Arab Railways Past & Present

Special Feature International Cooperation

Mourhaf Sabouni

gauge and the others have four different Foundation of Introduction gauges: 1000 mm in Tunisia, Algeria and Arab Union of Railways Iraq, 1050 mm in Syria, Jordan and Leba- The ‘Arab Homeland’ covers 13.3 mil- non, 1055 mm in Algeria, and 1067 mm Road transportation has grown rapidly in lion km2 and has a population of approxi- in Sudan. Arab countries due to development of the mately 270 million. It is comprised of The Arab countries are now moderniz- road network as well as stagnation of the Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, ing their lines to the standard gauge, ex- railway sector. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, cept in Sudan and Tunisia. Most lines However, Arab governments have been United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, are single track with only 2399 km of motivated to upgrade and extend their Yemen, Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, double track and 694 km of electrified existing networks by the importance that Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Djibouti, track. The density is very low compared advanced countries attach to railways Somalia and the Comore Islands. De- to advanced countries. and by rail’s merits in economic devel- spite this large number of nations, it The diversity of track gauges makes opment. The Arab countries are also aim- shares a broadly common culture, soci- through traffic difficult, and even traffic ing to integrate their economies and have ety, and written language. between two Arab countries difficult. In realized the importance of unified trans- addition, the design speed varies from 60 portation, especially railways, in interna- km/h in Sudan to 250 km/h in Iraq and tional trade. These factors are causing Birth of Arab Railways the maximum axle load varies from 12 railway traffic to boom. to 25 tonnes. There are also different In 1979, representatives of some Arab The first railway in the Arab Homeland loading gauges. railways met in Amman and decided to (and in the Middle East and Africa) was Table 2 shows the number of rolling stock establish the Arab Union of Railways to opened in 1854 between Alexandria and and passenger and freight volumes. assist in development of relations be- Kafar Zayat in Egypt. Railways were sub- tween neighbouring networks, to estab- sequently built in Morocco, Algeria, Tu- lish international cooperation between nisia, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. railway organizations, and to obtain an The most important railway axis called increased share of the transport market. the Hidjaz Railway, linking Medina in Saudi Arabia with Damascus in Syria, via Amman in Jordan, was built in the early Table 1 Arab Railways 1900s. It was financed by Islamic insti- Total Single Double Electrified tutions in Arab countries and elsewhere. Country Gauge Length Track Track Track The Arab railways were constructed dur- km km km km ing the colonial period for military and Jordan N 3,209 788 — — S 457 422 35 — strategic purposes, as well as to provide Tunisia distribution routes for products from the N 1,484 1,411 73 68 2,864 industries of the colonizing nations. Con- Algeria S 3,209 345 313 N 1,081 1,081 — — sequently, the lines have different tech- Saudi S 1,392 1,078 314 — nical specifications depending on which Sudan N 4,526 4,526 — — country constructed them. Syria S 1,754 1,754 — — N 327 327 —— S 2,045 1,941 104 — Iraq Present Situation N 450 450 —— S 316 316 —— Lebanon There are railway lines in only 11 Arab N 82 82 —— countries: Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt S 4,903 4,903 1,257 42 Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Egypt, Tunisia, Al- Morocco S 1,907 1,907 271 271 geria, Morocco and Mauritania. They Mauritania S 690 690 —— total approximately 25,000 km (Table 1). S: Standard gauge (1435 mm) N: Narrow gauges (1000, 1050, 1055, 1067 mm) Most of the Arab railways are standard

22 Japan Railway & Transport Review • June 1997 Copyright © 1997 EJRCF. All rights reserved. quarterly in three languages, Arabic, French and English. The Union also publishes annual statistics on the Arab railways.

Future Developments

Recent modernization and construction of new railways in some Arab countries have produced positive economic results and social progress in the region. The Union has played an important role in highlighting the importance of the rail- Morocco’s express train linking Meknès and Rabat competes with the national road running parallel to it. (K. Urakawa) way mode in Arab society and economy; it has convinced the Arab governments The Union membership is comprised of 1994 and in Cairo in 1996. to develop railways and to improve rela- most Arab railways and is based in • Organizes training courses to raise the tionships between themselves and with Aleppo, Syria. professional level of railways staff neighbouring countries. One Union The Union: • Conducts studies and presents propos- study on linking various Arab railways • Organizes scientific conferences on als on unified regulations and techni- was adopted by the Council of Arab important subjects by holding bi-an- cal specifications. Transportation Ministers, giving new em- nual international symposia. The • Unifies railway terms in Arab countries phasis to the importance of new railway eighth one will be held in Beirut, Leba- by issuing six dictionaries of 25,000 projects in Arab countries (Figure 1). non, in autumn this year. Special semi- railway terms in Arabic, French and The nine new main axes of the proposed nars on subjects of interest to Arab English network will be as follows: railways have been held in Aleppo in • Publishes Arab Railways, a railway

Table 2 Rolling Stock and Passenger and Freight Volumes Tractive Stock Passenger Traffic Freight Traffic Railways Diesel Electric Total Passenger- Tonne- Steam and and Power Coaches Passengers km Wagons Tonnes km Railcars Railcars (kW) (Millions) (Millions) Aqaba Railway of Jordan — 25 — 40,500 — — — 446 2,560,542 695.015 Hidjaz Jordan Railway 7 5 — 9,300 — 22,622 1.015 443 2,587 0.267 Tunisian Railways — 225 6 274,884 315 28,268,000 1,038.015 5,604 11,789,000 2,225.015 Algerian Railways — 229 15 420,590 585 50,241,000 2,234.015 10,322 9,488,542 2,279.015 Saudi Arabia Railways — 59 — 95,188 54 442,327 131.350 2,280 1,975,539 875.015 Sudan Railways — 138 — 221,500 688 533,173 70,381.015 3,421 1,765,000 1,677.015 Syrian Railways — 184 — 222,722 483 1,954,410 567.400 4,319 4,037,524 1,190.015 Hidjaz Syrian Railway 3 3 — 3,645 47 7,934 0.716 323 — — Iraq Railways — 408 — 811,500 433 7,722,530 3,228.015 11,065 5,411,465 1,928.015 Lebanon Railways — 8 — 7,200 — — — — 13,200 — Egyptian Railways — 839 35 1,366,490 3,280 668,201,000 463,380.015 11,468 14,166,000 4,017.015 Morocco Railways — 144 101 4,73,590 586 28,268,000 1,881.015 9,335 28,141,688 4,679.015 Mauritania Railway — 44 — 68,147 — — — 1,305 10,016,687 6,511.015

7 6200 km connecting Egypt and Mauritania via Libya, Tunisia, Alge- ria and Morocco. 8 3000 km connecting Algeria and Mauritania. 9 1500 km connecting Somalia and Djibouti and on to Yemen via Red Sea by ferry It is estimated that 20,000 km of new track is needed to implement the above

Waiting at Alexandria Station (EJRCF) proposal. The Secretariat General has evaluated the required materials to be 2 1 1700 km connecting Syria with Iraq and Jordan million tonnes of rails, 34 million sleep- and Mediterranean Sea with Arab 4 1700 km connecting Syria and Saudi ers, 40 million m3 of ballast, 136 million Gulf Arabia via Jordan fastenings, and 7000 switches. These 2 1860 km connecting Iraq and Oman 5 4000 km connecting Oman and figures do not include requirements for via Kuwait and Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia via Yemen stations, and signalling and telecommu- 3 2560 km connecting Saudi Arabia 6 2300 km connecting Egypt and Sudan nication equipment, etc. The total re-

Figure 1 Existing (solid) and Proposed (dotted) Major Railway Axes Linking Arab Countries (Numbers correspond with text)

(Source: Arab Union of Railways)

Difficulties

The Arab countries all face similar difficulties in developing and improving their railways, focused on the following points. • Lack of government conviction. Gov-

ernments of countries with no or lim- Crossing tracks anywhere in Cairo (EJRCF) ited railway networks have little interest in railway development, which national budget plans. ticipate in Union symposia to broaden their hinders introduction of new lines. The standards and technical specifica- knowledge of Arab railways and to open • Increasing government emphasis on tions prepared by the Union should be up new opportunities for cooperation. road and highway construction adopted. These specifications are in har- The Arab media should focus on the im- • Necessity for massive capital invest- mony with international railway stan- portance of the railway sector. They ment at beginning of construction. The dards and adoption will facilitate transit should promote the economic, social, en- huge interest payments on massive in- traffic between Arab and neighbouring vironmental advantages of the railway vestments constitute a major budget countries. mode and especially its safety. difficulty for governments oriented to- International, regional and Arab banks, wards economic growth. especially the World Bank, should sup- Current International Cooperation • Difficulty of obtaining private financ- port railway projects in and between Arab and Requirements ing for projects with slow rates of re- countries. turn. The World Bank has not financed Countries like Japan with advanced rail- Recently, transport sectors other than the railway projects in Arab countries but way technology should assist projects in railway sector have benefited from inter- has contributed to highway construc- Arab countries by technology tranfers, national cooperation. However, more in- tion, explaining why Arab governments and dispatch of experts, and their gov- ternational cooperation will be required to focus on road development. ernments should conclude bilateral aid establish effective links to Arab networks. • Through-traffic problems due to speci- agreements. Since the EU has recently paid more atten- fication differences. This also weak- International manufacturers of railway tion to a possible railway link between ens the profitability of railways. equipment, and railway construction Spain and Morocco via Gibraltar, comple- • Lack of media emphasis of railway’s companies should focus on the Arab tion of the main railway axes between Arab safety, economic, social and environ- market to supply materials and equip- countries will permit through traffic to Eu- mental merits, compared to other trans- ment based on international financing rope via Turkey, to Asia through Iran, and port modes and government agreements. This may to Africa. In this way, the Arab Union of also be possible through local or joint- Railways will reach its target of ‘...construct- venture companies like in Egypt. ing an integrated, complete and advanced What Should We Do? Specialist Japanese companies should par- railway network’. I

Some of the most important measures Mourhaf Sabouni required to develop the railway sector in Arab countries are described below. Mr Sabouni is Secretary General of the Arab Union of Railways. He graduated with a degree in The Union should continue its efforts to mechanical engineering and joined Syrian Railways where he served as Deputy Director General until 1983, before being appointed to his current position. complete the links between Arab countries and should ask the Council of Arab Transportation Ministers to include financing for the missing sections in their