Hejaz railway

{|{{Railway line header}} {{BS-header|Hejaz-Railway (Main Line)|Hejaz Railway}} {{BS-table}} {{BS|exKBHFa|-6,0|[[Damascus]]–Kanawat|1906 extension}} {{BS|KBHFxa|0,0|Damascus-Cadem|Works}} {{BS|KRZ||Damascus-Cadem–[[Halep]]|}} {{BS|ABZrf||to Qatara}} {{BS|BHF|20,8|Kiswe|}} {{BS|BHF|30,5|Der Ali|}} {{BS|BHF|49,7|Mismije|}} {{BS|BHF|62,6|Dschabab|}} {{BS|BHF|69,1|Chabab|}} {{BS|BHF|77,8|Mahadsha|}} {{BS|BHF|84,6|Shakra|}} {{BS|BHF|91,2|[[Esra (Syria)|Esra]]|
formerly {{RailGauge|600mm}}-narrow gauge to As-Sawayda}} {{BS|BHF|106,1|Chibret al-Ghasali|}} {{BS|ABZgr+r||[[Jezreel Valley railway|to/from Haifa]]|}} {{BS|BHF|123,0|[[Dar'a]]|}} {{BS|BHF||Ghares|}} {{BS|ABZlf|128,6|to [[Bosra]]|}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|eBHF|135,7|[[Nassib]]|}} {{BS|SBRÜCKE||motorway Amman–Damascus|}} {{BS|GRENZE||border Syria/[[Jordan]]|}} {{BS|eBHF|140,1|[[Dschabir]]|}} {{BS|BHF|161,7|Mafraq|}} {{BS|BHF|185,3|Chirbet us-Samra|}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|WBRÜCKE|||}} {{BS|SBRÜCKE||motorway Amman–Damascus|}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BHF|194,0|Salis|}} {{BS|eABZlg||IPC-Refinery|}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BHF|202,7|Az-Zarqa|}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|WBRÜCKE||[[Rossaifa]]|}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||street|}} {{BS|WBRÜCKE||Rossaifa|}} {{BS|SBRÜCKE|||}} {{BS|BHF|222,4|[[Amman]]|Railway Museum}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||Jesin-viaduct}} {{BS|TUNNEL2|||}} {{BS|BHF|234,0|Qasr|}} {{BS|TUNNEL2|||gallery}} {{BS|BUE||motorway Amman Circular|}} {{BS|BHF|248,8|Lubin|}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|SBRÜCKE||street Amman–Airport|}} {{BS|BHF|259,7|Dshisa|}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BHF|278,7|Daba’a|}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BHF|295,2|Chan uz-Zibib|}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BHF|309,3|Suaka|}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BHF|326,2|Qatrana|wye}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|eDST|348,4|Menzil|crossing}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|BRÜCKE||wadi}} {{BS|ABZrg||phosphate mine Abiad}} {{BS|SBRÜCKE||M 45}}{{BS|BHF|367,1|[[Faraifa]]|}} {{BS|ABZrg||Phosphate mine [[wadi el-Hassa]]}} {{BS|BHF|377,8|Al-Hassa|}} {{BS|SBRÜCKE||M 45|}} {{BS|BRÜCKE|||}} {{BS|BHF|397,4|[[Dschiruf ed-Derwish]]|}} {{BS|SBRÜCKE||M 45|}} {{BS|BHF|422,7|[[Anese]]|}} {{BS|eABZrf||to Hischech|}} {{BS|DST|440,5|Wadu Dshardum|crossing}} {{BS|ABZrf||Ma’an Old Station) to Naqb Ashtar|}} {{BS|BHF|458,8|[[Ma'an]]|}} {{BS|BHF|475,0|[[Gadir al-Hadsh]]|}} {{BS|DST|487,0|Shedija|crossing}} {{BS|BHF|491,0|Abu Tarafa|}} {{BS|BHF|500,0|Esch-Schifia|}} {{BS|BHF|508,0|Fassua|}} {{BS|BHF|514,2|Aqaba el-Hedschasije (Hattyia)|}} {{BS|BHF|519,7|Batn al-Ghul|}} {{BS|xABZrf|522,5|to [[Aqaba]]|}} {{BS|exBHF|530,0|wadi Rassim|}} {{BS|exBHF|545,0|Tel esh-Sham|}} {{BS|exBHF|572,0|Mudawarra|}} {{BS|xGRENZE||border Jordan/[[Saudi-Arabia]]|}} {{BS|exDST|583,0|crossing|}} {{BS|exBHF|591,0|Kalaat Amara|}} {{BS|exDST|598,0|crossing|}} {{BS|exBHF|610,0|Sat ul-Hadsch|}} {{BS|exDST|622,0|crossing|}} {{BS|exBHF|635,0|Bir Hermas|}} {{BS|exBHF|654,0|El-Hazim||}} {{BS|exBHF|667,0|Makhtab|}} {{BS|exDST|681,0|crossing|}} {{BS|exBHF|692,0|[[Tabuk, Saudi Arabia|Tabuk]]|}} {{BS|exDST|706,0|crossing|}} {{BS|exBHF|710,0|Wadi Atil|}} {{BS|exDST|716,0|crossing|}} {{BS|exBHF|737,0|Sahr ul -hul|}} {{BS|exBHF|743,0|Dar ul-Hadsh|}} {{BS|exBHF|753,0|Mustabka|}} {{BS|exBHF|757,0|Al-Achdar|}} {{BS|exBHF|773,0|Chamis|}} {{BS|exBHF|794,4|Dissaid|}} {{BS|exBHF|830,0|Al-Muadhem/Muassam|}} {{BS|exDST|844,0|crossing|}} {{BS|exBHF|855,0|Khism Sana’a/Hachim Sana|}} {{BS|exDST|871,0|crossing|}} {{BS|exBHF|883,0|Al-Muteli|}} {{BS|exBHF|885,0|Dar al-Hamra|}} {{BS|exBHF|904,0|Mutali|}} {{BS|exBHF|912,0|Abu Taka|}} {{BS|exDST|924,0|crossing|}} {{BS|exBHF|938,0|Al-Muzhim|}} {{BS|exBHF|946,0|Mabrakat al-Naka|}} {{BS|exBHF|958,0|[[Mada'in Saleh]]|works & museum}} {{BS|exDST|973,0|crossingg|}} {{BS|exBHF|983,0|[[Al-`Ula]]|}} {{BS|exDST|994,0|crossing|}} {{BS|exDST|1003,0|Bedai|crossing}} {{BS|exDST|1013,0|Mesched|crossing}} {{BS|exDST|1025,0|crossing|}} {{BS|exDST|1029,0|Sahil Matara|crossing}} {{BS|exBHF|1048,0|Zumrud/Sumruk | }} {{BS|exDST|1060,0|crossing|}} {{BS|exBHF|1079,0|Bir Jehid|}} {{BS|exDST|1099,0|Tuwaira|crossing}} {{BS|exDST|1115,0|Waiban|crossing}} {{BS|exDST|1126,0|Muderitsh|crossing|}} {{BS|exBHF|1144,0|Hedia|}} {{BS|exBHF|1166,3|Dsheda|}} {{BS|exBHF|1176,0|Abu al-Na’am|}} {{BS|exBHF|1194,5|Stabl Antar|}} {{BS|exDST|1215,0|Al-Buwayr |crossing}} {{BS|exDST|1228,0|crossing|}} {{BS|exBHF|1245,0|Bir Nassif|}} {{BS|exDST|1273,0|Hafire|crossing}} {{BS|exBHF|1290,5|Bir Abu Jabir/Muhid|}} {{BS|exDST|1303,0|Buwata|crossing}} {{BS|exBHF|1309,0|Hafirah|}} {{BS|exBHF|1315,5|Bir Osman|}} {{BS|exBHF|1320,5|[[Medina]]|}} {{BS|exKBHFe|1322,0|Medina Citadel|}} |} |} The '''Hejaz Railway''' (also '''Hedjaz''', etc.) ({{lang-tr|Hicaz Demiryolu}}) was a [[narrow gauge railway]] ({{Railgauge|1050}} [[track gauge]]) that ran from [[Damascus]] to [[Medina]], through the [[Hejaz]] region of [[Saudi Arabia]], with [[Jezreel Valley railway|a branch line to Haifa]], on the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. It was a part of the [[History_of_rail_transport_in_Turkey#Ottoman_Empire_period|Ottoman railway]] network and was built in order to extend the previously existing line between [[Istanbul]] and [[Damascus]] (which began from the [[Haydarpaşa Terminal]]) all the way to the holy city of [[Mecca]] (eventually being able to reach only [[Medina]] due to the interruption of the construction works caused by the outbreak of [[World War I]]). The main purpose of the Hejaz Railway was to establish a connection between [[Constantinople]], the capital of the [[Ottoman Empire]] and the seat of the [[Islamic]] [[Caliphate]], and [[Hejaz]] in [[Arabia]], the site of the holiest shrines of [[Islam]] and the holy city of [[Mecca]], which is the yearly pilgrimage destination of the [[Hajj]]. Another important reason was to improve the economic and political integration of the distant Arabian provinces into the Ottoman state, and to facilitate the transportation of military forces in case of need. The railway is remarkable both for having had no debt when completed and for having many miles of track below sea-level. The initial declared goal of laying the tracks all the way to [[Mecca]] was never achieved. In fact it never reached farther south than [[Medina]], {{convert|400|km|mi}} short of [[Mecca]]. ==History== [[File:PalestineRailways-1946-ClassH-1.jpg|thumb|left|[[Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works|SLM]] in Switzerland built a class of ten 2-8-0 locomotives for the Hejaz Railway in 1912. They were originally numbered 87–96 and later renumbered 150–159. Several were either captured in 1918 by British and Empire forces or transferred in 1927 to [[Palestine Railways#Jezreel Valley railway|Palestine Railways]], which had taken over the Hejaz Railway's [[Jezreel Valley railway|Jezreel Valley branch]] in 1920. 153 (formerly 90) was transferred in 1927 and is pictured on the Jezreel Valley railway in 1946.]] A railway had been suggested in 1864 to relieve the suffering of the hajis on their forty day journey through the wilderness of [[Midian]], the [[Nafud]], and the [[Hejaz]] Mountains. The railway was started in 1900 at the behest of the Ottoman Sultan [[Abdul Hamid II]] and was built largely by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]], with [[German Empire|German]] advice and support. A public subscription was opened throughout the Islamic world to fund the construction. The railway was to be a [[waqf]], an inalienable religious endowment or charitable trust. Before the construction, a [[German Empire|German]] military adviser in Istanbul Auler Pasha estimated that the transportation of soldiers from Istanbul to [[Mecca]] would be reduced to 120 hours. [[Baghdad Railway|Berlin to Baghdad Railway]] was built in the same time. Both railways were interrelated and aimed to strengthen the authority of the Empire over Arab provinces. Another intention was to protect [[Hejaz]] and other Arab provinces from a British invasion. The railway reached Medina on September 1, 1908, the anniversary of the Sultan's accession. Certain compromises had had to be made in order to finish by this date, with some sections of track being laid on temporary embankments across ''[[wadi]]s''. In 1913 a new station, the [[Hejaz Train Station]], was opened in central [[Damascus]] as the starting point of the line (Damascus to Medina is {{convert|1300|km|mi}}). The Emir [[Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca]] viewed the railway as a threat to Arab [[suzerainty]], since it provided the Ottomans easy access to their garrisons in Hejaz, Asir, and Yemen. From its outset, the railway was the target of attacks by local Arab tribes. These were never particularly successful, but neither were the Turks able to control areas more than a mile or so either side of the tracks. Due to the locals' habit of pulling up wooden [[railroad tie|sleeper]]s to fuel their camp-fires, some sections of the track were laid on iron sleepers. During [[World War I]], the German Army produced [[shale oil]] from Yarmouk [[oil shale]] deposit to fuel locomotives operating on the Hejaz railway. The line was repeatedly damaged in fighting during the war, particularly at the hands of the [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] force led by [[T. E. Lawrence]] during the [[Arab Revolt]], which ambushed Ottoman trains on the railway. The Turks built a [[Railway to Beersheba|military railway]] from the Hejaz line to [[Beersheba]], inaugurating the station on October 30, 1915. In [[World War II]] the '' [[Samakh, Tiberias|Samakh]] Line'' from Haifa to Deraa in the Syrian border and to Damascus was run for the Allied forces by the ''New Zealand Railway Group'' 17th ROC from Afula, with workshops at Deraa and Haifa. The locomotives were 1914 Borsig and 1917 Hauptman from Germany and Breda from Italy. The line, previously operated by the Vichy French, was in disrepair. Trains over the steep section between [[Samakh, Tiberias|Samakh]] (now Ma’agan) and Derea were 230 tons maximum, with 1000 tons moved in 24 hours. The Group also ran 60 miles (95 km) of branch line e.g. Afula to Tulkarm After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the railway never reopened south of the [[Jordan]]ian-[[Saudi Arabia]]n border. An attempt was made in the mid-1960s, but this was abandoned due to the [[Six Day War]] in 1967. {{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} ==Current status== Two connected but non-contiguously operated sections of the Hejaz Railway are in service: * from [[Amman]] in [[Jordan]] to [[Damascus]] in [[Syria]], as the "[[Hedjaz Jordan Railway]]" ) * from [[phosphate]] mines near [[Ma'an]] to the [[Gulf of Aqaba]], as the "[[Aqaba Railway Corporation|Aqaba Railway]]" Workers on the railway have restored many of the original locomotives. There are currently nine steam locomotives in Syria and seven in Jordan in working order. Since the accession of [[Abdullah II of Jordan|King Abdullah II]] relations between Jordan and Syria have improved, causing a revival of interest in the railway. The train, however, no longer runs from the Hejaz Station but from Qadam station in the outskirts of [[Damascus]]. In 2004 the Hejaz Station in Damascus was closed, pending a major commercial development project. On the 4th February 2009 the Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said in Riyadh regarding plans to rebuild the railway line:

The plan envisages restoration and modernization of the railway line by the Turkish government within its territory, while it calls on Syria and Jordan to rebuild the tracks on their sides ... On the Saudi side, they do have an ambitious plan to set up railway projects, ... So, when these four countries (Turkey, Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia) come together, the entire project would be completed.

Small non-operating sections of the railway track, buildings and rolling-stock are still preserved as tourist-attractions in Saudi Arabia, including the Medina Terminus, restored in 2005 with railway tracks and locomotive shed. The old railway bridge over the Aqiq Valley though was demolished in 2005 due to damage from heavy rain the year before. Trains destroyed by Lawrence can still be seen where they fell. There are also plans by [[Israel Railways]] to rebuild the long-defunct Haifa extension of the railway (the [[Jezreel Valley railway]]) in [[Israel]] using [[standard gauge]], with the possibility of later extending it to [[Irbid]] in Jordan. In 2009, Jordan’s transport ministry proposed a 990-mile, $5-billion rail network, construction of which could begin in the first quarter of 2012. The planned network would initially provide freight rail links from Jordan to Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Ultimately, passenger rail connections could be extended to Lebanon, Turkey and beyond. The government, which will fund part of the project, is inviting tenders from private firms to raise the rest of the project cost. In 2008 the "museum of the rolling stock of Al-Hidjaz Railway" opened in Damascus Khadam station after major renovations for an exhibition of the locomotives. The trains run from Khadam station on the basis of customer demand (usually German, British or Swiss groups). The northern part of the Zabadani track is no longer accessible. There is a small railway museum at the station in [[Mada'in Saleh]] and a larger project is the "[[Hejaz Railway Museum]]" in Medina that opened in 2006. ==See also== {{commonscat|Hejaz Railway}} * [[Transport in Jordan]] * [[Transportation in the Arab League]] * [[Arab Mashreq International Railway]] ==Further reading== *Judd, Brendon ''The Desert Railway: The New Zealand Railway Group in North Africa and the Middle East during the Second World War'' (2003, 2004 Auckland, Penguin) ISBN 0143019155 ==External links== * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/documentary_archive/4606252.stm Four podcasts about the Hejaz railway from BBC World service] * [http://alsahra.org/?page_id=290 pictures and report of travelogue in the Saudi Section of Hejaz railway] * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4609450.stm BBC: "A piece of railway history"] * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/770243.stm BBC: "Pilgrim railway back on track"] * [http://nabataea.net/hejazmenu.html Extensive Hejaz Railway site at Nabataea.net] * http://www.hejaz-railroad.info/Galerie.html * [http://www.zubeyr-kureemun.com/SaudiArabia/OttomanRuinsInMedina.htm Pictures of Hejaz railway in Madina] * [http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=69304&d=31&m=8&y=2005 The demolition of hejaz railway bridge in Medina] * [http://www.mobiltom.de/syria lots of pictures from the Hidjaz Railway stations from an 2008 trip across Syria] {{coord missing|Jordan}}