Aleppo railway station ( ar, محطة قطار حلب) more commonly Gare de Baghdad ( ar, محطة بغداد), is the 2nd oldest

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and the main station of the city of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

. It was opened in 1912 as part of the

Berlin–Baghdad railway The Baghdad railway, also known as the Berlin–Baghdad railway ( tr, Bağdat Demiryolu, german: Bagdadbahn, ar, سكة حديد بغداد, french: Chemin de Fer Impérial Ottoman de Bagdad), was started in 1903 to connect Berlin with the ...

. The first ever trip from the station was towards the town of Jarabulus.

History

The Baghdad railway station was built in 1912 by German engineers as part of the Berlin Baghdad line, thus the railway had reached Aleppo with the branch to Tripoli, by the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

; and onwards to

Nusaybin Nusaybin (; '; ar, نُصَيْبِيْن, translit=Nuṣaybīn; syr, ܢܨܝܒܝܢ, translit=Nṣībīn), historically known as Nisibis () or Nesbin, is a city in Mardin Province, Turkey. The population of the city is 83,832 as of 2009 and is ...

by October 1918. The Turks, who sided with

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in W ...

, decided to recover the infrastructure south of Aleppo to Lebanon in 1917. The Baghdad Railway created opportunity and problems for both sides, being unfinished but running just south of the then defined Syrian–Turkish border. Post war, the border was redrawn, and the railway was now north of the border. From 1922 the Baghdad Railway was worked in succession by two French companies, who were liquidated in 1933 when the border was again redrawn, placing the Baghdad Railway section again in Syrian control. Affiche Simplon-Orient-Express Alep

As a result, a new agreement was achieved between the French controlled Syria and the Ottoman Sham-Hama Railway Company (the operator of Damascus Railway) to put the Aleppo Railway under the management of the company for 15 years. As a result, the Aleppo railway line was connected with

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. During the 1940s, after the independence of Syria from the French mandate, the management agreement was expired and the Syrian government itself took over the administration of the Aleppo Railway with the establishment of the new Syrian Railway Company at the end of the 1940s. In 1956, the Syrian government decided to purchase the shares of the Sham-Hama Railway Company in Syria. As a result, all railways in Syria were nationalised and operated under one administration. Later, starting from 1 January 1965, the Syrian Railway was reorganised as

Chemins de Fer Syriens General Establishment of Syrian Railways ( ar, المؤسسة العامة للخطوط الحديدية, french: Chemins de fer syriens, CFS) is the national railway operator for the state of Syria, subordinate to the Ministry of Transportation. ...

(CFS), headquartered in Aleppo. Atrio stazione di Aleppo

Until 2011, the Aleppo railway station was connected with

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...

Hama Hama ( ar, حَمَاة ', ; syr, ܚܡܬ, ħ(ə)mɑθ, lit=fortress; Biblical Hebrew: ''Ḥamāṯ'') is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial ...

Homs ar, حمصي, Himsi , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_blank2_t ...

Qamishly Qamishli ( ar, ٱلْقَامِشْلِي, Al-Qāmišlī, ku, قامشلۆ, Qamişlo, syc, ܒܝܬ ܙܠܝ̈ܢ, Bēṯ Zālīn, lit=House of Reeds or syr, ܩܡܫܠܐ, translit=Qamishlo)

and

Deir ez-Zor , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_blank2_title = Religions , population_blank2 = ...

with daily trips. In 2012, the rail traffic was stopped because of the Syrian civil war. On 25 January 2017, train services resumed in Aleppo for the first time in four years, once again making the station operational. Reconstruction of the Damascus-Aleppo railway line was started in 2020, after its completion and securing rail transport will be resumed.

References

{{Aleppo landmarks Railway stations opened in 1912 Buildings and structures in Aleppo Railway stations in Syria 1912 establishments in the Ottoman Empire

History

See also

References