The Hejaz Railway

Construction of Hejaz Railway

 "It is a curious coincidence that during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the two ancient famous world trading roads, on the one hand from Cane Emporium, the other from the Persian Gulf conducted through Arabia to the Mediterranean Sea and Byzantium, torne off oblivion after almost 2000 years top be brought back to life; the Nabatean trade route of the Sabians and by the construction of the Hejaz railway and the Palmyrene trade route by the the Baghdad Railway. "

That is what Auler Pasha wrote in his travelogue of 1907, but it's not just the ancient Nabatean trade route which follows the construction of the Hejaz railway, it is especially the way of the pilgrim road from Damascus to Medina and then to Mecca. There were several serious reasons, because on the one hand the route was in use since the early days of Islam, so supported by lots of supply stations, water stations and fortresses (Khans) to protect the pilgrims, and on the other hand the already existing facilities were utilized by troops of the Ottoman army.

By order (Irade) of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, announced on 1 May 1900, the construction of the railway from Damascus to Medina was decided, in parallel to the imperial telegraph line. Previously, the plan was to connect or transfer to the already in-use and, under French leadership operated narrow-gauge railway from Muzeirib to Damascus. But the high price of 7 million francs forced to change the plans for a new line parallel to the existing route. Even the rare rail gauge of 1050 mm was based on the narrow gauge of the French railway.

The first under the Ottoman Army Command supervised construction proceeded very slowly, and despite of support of Italian engineer La Belle, only 20 km installed route were finalized after the first 6 months. Based on a reorganization and the relocation of the site management  to Damascus, the construction then proceeded faster. That was also associated with the employment of the German railway engineer Heinrich August Meissner in 1901, whome later was given due to his excellent performance on the construction the honorary title of Pasha by the Sultan.

Meissners reorganization made it possible that the railway was inaugurated in Medina on 1. September 1908, the date of accession to the throne of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.

A continuous construction of the railway from Medina to Mecca and Jeddah, as originally planned, but due to the historical events were never realized.

 The following opening dates have been announced:

From	To	km	Opening	closing
Damaskus Cadem	Dera’a	123	1.9.1903
Dera’a	Zarqa	80	1.9.1902*
Zarqa	Quatrana	124	1.9.1903
Qatrana	Ma’an	133	1.9.1904
Ma’an	Mudawwara	113	1.9.1905
Mudawwara	Tabuk	120	1.9.1906	1924
Tabuk	Al Ula	288	1.9.1907	1924
Al Ula	Medina	322	1.9.1908	1924
Damaskus Stadtmitte	Damaskus Cadem	5	1911	2005
Haifa	Beisan	59	14.1.1904	1948
Beisan	Jizr al Mujami	17	27.5.1904	1948
Jizr al Mujami	Muzeirib	73	15.10.1905	1948
Muzeirib	Dera’a	13	1.9.1901*

* Originally began with the early involvement of the Hejaz railway route to Damascus Muzeirib

Since the material for rails and carriages as well as the disposals like coal and lubricants had to be procured exclusively from abroad, from the beginning a supply route was already planned from Haifa to Muzeirib via Yarmuk valley. This line is due to the difficult geographical situation a masterpiece of railway construction, which yet dominates the services of construction of the Hejaz railway.

The smallest radius on the Hejaz railway was due to the narrow gauge system minimum 100 m. The axle load was limited to 10 tons. The rail yards had a weight of 21.5 kp, with the steel sleepers showing a total track weight of 103 kp / m, all typical standards for a narrow gauge railway.

There are more than 730 bridges, aqueducts and water channels created as masonry. In addition, there are 2 tunnels of 138 m (near Amman)  and 162 m (near Tabuk) in length.

Nearly 100 posts and only a few railway stations are built at regular intervals along the route. This applies especially to the southern part since the Ottoman had to secure the route from local attacks and sabotage.

The staff was divided into the construction engineers, construction supervision, local contractors and laborers. The latter group is mainly composed of soldiers and locally hired workers. The proportion of military personnel in 1900 summed up to approximately 600 men, but rose rapidly to 5 500 men and reached the 1907 level of 7 500 men.

Progress of construction was divided into sequences: The work ahead was performed by reconnaissance troops which were followed by the surveyors. After determining the route, artificial structures were immediately and simultaneously started prior to the construction of embanquement. Only after setting the line, construction of posts and railway stations followed.

The supply to the railway construction was always on the already fixed lines, the supply of water and food in front of construction was supported by about 400 camels, owned and operated by the local Bedouin tribes.

Particularly it must be mentioned that the supply of water, but also partly the lack of fuel was one of the biggest problems of the railway operation resorces and demanded a big part of transport capacity.