Turkey Completes Railway Line Upgrade on Syrian Border

Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced the completion of renovation works on several railway lines along the border with Syria.

According to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, Uraloğlu said on Monday, April 13, that the ministry had not only made the border line with Syria operational again, but had also equipped it with stronger and more durable infrastructure and superstructure.

Uraloğlu said the renovation covered the Karkamış-Nusaybin railway line, stretching 325 kilometers, and the Mardin-Şenyurt line, stretching 25 kilometers, reopening the route to train traffic.

He added that the works carried out on the two railway lines were not merely maintenance, but a comprehensive renewal process that addressed needs accumulated over many years.

He said maintenance and repair works left unfinished between 2011 and 2024 had now been completed along the full 350-kilometer route.

Uraloğlu noted that reactivating the line “will increase freight transport capacity and contribute to strengthening regional integration.”

Syria Seeks to Reactivate “Transit” Line with Iraq and Turkey

The Syrian General Establishment for Railways agreed with al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria, on a work program with a set timetable to remove obstacles and restore the “transit” railway line linking the Turkish and Iraqi borders to service as quickly as possible, given its direct impact on supporting imports and reviving international transport movement.

The Syrian Ministry of Transport said on Monday, April 13, that a meeting bringing together al-Hasakah Governor Nour al-Din Ahmad and the head of the Syrian General Establishment for Railways, Osama Haddad, discussed ways to activate the railway sector and improve its performance in the governorate.

The visit included a field tour by Osama Haddad, with a technical inspection of the station’s readiness and equipment, as well as a review of the condition of the locomotives, tankers, and machinery there to assess urgent maintenance needs.

Participants also reviewed a comprehensive technical report on the current state of the railway network, and identified urgent rehabilitation requirements to “ensure the restoration of the efficiency of this vital artery.”

The governor of al-Hasakah stressed the governorate’s full readiness to provide all facilities and support for technical teams, emphasizing the strategic value of railway lines in supporting development and the national economy.

Syrian, Jordanian, Turkish Understanding to Develop Transport Sector

The transport ministers of Syria, Jordan, and Turkey signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding on April 7 aimed at developing transport sectors and logistics connectivity among the three countries, following a meeting of the joint ministerial committee held in Amman, Jordan.

According to the Syrian state news agency, SANA, the memorandum includes creating an institutional and technical framework for cooperation in land, sea, and rail transport, forming joint committees and working groups, and developing unified sectoral plans to ensure coordinated efforts and standardized procedures among the three countries.

The memorandum also focused on turning this cooperation into executable projects backed by digitalization and investment, through simplifying regulations, applying smart solutions, monitoring performance, and building capacity to ensure sustainability, according to SANA.

Under the memorandum, cooperation will include strengthening regional rail connectivity by forming a trilateral technical committee to follow implementation, developing land, sea, and rail transport, improving infrastructure, facilitating cargo and passenger movement, and simplifying border procedures, in a way that boosts supply chain efficiency, enhances trade exchange, and supports transit among the three countries, according to SANA.

Syrian Transport Minister Yarub Badr said in remarks to SANA that the memorandum includes “a clear roadmap outlining the activities to be implemented by transport institutions in the three countries, within a three-year follow-up program.”

Badr added that the roadmap “represents a practical commitment to turning borders into bridges for development and integration,” stressing that activating the “Middle East Corridor” through these countries “will bring about a qualitative transformation in the regional economic landscape.”

Syria, Jordan, Turkey Reach Understanding to “Activate the Middle East Corridor”

 

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