Russian forces have repaired a segment of the Syrian railway, allowing sufficient aid to be delivered to some areas deeply affected by the war in the country for the first time in years.

The Syrian government was able to send its first train to Latakia Province on the 65-kilometer stretch of rail that connects the port of Tartus to the town of Jableh on Sunday.

"A humanitarian cargo weighing 27 tons arrived by sea. It was loaded onto railway transport and will be delivered to Jableh, where it will be distributed locally among Syrians who are most affected by the fighting," said a spokesman for the Russian center for the reconciliation of opposing sides in Syria, Colonel Aleksandr Gubanov, on Monday.

Apart from halving the time required to send aid to the areas in need, using a train is also much safer than a road which is lined by dangers, he added.

Russian specialists made reconnecting the rail route possible by "setting up loading and unloading stations and picked [intact] cars to carry both humanitarian cargo and construction materials," said Russia’s Colonel Aleksandr Dimitrenko.

"We look forward to the resumption of rail services and to further cooperation with the Syrian side," he noted.

Now that the humanitarian railway deliveries have been reestablished, the people of Latakia will be able to receive sugar, rice, pasta, canned fish and meat, sacks of flour, and drinking water.

A screen grab from footage published by the Al Alam network on November 14, 2016 showing Russian humanitarian aid being loaded on a train in Syria.

“The Syrian people have been fighting against the terrorists for five years. Russia helps not only in the military and humanitarian spheres, but also restores the civilian infrastructure," said the director of the railway, Mudar al-Araj.

Since March 2011, Syria has been hit by militancy it blames on some Western states and their regional allies. Backed by Russian air cover, the Syrian military is engaged in an operation to rid the country of Daesh and other terrorist groups.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura have put the death toll from the conflict at more than 300,000 and 400,000, respectively. This is while the UN has stopped its official casualty count in the Arab country, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources.