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Hejaz railway
Hejaz Railway Station in Damascus, the original starting point of the railway.
Overview
Other name(s)	Hedjaz railway
Locale	Southern Syria, Jordan, northern Saudi Arabia
Termini	Damascus Medina
Operation
Opened	1908 (1908)
Closed	1920 (1920)
Operator(s)	HJR CFH
Technical
Track length	1,320 km (820 mi)
Track gauge	1,050 mm (3 ft 5 11⁄32 in)
Minimum radius	100 m (328 ft)
Maximum incline	1.8 ‰ (0.18 %)
The railway in 1908

SLM in Switzerland built a class of ten 2-8-0 locomotives for the Hejaz railway in 1912, numbered 87–96. They were later renumbered 150–159. Several were captured in 1918 by British and Empire forces or transferred in 1927 to Palestine Railways, which had taken over the Hejaz railway's Jezreel Valley branch in 1920. 153 (formerly 90) was transferred in 1927 and is pictured on the Jezreel Valley railway in 1946.

[ v t e ] Hejaz-railway (main line)

Legend -6,0 Damascus–Kanawat 1906 extension 0,0 Damascus-Cadem Works Damascus-Cadem–Halep to Qatara 20,8 Kiswe 30,5 Deir Ali 49,7 Mismiya 62,6 Gbagbageb 69,1 Khabab 77,8 Mahadsha 84,6 Shaqra 91,2 Esra formerly 600mm-narrow gauge to as-Suwayda 106,1 Khirbet al-Ghazaleh to/from Haifa 123,0 Daraa Ghares 128,6 to Bosra 135,7 Nasib motorway Amman–Damascus border Syria/Jordan 140,1 Dschabir 161,7 Mafraq 185,3 Chirbet us-Samra motorway Amman–Damascus 194,0 Salis IPC-Refinery 202,7 Az-Zarqa 222,4 Amman Railway museum Jesin-viaduct 234,0 Qasr gallery 248,8 Lubin street Amman–Airport 259,7 Dshisa 278,7 Daba’a 295,2 Chan uz-Zibib 309,3 Suaka 326,2 Qatrana wye 348,4 Menzil crossing phosphate mine Abiad M 45 367,1 Faraifa Phosphate mine wadi el-Hassa 377,8 Al-Hassa 397,4 Dschiruf ed-Derwish 422,7 Anese to Hischech 440,5 Wadu Dshardum crossing Ma’an Old Station) to Naqb Ashtar 458,8 Ma'an 475,0 Gadir al-Hadsh 487,0 Shedija crossing 491,0 Abu Tarafa 500,0 Esch-Schifia 508,0 Fassua 514,2 Aqaba el-Hedschasije (Hattyia) 519,7 Batn al-Ghul 522,5 to Aqaba 545,0 Tel esh-Sham 572,0 Mudawarra border Jordan/Saudi Arabia 591,0 Kalaat Amara 610,0 Sat ul-Hadsch 635,0 Bir Hermas 654,0 El-Hazim 667,0 Makhtab 692,0 Tabuk 737,0 Sahr ul -hul 743,0 Dar ul-Hadsh 753,0 Mustabka 757,0 Al-Achdar 773,0 Chamis 794,4 Dissaid 830,0 Al-Muadhem/Muassam 855,0 Khism Sana’a/Hachim Sana 883,0 Al-Muteli 885,0 Dar al-Hamra 904,0 Mutali 912,0 Abu Taka 938,0 Al-Muzhim 946,0 Mabrakat al-Naka 958,0 Meda’in Saleh works & museum 983,0 Al-Ula 1048,0 Zumrud/Sumruk 1079,0 Bir Jehid 1144,0 Hedia 1166,3 Dsheda 1176,0 Abu al-Na’am 1194,5 Stabl Antar 1245,0 Bir Nassif 1290,5 Bir Abu Jabir/Muhid 1309,0 Hafirah 1315,5 Bir Osman 1320,5 Medina 1322,0 Medina Citadel

The Hejaz (or Hedjaz or Hijaz) railway (Turkish: Hicaz Demiryolu) was a narrow-gauge railway (1,050 mm/​3 ft 5 ¹¹⁄₃₂ in track gauge) that ran from Damascus to Medina, through the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia, with a branch line to Haifa on the Mediterranean Sea. It was a part of the Ottoman railway network and the original goal was to extend the line from the Haydarpaşa Terminal in Kadikoy beyond Damascus to the holy city of Mecca. However, construction was interrupted due to the outbreak of World War I, and it reached no further than Medina, 400 kilometres (250 mi) short of Mecca. The completed Damascus to Medina section was 1,300 kilometres (810 mi).

The main purpose of the 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, the destination of the Hajj annual pilgrimage. 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.

History

Map showing the Ottoman railways on the eve of World War I

Railroad spikes of the old Jezreel Valley railway (part of the Hejaz railway), found near Kfar Baruch

Construction

Railways were experiencing a building boom in the late 1860’s, and the Hejaz region was one of the many areas up for speculation. The first such proposal involved a railway stretching from Damascus to the Red Sea. This plan was soon dashed, however, as the Amir of Mecca raised objections regarding the sustainability of his own camel transportation project should the line be constructed.^[1] Ottoman involvement in the creation of a railway began with Colonel Ahmed Reshid Pasha, who, after surveilling the region on an expedition to Yemen in 1871-1873, concluded that the only feasible means of transport for Ottoman soldiers travelling there was by rail. Other Ottoman officers, such as Osman Nuri Pasha, also offered up proposals for a railway in the Hejaz, arguing its necessity if security in the Arabian region were to be maintained.^[2]

Many around the world did not believe that the Ottoman Empire would be able to fund such a project: it was estimated the railway would cost around 4 million Turkish lira, a sizeable portion of the budget. The Ziraat Bankasi, a state bank which served agricultural interests in the Ottoman Empire, provided an initial loan of 100,000 lira in 1900. This initial loan allowed the project to commence later the same year. Abdulhamid II called on all Muslims in the world to make donations to the construction of the Hejaz Railway.^[3] The project had taken on a new significance. Not only was the railway to be considered an important military feature for the region, it was also a religious symbol. Hajis, pilgrims on their way to the holy city of Mecca, often didn’t reach their destination when travelling along the Hejaz route. Unable to contend with the tough, mountainous conditions, up to 20% of hajis died on the way.^[4] Abdulhamid was adamant that the railway stand as a symbol for Muslim power and solidarity: this rail line would make the religious pilgrimage easier not only for Ottomans, but all Muslims. As a result, no foreign investment in the project was to be accepted. The Donation Commission was established to organize the funds effectively, and medallions were given out to donors. Despite propaganda efforts such as railway greeting cards, only about 1 in 10 donations came from Muslims outside of the Ottoman Empire. One of these donors, however, was Muhammad Inshaullah, a wealthy newspaper editor based out of India. He helped to establish the Hejaz Railway Central Committee.^[5]

Access to resources was a significant stumbling block during construction of the Hejaz Railway. Water, fuel, and labor were particularly difficult to find in the more remote reaches of the Hejaz. In the uninhabited areas, camel transportation was employed not only for water, but also food and building materials. Fuel, mostly in the form of coal, was brought in from surrounding countries and stored in Haifa and Damascus. Labor was certainly the largest obstacle in the construction of the railway. In the more populated areas, much of the labor was fulfilled by local settlers as well as Muslims in the area, who were legally obliged to lend their hands to the construction. This forced labor was largely employed in the treacherous excavation efforts involved in railway construction. In the more remote areas the railway would be reaching, a more novel solution was put to use. Much of this work was completed by railway troops of soldiers, who in exchange for their railway work, were exempt from one third of their military service.^[6] As the rail line traversed treacherous terrain many bridges and overpasses had to be built. Since access to concrete was limited, many of these overpasses were made of carved stone and stand to this day. It was later decided by Abdulhamid that the railway would only go so far as Medina.
^[7]

Under the supervision of chief engineer Mouktar Bey, the railway reached Medina on 1 September 1908, the anniversary of the Sultan's accession.^[8] However, many compromises had to be made in order to finish by this date, with some sections of track being laid on temporary embankments across wadis. In 1913 the Hejaz Railway Station was opened in central Damascus as the starting point of the line.

Attacks on the railway

The Emir Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca viewed the railway as a threat to Arab suzerainty, since it provided the Ottomans with 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 line. Due to the locals' habit of pulling up wooden sleepers to fuel their camp-fires, some sections of the track were laid on iron sleepers.

Construction Period

• In September 1907,

As crowds celebrated the rail reaching Al-Ula station, a rebellion organized by the tribe of Harb threatened to halt progress. The rebels objected to the railway stretching all the way to Mecca; they feared they would lose their livelihood as camel transport was made obsolete. ^[9]

Attacks During the War Period

• In May of 1917,

British bombers dropped bombs on Al-Ula Station.
In July of 1917,
Stewart Newcombe, a British engineer and associate of T.E Lawrence, conspired with forces from the Egyptian and Indian armies to sabotage the railway. The Al-Akhdhar station was attacked and 20 Turkish soldiers were captured.^[10]

• In October 1917,

The Ottoman stronghold of Tabuk fell to Arab rebels. The Abu-Anna’em station was also captured.

• In November 1917,

Sharif Abdullah and the tribe of Harb attacked Al-Bwair station and destroyed two locomotives.

• In December 1917,

A group of men led by Ibn Ghusiab derailed a train on the line south of Tabuk.^[11]

Later History

Following the Arab Revolt, the Ottoman Empire lost control of the railway. As the region was divided up by world powers following the conclusion of World War I, it was unclear to whom the railway should belong. The area was divided up between the British and the French; both were eager to assume control. However, many sections of tracks fell into a state of disrepair following years of neglected maintenance. The railway was unofficially abandoned by 1920. Ibn Saud took control of the peninsula in 1924; by then, plans to revive the railway were no longer on the agenda.

World War I

During World War I, the German Army produced shale oil from the Yarmouk oil shale deposit to fuel locomotives operating on the railway.^[12][13] The line was repeatedly damaged in fighting during the war, particularly at the hands of the guerrilla force led by T. E. Lawrence during the Arab Revolt, which ambushed Ottoman trains. The Turks built a military railway from the Hejaz line to Beersheba, opening on 30 October 1915.^[14]

World War II

In World War II the Samakh Line from Haifa to Deraa at 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 models from Germany and Breda from Italy. The line, which had been operated by the Vichy French, was in disrepair. Trains over the steep section between Samakh (now Ma'agan) and Derea were 230 tons maximum, with 1,000 tons moved in 24 hours. The group also ran 60 miles (95 km) of branch line including Afula to Tulkarm.^[15]

The 1960s

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1920 the railway did not reopen south of the modern Jordanian–Saudi Arabian border. An attempt was made in the mid-1960s, but this was abandoned due to the Six-Day War in 1967.^[16]

Current status

Two connected sections of the Hejaz railway are in service:

• from Amman in Jordan to Damascus in Syria, as the Hedjaz Jordan Railway ^[17] and the Chemin de Fer de Hedjaz Syrie
  


• from phosphate mines near Ma'an to the Gulf of Aqaba, as the Aqaba Railway
  

Workers on the railway have restored many of the original locomotives: there are nine steam locomotives in Syria and seven in Jordan in working order. Since the accession of King Abdullah II relations between Jordan and Syria have improved, causing a revival of interest in the railway. The train runs from Qadam station in the outskirts of Damascus, not from the Hejaz Station, which closed in 2004, pending a major commercial development project. On 4 February 2009 the Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said in Riyadh regarding plans to rebuild the railway line:^[18]

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 their sections of line.

…

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.^[19][20] Trains destroyed during the Arab Revolt of 1916–1918 can still be seen where they fell.

Israel Railways partially rebuilt the long-defunct Haifa extension, the Jezreel Valley railway, using standard gauge, with the possibility of someday extending it to Irbid in Jordan. The rebuilt line opened from Haifa to Beit She'an in October 2016.

In 2009, Jordan’s transport ministry proposed a 990-mile (1590-km) US$5 billion rail network, construction of which could begin in the first quarter of 2012. The planned network would provide freight rail links from Jordan to Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. 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-Hejaz railway" opened in Damascus Khadam station after major renovations for an exhibition of the locomotives. Trains run from Khadam station on demand (usually from 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^[21] and a larger project is the "Hejaz Railway Museum" in Medina, which opened in 2006.^[22]

In November 2018, Middle East Monitor revealed Saudi-Israel's joint plans to revive the railway from Haifa to Riyadh.^[23]

Image gallery

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  A coin commemorating the opening of the Ma'an Station of the Hejaz railway
  

  
  

  
  


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  Preserved 1902 Krauss steam locomotive No. 10 at the Israel Railway Museum
  

  
  

  
  


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  Monument commemorating the opening of the Turkish railway station in Haifa, Israel
  

  
  

  
  


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  Empty phosphate train at Ram station, coming from Aqaba, Jordan
  

  
  

  
  

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hejaz Railway.

• Arab Mashreq International Railway


• Similar gauges


• Transport in Jordan


• Transport in the Arab League

References

Further reading

• 
  Tourret, R. (1989). Hedjaz Railway. Tourret Publishing. ISBN 0-905878-05-1.
  


• 
  Nicholson, James. The Hejaz railway. Stacey International Publishers. ISBN 1-900988-81-X.
  


• 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 0-14-301915-5
  

External links

• Four podcasts about the Hejaz railway from BBC World service


• pictures and report of travelogue in the Saudi Section of Hejaz railway


• BBC: "A piece of railway history"


• BBC: "Pilgrim railway back on track"


• http://www.hejaz-railroad.info/Galerie.html


• lots of pictures from the Hidjaz Railway stations from a 2008 trip across Syria


• Extensive website on the Hejaz railway


• 
  Yarmuk River railway bridges, 1933 aerial photographs. Aerial Photographic Archive for Archaeology in the Middle East / National Archives, London.


• Hejaz railway overlay on Google Maps