The story
History
Prior to the construction of the line, it took 40 days from Damascus to Medina. The railway shortened the time to 5 days. The railway is the only railway which was operated and built by the Ottoman Empire. At first, German engineers were employed as technical support, however over time they were replaced by Ottoman technicians. According to Özyüksel, the Ottomans built the project in order to weaken the Arab nationalist movements and strengthen the empire's Islamist positioning.
The loss of Christian territories in Europe turned the Ottoman Empire into a more Islamic centred entity according to Özyüksel. The empire under Sultan Abdulhamid was concerned with non-Turks in the empire turning to nationalism and thus disintegrating the empire. The Ottomans sought to use Islam to unite their various subjects and prevent the spread of nationalist ideas. The railway was meant to enhance the image of the Sultan as a paramount figure in the Islamic world. The construction of the Hejaz railway would assist the Ottoman empire in preventing Bedouin attacks on pilgrims to Mecca and Medina. According to Özyüksel it was meant to weaken the independence of amirs in Mecca and Medina and strengthen the Ottoman state in the region.
Project; survey
Railways were experiencing a building boom in the late 1860s, 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.
Ottoman involvement in the creation of a railway began with Colonel Ahmed Reshid Pasha, who, after surveying the region on an expedition to Yemen in 1871–1873, concluded that the only feasible means of transport for Ottoman soldiers traveling 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.
Funding and symbolism
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. Abdul Hamid II called on all Muslims in the world to make donations to the construction of the Hejaz Railway. 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.
Abdul Hamid 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 Punjabi newspaper editor. He helped to establish the Hejaz Railway Central Committee. The BBC said the project was funded completely by donations.
The attempt to reach the Hejaz via rail despite major economic incentives outside the Hajj season is probably due to religious and political reasons according to Özyüksel.
Resources; construction work
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.
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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 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.
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.
Engineers
Both Ottoman and foreign engineers worked together on the construction of the Hejaz Railway, and it was the first Ottoman railway on which Muslim engineers who had graduated from Ottoman engineering schools worked in significant numbers. The construction of the Hejaz railway progressed slower than expected, primarily due to the inexperience of Ottoman engineers. The Hendese-i Mülkiye, the empire’s first engineering school, had been founded only 16 years earlier, limiting the availability of skilled local engineers. As a result, the Ottoman administration abandoned its initial policy of hiring only locals and brought in foreign experts. Engineers from the Anatolian and Baghdad railways were transferred, and under the leadership of the experienced German engineer Meissner, construction accelerated.
Despite this, Sultan Abdülhamid II remained committed to employing Muslim engineers. In 1904, 17 Muslim engineers were hired, and to further develop local expertise, the Ottomans sent engineers to Germany for training. Over time, Muslim Ottoman engineers became involved at all levels of the project. In particular, the section south of al-Ula was staffed exclusively by Muslims, as Christians were barred from entering. The final stretch from al-Ula to Medina was completed successfully under the leadership of Haji Muhtar Beg, relying entirely on Muslim engineers and workers.
Transportation volume
The Haifa - Dera - Damascus branch of the Hejaz railway was about a fifth of the total rail built for the Hejaz railway and accounted for three quarters of traffic.
Economic influence
The Hejaz district did not enjoy significant positive economic effects from the Hejaz railway according to Özyüksel. Haifa, a port at the end of a branch line of the Hejaz railway is said to have enjoyed significant growth partily due to the railway connection.
Arab opposition
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.
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. It was later decided by Abdul Hamid that the railway would only go so far as Medina.
British opposition
Due to a British ultimatum, Özyüksel says the Ottomans were not able to build the Aqaba exit from the Hejaz network. The British backed the publishing of newspaper articles in India against the Hejaz railway in order to prevent Indian muslims from donating to the Hejaz railway. The British also banned the wearing of Hejaz railway medals which were gifted to those who had donated to the construction of the railway. The British claimed that the donations went to the Sultan's own devices and not for the railway itself. British use of the railway included regular trips by Gertrude Bell, who visited Al-Jizah often.
French opposition
The French opposed the Afula - Jerusalem track, which prevented the Ottomans from completing that segment of the Hejaz Network.
Completion (1908-13)
Under the supervision of chief engineer Mouktar Bey, the railway reached Medina on 1 September 1908, the anniversary of the Sultan's accession. 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.
Reception
The railways were received "enthusiastically" according to Özyüksel. The press in countries with significant Muslim populations outside the Ottoman empire including Egypt and India covered the project and also asked Muslims to assist the Ottoman Caliph in the building of the railway.
World War I
To fuel locomotives operating on the railway during World War I, the German Army produced shale oil from the Yarmouk oil shale deposit. The Turks constructed a military railway from the Hejaz line to the Beersheba Turkish railway station, opening on 30 October 1915.
The Hejaz line was repeatedly attacked and damaged, particularly during the Arab Revolt, when Ottoman trains were ambushed by the guerrilla force led by T. E. Lawrence.
On 26 March 1917, T. E. Lawrence (known as Lawrence of Arabia) led an attack on the Aba el Naam Station, taking 30 prisoners and inflicting 70 casualties on the garrison. He went on to say, "Traffic was held up for three days of repair and investigation. So we did not wholly fail."
In May 1917, British bombers dropped bombs on Al-'Ula Station. In July 1917, Stewart Newcombe, a British engineer and associate of 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.
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.
With the Arab Revolt and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, it was unclear to whom the railway should belong. The area was divided between the British and the French, both eager to assume control. However, following years of neglected maintenance, many sections of track fell into disrepair; the railway was effectively abandoned by 1920. In 1924, when Ibn Saud took control of the peninsula, plans to revive the railway were no longer on the agenda.
World War II
In the Second World War, the Samakh Line (from Haifa to Deraa at the Syrian border and to Damascus) was operated 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 Hartmann models from Germany. The line, which had been operated by the Vichy French, was in disrepair. Trains over the steep section between Samakh (now Ma'agan) and Deraa 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.
1960s
The railway south of the modern Jordanian–Saudi Arabian border remained closed after 1920 and the fall of the Ottoman Empire. An attempt was made to rebuild it in the mid-1960s, but then abandoned due to the Six-Day War in 1967.
2026 Saudi-Turkish agreement
On 9 June 2026, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed rail and logistics cooperation agreements to support a Gulf–Europe transport corridor via Syria and Jordan. Officials stated that the project could contribute to the revival of the historic Hejaz Railway route and strengthen regional freight connectivity. Analyses by the Times of Israel and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies described it as a move meant to undermine Israel's regional influence and its participation in the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor in a time of where Arab–Israeli normalization stalled. The 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis also contributed to the Gulf states support for the project as it highlighted the need for alternatives to the strait.
From Wikipedia’s article on Chemin de Fer de Hedjaz Syrie, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3