Register of the railway freight transport sector in Syria will witness remarkable growth during the year 2026, in parallel with the implementation of extensive works to rehabilitate the network and raise the readiness of the transport fleet and maintenance mechanisms.
Director of the Syrian Railways Corporation, Osama Haddad, said that the total volume of goods transported by trains from the beginning of this year until the end of July amounted to 663.5 thousand tons, compared to 417.9 thousand tons during the same period last year, an increase of approximately 59%.
He pointed out that this increase reflects a tangible improvement in operating efficiency and the institution’s ability to meet the needs of transporting basic and strategic materials, according to the Syrian News Agency, SANA.
Haddad added that the transport of strategic fuel material witnessed a significant increase, as the volume of fuel transported by trains during the aforementioned period reached 564.4 thousand tons, compared to 370 thousand tons in the same period last year, which confirms the importance of rail transportation in securing strategic materials and enhancing the efficiency of supply chains.
He explained that during the recent period, the Corporation carried out a series of field works to address the technical weaknesses on the network, especially the locations that were causing the speeds of strategic freight trains to slow down, which was reflected in the smooth flow of train movement and the increase in the network’s passing capacity.
The Corporation also worked to rehabilitate the operating axes and lines and eliminate the speed reduction on the main transport axes and branches, especially the Tartous Port – Al-Radwaniyah – Baniyas Refinery axis, which allowed the operation of trains at the regular speeds of 60 kilometers per hour for fuel transport trains and 80 kilometers for phosphate and grain transport trains.
Regarding the railway transport fleet, Haddad pointed out the maintenance of 44 tanks designated for transporting grain and returning them to service in Tartous after a cessation of more than a decade, indicating that returning them to service will contribute to supporting the regular transport of wheat, reducing dependence on land trucks, and enhancing the stability of wheat supply chains to silos in various Syrian governorates, providing a safer and more efficient means of transport for transporting grains.
