of the "Wadi Fatam" bridge, located 20 kilometers from Heet station, requires about 5 months to complete it and prepare to connect with the Hasayba station in Al-Qaim to reach Akashat with a total length of about 400 kilometers.
Iraqi technical reports indicate that the engineering cadres have successfully overcome the challenges of the rugged desert nature and the absence of paved roads through the use of heavy machinery to level the soil and stabilize the line, amid aspirations that this axis will represent a huge commercial artery that meets the strategic "development road" in the Karma region, and contributes to the transportation of passengers, goods and heavy materials such as phosphates from border factories to liquid and solid ports.
Regional Extension, Lebanon on the Line
The Director General of the Lebanese Railways and Joint Transport, Ziad Shea, announced that the railway lines in Lebanon will return to work within the next year, starting with the strategic line that connects the port of Tripoli to the Lebanese-Syrian border, with the aim of integrating Lebanon into the regional and international transport network (the Hejaz Line) extending from the Persian Gulf through Saudi Arabia and Jordan to Homs, Aleppo and Turkey, and from there to Europe.
The officials on the Iraqi and Lebanese sides explained that the military tensions and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have directly contributed to accelerating and intensifying meetings and executive studies to link the Arab railways, as the Syria-Iraq line will allow to connect the great port of Al-Faw and Iraqi dry ports to the Mediterranean Sea and neighboring ports, providing a safe and short trade alternative to the exchange of goods and easing the intensity of dependence on the turbulent waterways in the region.
Field Achievement Percentages
In the Syrian-Iraqi northern axis (Al-Yarubiya-Qamishli), the length of the line currently under assessment is 80 kilometers, and technical reports confirm that the damage is minor and can be completed within two months to connect Mosul to Qamishli and Nusaybin in Turkey, and to significantly shorten land distances.
In the Iraqi-western axis, the 180-kilometer (Baghdad-Heet) sector has been completed and is 100% fully ready to secure the movement of passengers and goods from the capital. It is followed by a complementary sector extending from (Heet to Baghdadi), where the completion rate has reached between 85% and 90%, and only the Wadi Fatem Bridge, which takes 5 months to work on to officially connect the network to the Hasayba border station in Al-Qaim and the phosphate plants in Akashat.
As for the Lebanese-Syrian axis to link the port of Tripoli to the Syrian border, the Lebanese transport plan indicates that this line will enter into implementation and work by next year to integrate Lebanese ports into the regional and international transport system heading to Europe.
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