Syria-Iraq Railway To Resume Activity

[La_Serpiente]

Syria-Iraq Railway To Resume Activity

It was announced yesterday in Damascus that the Syrian and Iraqi railroad companies have reached an agreement to reactivate a weekly passenger train between the Syrian town Aleppo and the Iraqi town Mosul, for the first time since the beginning of military operations in Iraq.

Iyad Ghazal, the Director General of the Railroads company, told Al-Hayat that the first train will depart on the evening of Friday, November 21.

After the war was on Iraq started, the Syrian government had imposed a travel ban on its citizens, limiting the travels to businessmen who obtained a visa. The railroad company asked the immigration and passports department yesterday to dedicate some of its human resources to inspect the visas of travelers leaving for Iraq, in order to avoid problems they could face when crossing the Syrian border into Iraq.

Damascus announced that it would like to maintain its control over the three official points between both countries, in order to prevent the infiltration of terrorists into Iraq, provided the coalition forces control the Iraqi side. The Yaarabiya gate, which the train will be crossing, is one of these official points. Ghayath Shaarani, the head of the passengers' transportation at the railroad company, said that the train has five wagons and holds up to 110 passengers. According to the agreement, Syrian travelers will pay the fees of the trip of around 11 hours, in local currency (around 850 SP), while Iraqis will pay the fees in U.S. dollars (around $17).

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Syria-Iraq Railway To Resume Activity