Rail transport in Lebanon

Map of the Lebanese rail network when it was in operation.

Beirut main railway station in 2007

Rail transport in Lebanon began in the 1890s and continued for most of the 20th century, but has ceased as a result of the country's political difficulties.

History

The Ottoman Empire

The first railway in Lebanon was built while Lebanon was part of the Ottoman Empire, with the French-established Société des Chemins de fer Ottomans économiques de Beyrouth-Damas-Hauran being granted a concession in 1891.^[1] This railway was intended to link Beirut (now the capital of independent Lebanon) and Damascus (now the capital of neighbouring Syria), providing Damascus with port access.^[1] A contemporary British plan to link Damascus with Jaffa was seen as a threat to Beirut's status as the primary port of the northern Levant, and the French project was largely in response to this.^[2]

Track gauge

The Beirut-Damascus line was built to a 1,050 mm (3 ft 5 ¹⁄₃ in) gauge, across mountainous terrain, and opened in 1895.^[1] At around the same time, a line from Riyaq to Aleppo via eastern Lebanon's Beqaa Valley was approved.^[1] Although it was intended to provide service between Damascus and Aleppo, it was built to standard gauge, and as a result, traffic between those two cities needed to change trains at Riyaq. In the north, the city of Tripoli was also connected to Homs (now in Syria).

World War II

These lines continued to operate after the French replaced the Ottomans as the ruling power, and in World War II, the railways saw significant military use.^[1] Under British direction, the coastal line was linked to Haifa (in today's Israel, see Coastal railway line) and extended to Tripoli, all in standard gauge^[3] — this meant that it was now theoretically possible to travel from Europe to Africa without changing trains.^[2]

Lebanese independence

When Lebanon obtained its independence, the parts of this rail system which were within its territory came into state control, eventually being organised as Chemin de Fer de l'Etat Libanais (CEL).^[1] The Lebanese Civil War caused considerable damage to the rail network, however, and services gradually ceased. The last regular rail operations in Lebanon were trains carrying cement from Chekka to Beirut in 1997.^[1]

Planned revival

There have been a number of proposals for reviving the Lebanese railway system, but as yet, none have come to fruition.^[2][4]

See also

• Arab Mashreq International Railway
• Palestine Railways

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Al Mashriq. CEL - Lebanese Railways. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Section Libanaise de l’Association Française des Amis des Chemins de fer. Un bref aperçu de l’histoire des chemins de fer au Liban. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
3. ^ Australian Railway Construction in the Middle East Knowles, J.W. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, November, 1978 pp244-259
4. ^ Section Libanaise de l’Association Française des Amis des Chemins de fer. Actualité. Retrieved 24 August 2008.