Turkey to restore parts of historic Hejaz Railway in Syria

Turkey will restore parts of the historic Hejaz Railway in Syria, reconnecting Turkish rail lines to Damascus, Turkish Transportation Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said on Tuesday during a meeting with journalists.

The comments by the Turkish official come as Ankara works on helping rebuild its southern neighbour after 13 years of civil war.

“We will quickly assess the situation and take steps to restore the railway connection to Damascus as a first stage,” Uraloglu said during a meeting with the Anatolian Broadcasters Association in Ankara, according to a transcript.

“There are sections of the railway stretching from Turkey to the Hejaz region. We know that these lines have not been operational for a long time as part of a larger network,” Uraloglu added.

“From 2009 to 2010, we sent passenger trains there and even took a journey ourselves.

"There’s existing infrastructure in place... However, in some areas, such as Iraq, we’ve seen railway tracks stolen and sold as raw iron. We may face similar issues in Syria.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a cabinet meeting on Monday that every minister with a specific portfolio will study the shortcomings and problems in Syrian infrastructure and offer help to the new Syrian administration.

A caretaker government has been established in Damascus to maintain state services following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who fled the country earlier this month in the face of a rebel offensive.

'Ambitious dream'

The legendary Hejaz Railway was the ambitious dream of Sultan Abdulhamid II of the Ottoman Empire, who, in 1900, envisioned a train line connecting Istanbul to Mecca.

Named after the Hejaz region in the western Arabian Peninsula, home to Islam’s two holiest cities - Mecca and Medina - the railway was constructed with remarkable speed, funded entirely by Muslim donations. While some donations were voluntary, others were coerced.

The line, which was already connected to Istanbul, extended from Damascus to Medina, with a branch line to Haifa in Palestine.

It was primarily intended to facilitate the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and to strengthen Ottoman control over its distant provinces. The railway also served as a military transport route for Ottoman forces.

However, the railway faced frequent sabotage, particularly during the British-backed Arab Revolt, led by the intelligence officer TE Lawrence, famously known as "Lawrence of Arabia".

The project came to an abrupt halt with the outbreak of World War One.

The Hejaz Railway never reached its ultimate destination of Mecca, ending in Medina - approximately 400km short of the holy city.