DAMASCUS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd October, 2018) Syrian railroaders intend to resume traffic on Damascus-Homs-Aleppo route in the coming months, head of Damascus Railways branch Radwan Takreiti told Sputnik on Tuesday.
"Thanks to the Syrian armed forces the Damascus-Homs-Aleppo route became safe and was completely liberated from terrorists. Currently we are carrying out the procedures needed for the rail traffic resumption, God willing, and in the coming months we will launch traffic following this route from Damascus directly to Aleppo," Takreiti said.
He added that the damage caused by terrorists during the war in the country was estimated at 500 billion Syrian lira (over $1.1 billion).
Takreiti recalled that after the Syrian government forces regained control over the territories located south of Damascus, the railway traffic was resumed from Damascus' Kadam Railway Station to Damascus Exhibition Center. Besides, trains also run from Homs to coastal cities, in particular, to Latakia.
Syria has been engulfed in an armed conflict since 2011. In late 2017, the victory over the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) was declared in Syria and Iraq, with some territories of the two countries still being cleared of terrorists with the assistance of the Russian forces. The main efforts in Syria are currently focused on political settlement and post-war reconstruction of the country.
