After 50 years Tripoli port reconnects to Syria by rail

Lebanon and Syria are preparing to revive a railway link that has been inactive for more than 50 years.

The proposed first phase would connect the Port of Tripoli to Abboudieh on the Syrian border, then link into Syria’s rail network toward Homs and beyond. The focus for now is mainly on freight, allowing goods arriving at Tripoli’s port to move by rail into Syria and potentially to wider regional markets.

The project is still in the study and design phase, so trains will not return immediately. But if implemented, it would mark Lebanon’s first operational railway line in decades and could strengthen Tripoli’s role as a regional trade and reconstruction hub.