Hejaz Railway (Damascus-Medina)
Ferrocarril del Hiyaz (Damasco-Medina)
- Date
- 1900-1908 · confidence high
- Place
- Damascus, Syria
- Credited to
- Ottoman Empire; engineer Heinrich Meissner
- Field
- Movement
What it is
A narrow-gauge line of about 1,300 km between Damascus and Medina, built between 1900 and 1908 with Islamic-world subscriptions and military labour. It cut the pilgrimage journey from around forty days to four or five.
The section to Medina opened in September 1908; the line was damaged in the First World War and now operates only in segments between Syria and Jordan. Coordinates are those of Damascus station.
What it led to
- a faster and safer pilgrimage to Mecca
- Ottoman military control of the Hejaz until the 1916 Arab Revolt and T. E. Lawrence's raids
- branches to Haifa and Aqaba that opened the Levant to the modern economy