Hejaz Railway: Route and Stations from Damascus to Medina
Follow the Hejaz Railway year by year from Damascus to Medina: who paid, who built it, who rode it and why the line to Mecca was never built.
Table of Contents
The Hejaz Railway ran from Damascus to Medina, about 1,300 kilometres of narrow-gauge track through what are now Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Abdülhamid II ordered it in 1900, the rails reached Medina in 1908, and the line on to Mecca was never built.
The short version
One line, eight years,
and it stopped at Medina.
- What it was: a narrow-gauge railway from Damascus to Medina, ordered on 2 May 1900 and opened on 1 September 1908. With the Haifa branch it ran 1,464 km.
- Why: soldiers, politics and the pilgrimage. The way from Syria to Medina took about 40 days; the plan was four or five.
- Who paid: a third from gifts, two thirds from other income such as salary deductions, stamps, fees and hides.
- What it never did: reach Mecca. The Medina–Mecca and Jeddah–Mecca lines were given up in 1914.
- End: Medina surrendered on 10 January 1919, and the line was later split into four sections.
The Line, Year by Year
Move the lever and watch the rails reach Medina
The plate opens at 1908, with the line finished. Slide the lever back to 1900 and forward again: the locomotive rides the railhead, a station’s lamp lights once the rails have passed it, and each year’s slip lists what the sources date to that year.
- DamascusSyria
- Der’aSyria
- AmmanJordan
- Ma’anJordan
- MudawwaraJordan
- TabukSaudi Arabia
- Mada’in SalihSaudi Arabia
- al-UlaSaudi Arabia
- MedinaSaudi Arabia
- HaifaPalestine
- AqabaJordanDropped in 1906
- Mecca, JeddahSaudi ArabiaNot built; given up in 1914
Lamp lit: the rails have passed the stationDots: route not laidRed cross: given up
1900Rails start at Damascus
- 2 May: Abdülhamid II orders the line built.
- 1 September: building begins after a ceremony.
- The plan: Damascus to Mecca first, with Aqaba and Jeddah to be joined later.
1901Building between Damascus and Der’a
- The estimated cost, 4 million lira, is more than 18% of the state’s spending in the 1901 budget.
- The German engineer Meissner takes over the technical management, with 43 engineers: 17 Turkish, 12 German, 5 Italian, 5 French, 2 Austrian, 1 Belgian and 1 Greek.
1902Building between Damascus and Der’a
- A Beirut commission is set up to run the work on the Haifa branch.
1903Rails reach Amman
- The rails reach Amman.
1904Rails reach Ma’an, km 460
- The rails reach Ma’an, at km 460.
1905Rails reach Mudawwara
- Der’a is joined to Haifa and the line reaches the Mediterranean. The state had bought the failed British company’s works and finished the branch.
- At Ma’an, km 460, building and running are separated, and passenger and goods service begins.
- The rails reach Mudawwara the same year.
1906Rails reach Mada’in Salih
- The rails reach Mada’in Salih. From here on the engineers, technicians and workers are all Muslim.
- A border dispute between the Ottoman state and Egypt arises, Britain acts in Egypt’s favour, and the branch to the Gulf of Aqaba is given up.
1907Rails reach al-Ula
- The rails reach al-Ula.
1908Rails reach Medina; the line opens
- The rails reach Medina.
- 24 August: the first pilgrim train leaves Syria.
- 1 September: Abdülhamid II opens the line at a ceremony. With the Haifa branch it is 1,464 km long.
- In the year there are 128 attacks on the rails and telegraph wires, and a night raid at the end of July kills nearly 300 soldiers.
1909The line is open to Medina
- Trains run between Haifa and Damascus every day and between Damascus and Medina three days a week, with extra trains for building material, army supplies and pilgrims.
- 26 April: Abdülhamid II is deposed. Until then state papers also call the line the Hamidiye Hejaz Railway.
1910The line is open to Medina
- 168,448 passengers travel on the line, and about 66,000 t of goods and 2,788 animals are carried.
- 77,761 soldiers are sent.
- The Hauran, Karak and Jabal Druze incidents are put down quickly with the line’s help.
1911The line is open to Medina
- 13,102 pilgrims reach Medina by train. On average about 16,000 pilgrims a year use the line.
1913The line is open to Medina
- 232,563 passengers travel on the line, and about 112,000 t of goods and 6,477 animals are carried.
- From 1908 to 1913 the total is about 970,000 passengers.
1914The line is open to Medina
- 1 August: the line is placed under the Ministry of Evkaf and counted as a waqf.
- Sharif Hussein is told that the Medina–Mecca and Jeddah–Mecca lines are given up.
- 147,587 soldiers are sent.
1916The line is open to Medina
- June: Sharif Hussein revolts, after a secret agreement with the British.
- Attacks follow, yet most of the line stays under Ottoman control.
1917The line is open to Medina
- With its branch lines and the rails from Kadem to Damascus, the system is 1,750 km long.
1919Rails at Medina; the line is cut in four
- 10 January: Medina surrenders, and Ottoman control of the line ends.
- After the war the line is split into four sections: Haifa–Semakh in Palestine; Der’a–Mudawwara in Jordan; Damascus–Der’a and Der’a–Semakh in Syria; Mudawwara–Medina in the Hejaz kingdom, later Saudi Arabia.
Station order and years after the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi entry on the railway and the Jordan corporation’s history page; countries as they are today. Spacing is schematic, not to scale. Before 1903 the railhead is drawn between Damascus and Der’a, where building began. Checked 20.10.2026.
Why build it soldiers, politics and the pilgrimage
The idea, before the order
- 1864
The German-born American engineer Zimpel offers a Red Sea–Damascus railway. It is turned down: it might stir the tribes of the region, and shipping is cheaper.
- 1874
Army officers propose a Medina–Mecca line.
- 1891
The Hejaz commander Osman Nuri Pasha reports that a line between Jeddah and Mecca is needed.
- 1891
The same year, Ahmed İzzet Efendi, then the director of religious endowments at Jeddah, puts forward the fullest plan: a railway from Damascus to Medina.
- Its aim
A defence against attack from outside and revolt inside the region, and a way to ease the pilgrimage.
After TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hicaz Demiryolu. Checked 20.10.2026.
The order
- Cost
Abdülhamid II passes the plan to Mehmed Şâkir Pasha, who works out a likely cost and draws the route on a map.
- 2 May1900
The order. After hearing two other pashas, the sultan orders the building to start.
- The plan
The first stage is to run from Damascus to Mecca, with Aqaba and Jeddah to be joined later and even Yemen in mind.
- 1 Sep1900
Work begins after a ceremony.
After TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hicaz Demiryolu. Checked 20.10.2026.
Soldiers
Troops could reach the region faster against possible uprisings and attacks from outside. Soldiers and munitions for the Hejaz and Yemen could go by rail in peace as well as in war, without the Suez Canal.
Politics
More army meant more state authority in the region. It would also raise Abdülhamid II’s standing in the Islamic world and unite Muslims round a shared work.
Pilgrimage
40→4–5
Public statements put the religious aim first. The journey from Syria took about forty days to Medina and fifty to Mecca, long and dangerous because of Bedouin attacks. It would fall to four or five days, and going and coming back would cost far less, so more pilgrims were expected.
After TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hicaz Demiryolu. Checked 20.10.2026.
Trade would grow once the line opened, and towns with it.
Caravan or train?
Both set out from Damascus: how far is each after a given day?
The slider is the number of days on the road. The caravan covers the way to Medina in about forty days and goes on to Mecca in about fifty. Pick which train timing to race against it.
Caravan
about 40 days to Medina, about 50 to Mecca
From Syria, on a road made long and dangerous by Bedouin attacks.
Train
- Four or five daysthe plan, when the line was started
- 72 hoursin good conditions, once it ran
A fare of 2 lira, only a tenth of the earlier cost.
Days and fares after TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. The distances on the strip are schematic. Checked 20.10.2026.
Who paid gifts, stamps and a loan
The estimated cost was 4 million lira, more than 18% of the state’s spending in the 1901 budget. It came at a time when the state was paying foreign debt and war indemnities and every income was already committed, so the treasury could not set more aside. The plan was to pay with gifts from Muslims, with a credit from the Ziraat Bank for the urgent first needs.
A Donations Commission under the finance minister ran the collection. It kept the books, and it could spend nothing without the sultan’s approval. Committees in every province, district and township worked with village headmen and imams, who listed those who could give and handed the money in. Gifts went first into chests at the provincial centre, then into a branch of an Ottoman bank, or by postal order to Istanbul.
Who paid?
One ledger page, two stacks of coins
Tap a stack to see what filled it. A third of the fund came from gifts, two thirds from everything else.
4 million lirathe estimated cost, more than 18% of the state’s spending in the 1901 budget
A loan first: a credit from the Ziraat Bank covered the urgent cost at the start of building.
Gifts about a third
- The first gift was 50,000 lira, from Abdülhamid II. Other statesmen and bureaucrats followed, and many civil servants gave one salary each of their own wish.
- Thousands of Ottoman subjects gave, and so did Muslims elsewhere: above all in India, Egypt, Russia and Morocco, and also in Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa, Tunisia, Algeria, America and some Islamic societies in Europe.
- Rulers: the emir of Morocco, the shah of Iran and the emir of Bukhara sent help.
- Medals in nickel, silver and gold were struck, on İzzet Pasha’s advice, to reward donors, and they played a big part in drawing gifts.
Everything else about two thirds
- Pay: compulsory deductions from state salaries.
- Paper: state papers and forms printed for sale, donation stamps issued under the name ilmühaber, old stamps sold, postcards and wallets issued.
- Coins: riyals withdrawn in Yemen and Tripolitania were brought to Istanbul and changed for mecidiye coins; the profit went to the fund.
- Fees and taxes under various names.
- Mines: the right to work some mines was given to the railway commission.
- Hides: the money from the sale of sacrificial hides.
- The line itself: takings from passengers and goods on the finished sections.
After TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (Hicaz Demiryolu). The stacks show the proportion, not an amount. Checked 20.10.2026.
The gifts did not cover the bill. As costs rose, the commission added other income, and across 1900–1908 the fund’s income came out above its building costs. For the wider budget of the time, see the Abdülhamid II economy page.
Who built it engineers, soldiers and a narrow gauge
The gauge and the engineers
A narrow gauge
- It cost less.
- It was easier to build.
- It was thought enough for traffic that would not be heavy.
In 1901 the technical management went to a German engineer, Meissner. Forty-three engineers worked with him:
- Turkish 17
- German 12
- Italian 5
- French 5
- Austrian 2
- Belgian 1
- Greek 1
As the work went on, the number of Europeans fell and that of Ottoman engineers rose. From Mada’in Salih on, the engineers, technicians and workers were all Muslim.
After TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hicaz Demiryolu. Checked 20.10.2026.
Up to7,500Ottoman soldiers, under their officers, did the plainer and rougher work.
- Infantrydug earth, quarried stone, packed ballast under the sleepers and built walls
- Engineer companysmithing, joinery, stoking and driving
- Telegraph detachmentworked on the line’s telegraph and as the stations’ communication clerks
- Sailorsmoved the material at the ports of Beirut and Haifa
After TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hicaz Demiryolu. Checked 20.10.2026.
Skilled work and pay
Local people liable for labour, called amele-i mükellefe, and European workers and masters were also used. Italians, Russians, Montenegrins, Albanians and Greeks took the jobs that needed skill:
- 1 kuruşfor levelling a cubic metre of earth
- 2 kuruşfor preparing a cubic metre of ballast
- 3 kuruşfor a metre of cutting
A soldier was paid at these rates, and was discharged early.
After TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hicaz Demiryolu. Checked 20.10.2026.
How the iron came
Locomotives, wagons, rails and steel sleepers came from Germany, Belgium and America.
- GermanyBelgiumAmerica
- by sea
- Beirut
- a French company’s Beirut–Damascus–Muzeyrib line, with a transit fee paid to the Beirut Quay Company
- Damascus
Haifa Once the Haifa branch worked, shipments were landed there.
After TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hicaz Demiryolu. Checked 20.10.2026.
Heat, thirst and obstruction
- Extreme heat, drought, shortage of water and bad ground made the work hard.
- The Bedouin tried to hinder it.
- Even so, the line was built quickly.
The stops in order, with today’s country and the year the rails reached each.
| Station | Today | Rails reached it |
|---|---|---|
| Damascus | Syria | Start of the line: building began on 1 September 1900 |
| Der’a | Syria | On the first stretch, Damascus–Der’a; no year given. The Haifa branch joined here in 1905 |
| Amman | Jordan | 1903 |
| Ma’an | Jordan | 1904, at km 460 |
| Mudawwara | Jordan | 1905 |
| Tabuk | Saudi Arabia | No year given; one of the towns that filled up quickly |
| Mada’in Salih | Saudi Arabia | 1906 |
| al-Ula | Saudi Arabia | 1907 |
| Medina | Saudi Arabia | 1908, the end of the line |
| Haifa | Palestine | End of the branch: joined to Der’a in 1905 |
The line at work a timetable, a mosque wagon and wood for fuel
Abdülhamid II opened the line at a ceremony on 1 September 1908. With the Haifa branch it ran 1,464 km. Damascus–Medina alone is 1,303 km, and the first pilgrim train left Syria on 24 August 1908 (Jordan Hejaz Railway Corporation). Traffic had begun long before: once the rails reached Ma’an, at km 460, building and running were split into two administrations, and passengers and goods were carried from 1905.
The timetable of 1909
- Haifa–Damascus: trains every day.
- Damascus–Medina: three days a week.
- Extra trains for building material, army supplies and pilgrims.
- Departure times took the hours of prayer into account, and one wagon was set aside as a mosque wagon.
In good conditions the journey took 72 hours. There was no coal, so the locomotives burned wood. Shortages of oil, trouble with water, heavier traffic and Bedouin attacks slowed the trains a great deal.
What the line carried
Passengers
About 970,000 in all from 1908 to 1913.
Goods
Among them vegetables, fruit, salt, rice, tobacco, flour and coal.
Animals
Soldiers
The Hauran, Karak and Jabal Druze incidents of 1910 were put down quickly with the line’s help.
Pilgrims
After TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hicaz Demiryolu. Each pair of bars is drawn to scale from its two figures; the pairs have separate scales. Checked 20.10.2026.
What the line changed
- Haifabecame an important city for exports and imports, and its economy grew fast
- Amman, Ma’an and Tabuksoon filled with people
- Damascusits trade gained
- Bedouinsome began to settle
- Circassian migrantssome settled near the line
- Imperial Military Engineering Schoola first workplace for many graduates, who were not employed on lines run by foreign capital
- Touristsspecial trains brought more
After TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hicaz Demiryolu. Checked 20.10.2026.
The Bedouin did not welcome it
128acts of sabotage and attacks on the rails and telegraph wires in 1908 alone
nearly 300soldiers killed in a night raid at the end of July
- They earned a great deal from carrying pilgrims by camel, guiding and guarding them, an income the railway would soon dry up.
- Their leaders also feared the growth of Ottoman military and political reach.
Attacks went on after the rails reached Medina.
After TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hicaz Demiryolu. Checked 20.10.2026.
Where it never went Aqaba, Mecca and Jeddah
Never built
Ma’anGulf of Aqaba
- For
- A branch to give the line the Red Sea, so that troops and arms could move more easily and the coast would be better defended.
- Stopped by
- A border dispute between the Ottoman state and Egypt arose in 1906. Britain acted in Egypt’s favour.
- Given up
- The building of the branch was given up. The episode went into history as the “Aqaba question”.
After TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hicaz Demiryolu. Checked 20.10.2026.
Never built
MedinaMecca
JeddahMecca
The common wish of all Muslims. They were never built.
- Sharif Hussein
- He and the Bedouin sheikhs under him opposed the lines: he knew that a line to Mecca and Jeddah would break his political and military power.
- The governments
- With the Tripolitanian and Balkan wars behind them, the Committee of Union and Progress governments wanted no new trouble in the Hejaz and chose to keep on good terms with him.
- 1914
- Sharif Hussein was granted new concessions and told that the Medina–Mecca and Jeddah–Mecca lines were given up.
After TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hicaz Demiryolu. Checked 20.10.2026.
That is also why the pilgrim numbers stayed under what was hoped: the main reasons were the missing link to Jeddah and Mecca, and the war years.
War and after a waqf, a surrender and four sections
The war years
- 1 Aug1914
The railway’s administration goes to the Ministry of Evkaf and the line counts as a waqf, the world’s only transport investment built by a state as a waqf institution.
- First World War
It leaves that ministry for the Ministry of War. For the Ottoman side it is the only way to help the Sinai, Palestine and Syrian fronts and keep Medina linked to Damascus. The sacred relics in Medina and thousands of civilians go to Syria by rail.
- June1916
Sharif Hussein revolts after a secret agreement with the British, which prepares the end of the line. Despite Bedouin attacks directed by British officers, most of the line stays under Ottoman control.
After TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hicaz Demiryolu. Checked 20.10.2026.
The end of the line, cut in four
By 1917With its branch lines and the rails from Kadem to Damascus, the system reaches 1,750 km.
10 Jan 1919Medina surrenders, and Ottoman control of the line ends.
Damascus–Der’aSyria
Der’a–MudawwaraJordan
Mudawwara–MedinaHejaz kingdom, later Saudi Arabia
Der’a–SemakhSyria
Haifa–SemakhPalestine
The Syrian, Jordanian and Palestinian sections were run by governments under the British and French mandates. The Palestine Railways of the British Mandate for Palestine ran the line from the end of the First World War until 1948.
After TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hicaz Demiryolu. Sections after the TDV entry and the Jordan corporation’s history page; spacing is schematic, not to scale. Checked 20.10.2026.
The Haifa branch, and what came after
- 1902
A Beirut commission is set up for the building of the Haifa branch.
- 1905
The building concession first went to a British company. The company failed, and the state bought its works and materials and finished the branch.
- 1948
Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria form a committee to talk about rebuilding the line. Some passenger and goods traffic goes on in Syria and Jordan.
- 1975
Jordan builds a new line to the Red Sea port of Aqaba for phosphate.
- By1998
The Der’a–Haifa section is closed. The section inside Saudi Arabia lies idle and its stations are abandoned.
After TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hicaz Demiryolu. Checked 20.10.2026.
The line today
Medina station
- Opened in 1326 AH (1908), the last stop of the line (Visit Madinah).
- A museum since 1419 AH (1998), about 1,020 m from the Prophet’s Mosque (Visit Madinah).
- Medina is also on the Haramain high-speed line, which opened in 2018. It is a different railway.
In Jordan the Hejaz Railway Corporation, set up by law no. 23 of 1952 to manage and run the line’s property there, runs tourist, student and family trips on the northern section of the Jordanian track.
Plans since 2025
- 23 September 2025: a technical meeting of the transport ministries of Türkiye, Syria and Jordan, held in Amman on 11 September 2025, agreed that the missing 30 km of superstructure of the Syrian Hejaz Railways be completed with Türkiye’s support. Jordan is to study running its own Hejaz locomotives as far as Damascus.
- 7 April 2026: Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu signed a transport cooperation memorandum with his Syrian and Jordanian counterparts at a meeting hosted by Jordan. He called reviving the historic Hejaz Railway heritage in a way that fits today’s conditions meaningful.
- 2 July 2026: Uraloğlu said Türkiye had signed a cooperation memorandum with Saudi Arabia “a short time ago” to revive “the New and Modern Hejaz Railway”.
Four things people get wrong
“Donations paid for it”
Gifts made up about a third of the fund. The other two thirds came from deductions from salaries, stamps, fees, mining rights, hides and takings on the finished sections.
“It ran all the way to Mecca”
It ended at Medina. The Medina–Mecca and Jeddah–Mecca lines were never built, and in 1914 they were given up.
“Pilgrims filled the trains”
About 16,000 pilgrims a year on average, and 13,102 reaching Medina in 1911. All passengers came to 232,563 in 1913, and soldiers to 77,761 in 1910 and 147,587 in 1914.
“The raids of 1916 ended it at once”
Despite the attacks, Ottoman forces kept most of the line during the war, and Medina held out until it surrendered on 10 January 1919.
Quick answers
Where did the Hejaz Railway run?
From Damascus in Syria through Jordan to Medina in Saudi Arabia. The Haifa branch left it at Der’a.
How long was it?
1,464 km with the Haifa branch. Damascus–Medina alone is 1,303 km (Jordan Hejaz Railway Corporation). By 1917, with other branch lines, the system reached 1,750 km.
When was it built?
It was ordered on 2 May 1900, building began on 1 September 1900, the rails reached Medina in 1908 and the line was opened on 1 September 1908.
Who paid for it?
About a third came from gifts and two thirds from other income. The first gift, of 50,000 lira, came from Abdülhamid II.
Why did it not reach Mecca?
Sharif Hussein and the Bedouin sheikhs under him opposed the Medina–Mecca and Jeddah–Mecca lines, and in 1914 they were given up.
Does it still run?
In Jordan the Hejaz Railway Corporation runs tourist, student and family trips on part of the old track. By 1998 the Der’a–Haifa section was closed and the section in Saudi Arabia lay idle. In September 2025 Türkiye, Syria and Jordan agreed to complete the missing 30 km of the Syrian superstructure with Türkiye’s support, and in July 2026 Türkiye’s transport minister announced a memorandum with Saudi Arabia to revive “the New and Modern Hejaz Railway”. The Haramain high-speed line is another railway.
What is the Hejaz Railway Museum?
The station at Medina, opened in 1908, has been a museum since 1998 (Visit Madinah).
Sources
Open the source list
- Hicaz Demiryolu — TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Ufuk Gülsoy and William Ochsenwald, 1998 (vol. 17, pp. 441–445), checked 20.10.2026
- About the corporation — Hejaz Railway Corporation of Jordan, checked 20.10.2026
- History and culture — Hejaz Railway Corporation of Jordan, checked 20.10.2026
- Trips — Hejaz Railway Corporation of Jordan, checked 20.10.2026
- Our story — Saudi Arabia Railways, checked 20.10.2026
- Hijaz Railway Museum — Visit Madinah, checked 20.10.2026
- Tarihi Hicaz Demiryolu yeniden canlanıyor — T.C. Ulaştırma ve Altyapı Bakanlığı, 23 September 2025, checked 20.10.2026
- Türkiye-Suriye-Ürdün arasında ulaştırmada ortak adım — T.C. Ulaştırma ve Altyapı Bakanlığı, 7 April 2026, checked 20.10.2026
- Kabotajda yeni yüzyılın rotası: Türkiye yüzyılı — T.C. Ulaştırma ve Altyapı Bakanlığı, 2 July 2026, checked 20.10.2026
