Transport in Syria is possible by rail, road, air or rivers, both public and private.
Syria is an
Asian country with a well-developed rail network (2,052 km) and a highway system (782 km). Main international airport is the
Damascus International Airport in the capital,
Damascus.
On 22 April 2005 Syria ratified the Agreement on International Railways in the Arab
Mashriq, which provides for the implementation of a variety of north–south and east–west links between the states of the region, including the restoration of direct rail links between Syria and Lebanon and Iraq.
On 7 July 2005 the Syrian General Establishment for the
Hejaz Railway announced that it had signed a contract worth US$54 million with a Lebanese company to build a railroad between Damascus and Damascus International Airport.
2007 - proposed high-capacity public
metro system in Damascus.[2]
2008 - proposed joint rolling stock factory with
Turkey at
Aleppo[3]
2023 - the restoration of the rail link with Iraq (
IRR) and the proposal to extend the railway from
Al-Qaim in Iraq through
Al-Bukamal in Syria to
Homs for a total distance of 270 kilometers and thence to Tartus are under discussion.[4][5] This will establish rail connection with Iran (
RAI) and Persian Gulf.[6]
total:
68,157 km
paved:
61,514 km (including 1,103 km of expressways)
unpaved:
6,643 km (2006)
Motorways
Syria has a well-developed system of
motorways in the western half of the country. The eastern part nevertheless has only connection through two lanes roads due to the sparsity of the population. The main motorways in Syria are the following:
M4 - Runs from
Latakia to
Saraqib. It also connects
Arihah and
Jisr al-Shughur. Its length is 120 km. Assuming that it shares some 60 km with the Motorway M5, it arrives until
Aleppo, and from there, it has been expanded as a two-lane expressway that continues further east into the
Iraqi border, ultimately reaching its destination at
Mosul.
M5 - This is the most important motorway in the country,[8] due to its length and as it functions as the south–north backbone of the country network. It connects the
border with Jordan in the south with
Damascus, the capital, and continues further north to
Aleppo, the country's second largest city. Its length is 450 kilometres (280 mi).[9][10]
M20 - Also known as Desert Highway. Runs from
Tadmur to
Deir ez-Zor, it also connects
Al-Sukhnah. Its length is 203 kilometres (126 mi).
^The Nairn WayArchived 2014-04-29 at the
Wayback Machine by John M. Munro and Martin Love in Saudi Aramco World, July/August 1981, Vol. 32, No. 4. Retrieved 28 April 2014.