Damascus–Amman Train
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The Damascus–Amman train or Damascus–Amman railway is an international train service operating on the former Hedjaz Railway from Damascus, Syria to Amman,
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
. It is currently the only passenger train operating in Jordan. The train operates on
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
tracks of .


History

The Hedjaz Railway opened in 1908 by the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
from Damascus to
Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...
. Service was suspended during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. After the war only the Damascus-
Ma'an Ma'an ( ar, مَعان, Maʿān) is a city in southern Jordan, southwest of the capital Amman. It serves as the capital of the Ma'an Governorate. Its population was approximately 41,055 in 2015. Civilizations with the name of Ma'an have existe ...
section re-opened. In 1924, the ''International Train'' ran its first trip from Hejaz Train Station in Damascus to Ma'an. Since 1960 the train only ran from Damascus to Amman.
Diesel Locomotives A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels ...
became the primary power after 1976.


Gauge

In 2008 it was announced that the HJR and the CFH were planning to convert the line from narrow gauge to standard gauge.


See also

* Hejaz railway *
Syrian Railways General Establishment of Syrian Railways ( ar, المؤسسة العامة للخطوط الحديدية, french: Chemins de fer syriens, CFS) is the national railway operator for the state of Syria, subordinate to the Ministry of Transportation. ...
, the state railway operation {{DEFAULTSORT:Damascus-Amman train International named passenger trains Rail transport in Syria Rail transport in Jordan Hejaz railway Jordan–Syria relations