A destroyed station and an out-of-service railway in Raqqa
Raqqa – North-Press Agency
Abdullatif Hilal
The entire infrastructure in the city of Raqqa has largely damaged, even the railway and trains sector, which linked the eastern regions with the Syrian cities before the start of the war in the country.
The railway and train station were the main source of transport for the people of Raqqa, especially as they were alternatives for traveling by bus between the Syrian cities.
The city’s train station operated as an integrated institution of departments and functions and was administratively linked to Aleppo station. It employed 275 employees who worked continuously and alternately to facilitate the work of trains and transport supplies and passengers.
Abdulsalam Al Ahmad, the head of Maintenance Department of the Railways told North-Press: The station has five main sections:
The traction department which is involved with the matters of locomotives and its maintenance and facilitates their works technically.
The traffic department which is the main department of the station, its task is to direct the train lines on the railways and coordinate between the stations to avoid a collision.
The fixed facilities department, its task is the construction and maintenance of lines periodically, paying attention to its bases and maintaining bridges and ferries.
The signal department, which is responsible for electrical and electronic matters and signals to regulate the operation of trains on the line inside and outside the station.
The marketing department, which is responsible for shipping and ticketing matters, also called the Finance department.
Al-Ahmad indicates that the estimated cost of preparing 1km of the railway lines was about 2 million Syrian pounds before the crisis, equivalent to 40 thousand dollars.
It’s worth mentioning that the station provided transportation and travel for thousands of passengers daily from Qamishli through Aleppo, Homs to Damascus, where about 275 employees were working continuously and alternately to facilitate the work of trains and the transport of supplies and people.
The train station’s building in Raqqa was destroyed when the Islamic State militants launched a terrorist attack by a VBIED inside the station, targeting a group of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) members back in 213.