There have been no operational railways in Libya since 1965, but various lines existed in the past. Since 1998, plans for an extensive system have been developed, but work has largely halted since the outbreak of the

First Libyan Civil War The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. It erupted with the Libya ...

in 2011.

History

The first Locomotive arrived in Tripoli Harbor

Fiat train at Tripoli's railway central station

The

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

built in 400 km of railways in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

, with a gauge of . A network centred on Tripoli was opened from 17 March 1912 as part of the Italian occupation campaign. This extended from Tripoli 120 km west to Zuwara, 100 km south to Gharyan, and 10 km east to

Tajura Tajura ( ar, تاجوراء, translit=Tājūrā), also spelt ''Tajoura'', is a town in north-western Libya, and baladiyah in the Tripoli Muhafazah, on the Mediterranean coast east of Tripoli. From 2001 to 2007 Tajura was the capital of t ...

. A (later 950 mm) gauge railway was built east from

Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη ('' Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghaz ...

. The main route to

Marj Marj ( ar, المرج, Al Marǧ, The Meadows), also spelt ''El Merj'', generally believed to be on the site of the ancient city of Barca or Barce, is a city in northeastern Libya and the administrative seat of the Marj District. It lies in a ...

, 110 km long, was opened in stages between 1911 and 1927.

also had a 56 km branch to

Suluq Suluq ( ar, سلوق, Sulūq) is a town in the Benghazi District of the Cyrenaica region in northeastern Libya. It is located about 53 kilometers to the south-east of Benghazi. Italian Libya Suluq is the site of a former Italian concentration ca ...

, opened in 1926. In summer 1941, the Italians started to build a Tripoli-Benghazi railway, but their defeat in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

meant that work only progressed a few kilometres. Military extensions of some 40 km were made from Marj towards Derna in

. This was the final line to close, at the end of 1965.

Standard gauge

During

, the standard gauge Western Desert Extension railway was built from a junction 10 km east of

Mersa Matruh Mersa Matruh ( ar, مرسى مطروح, translit=Marsā Maṭrūḥ, ), also transliterated as ''Marsa Matruh'', is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located west of Alexandria and east of Sallum on the main highway ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

, to assist in the Allied defence of the area, and later the Allied advance across North Africa. The coastal railway had reached

Sidi Barrani Sidi Barrani ( ar, سيدي براني ) is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about east of the Egypt–Libya border, and around from Tobruk, Libya. Named after Sidi es-Saadi el Barrani, a Senussi sheikh who was a head of ...

by October 1941 and

Tobruk Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near ...

by December 1942, west of

El Alamein El Alamein ( ar, العلمين, translit=al-ʿAlamayn, lit=the two flags, ) is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Arab's Gulf, Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. , it had ...

. The 125 km Libyan section, west of

Sallum Sallum ( ar, السلوم, translit=as-Sallūm various transliterations include ''El Salloum'', ''As Sallum'' or ''Sollum'') is a harbourside village or town in Egypt. It is along the Egypt/Libyan short north–south aligned coast of the Mediterra ...

, on the Egyptian border, was removed following its closure on 20 December 1946, but the Egyptian Railways Sollum line still sees occasional freight.

Plans

Beginning in 1998,"Libya: Railways" ''Europa World Year Book 2004'' Europa Publications, London, volume 2
page 2667
the Libyan government has been planning for a 3170 km (

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...

) network. A line parallel to the coast will eventually form part of a North African link between

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and

. The section from the border with Tunisia at

Ras Ajdir Ras Ajdir, alternatively Ras Jdir or Ras Ejder ( ar, راس اجدير), is a small coastal town on the border between Tunisia and Libya and Libya's most northerly point. Science It is the site of an experimental station for wind and solar power ...

, then via Tripoli to

Sirte Sirte (; ar, سِرْت, ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups, and loyalty to Muammar ...

was under construction and was planned to open in 2009. China Railway Construction Corporation has contracts to start work in June 2008 on a 352 km route between

and Khoms, to be finished by 2013. The east–west line will be

double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most li ...

. A second line will run 800 km from iron ore deposits at Wadi Shati near Sabha to the steel works and port at

Misrata Misrata ( ; also spelled Misurata or Misratah; ar, مصراتة, Miṣrāta ) is a city in the Misrata District in northwestern Libya, situated to the east of Tripoli and west of Benghazi on the Mediterranean coast near Cape Misrata. With ...

from 2012. A third line will run 554 km from

in the East. In October 2007, RZD submitted a feasibility study for the project, and in 2008 signed a contract to begin construction, which was planned to take 4 years to complete. Work began on 30 August 2008. In August 2010, RZD awarded

Ansaldo STS Hitachi Rail STS SpA (from ''Hitachi Rail Signalling and Transportation Systems'') or Hitachi Rail STS (previously Ansaldo STS) is a transportation company owned by Hitachi with a global presence in the field of railway signalling and integrated t ...

and SELEX Communications a contract to install signalling, telecoms, power, security and ticketing systems which is expected to take three years. Ansaldo STS and SELEX Communications are also working on signalling on new lines between Sirte and the Tunisian border, and the route to Sabha. A trans-Saharan line is also planned, running south to

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages Construction has ceased during the

Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

. As of March 2012, the plans have been delayed until further notice In February 2013, the pre-revolution railway project has been approved for resumption by the government. In June 2022, due to the end of the second civil war and subsequent stability, tests of rolling stock between Khoms Port and Khoms city main station have restarted using old (presumably) Egyptian equipment.

Rolling stock

On 10 June 2007 a contract was signed with American

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...

Co. for supply of locomotives and training of Libyan nationals in operational and maintenance work. The contract includes the import of spare parts and technical assistance. The first shipment will arrive Libya by mid-2009. Libya was given one

IC4 The IC4 is an inter-city rail train built by the Italian train manufacturer AnsaldoBreda for the trans-Great Belt routes of Danske Statsbaner (DSB), Denmark's national railway operator. Under DSB's 'Good trains for everyone' plan ('Gode tog til ...

diesel multiple unit from

AnsaldoBreda Hitachi Rail Italy S.p.A. is a multinational rolling stock manufacturer company based in Pistoia, Italy. Formerly AnsaldoBreda S.p.A., a subsidiary of state-owned Finmeccanica, the company was sold in 2015 to Hitachi Rail of Japan. After the ...

as a gift for the 40th anniversary of

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by '' The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...

's ascent to power. In November 2021, the Libyan Ministry of Transportation planned to purchase CR200JS-G EDMUs and HXN3 diesel locomotives for Libyan railway operations.

Timeline

1912

* Italian Libya Railways opens.

1965

* Italian Libyan Railways closes.

1998

* Libya signed contracts with Bahne of Egypt an
Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios
for the supply of crossings and pointwork.

2008

* November – GE to supply 15 diesel locomotives. * 30 August –

Russian Railways Russian Railways (russian: link=no, ОАО «Российские железные дороги» (ОАО «РЖД»), OAO Rossiyskie zheleznye dorogi (OAO RZhD)) is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company, both manag ...

begins work on

railway. * 25 April – Russia to build coastal line from

eastwards to

, approximately . This extends another project to build a line running from

westwards via

to Khoms. * China Railway Construction wins $2.6b bids in Libya. A west-to-east coastal railway 352 km from Khoms to

and a south-to-west railway 800 km long for iron ore transport from the southern city Sabha to

2009

* January – China Railway Construction signs contract to build 172 km from Tripoli to

2010

* March – First 14 km of 554 km long

Sirte – Benghazi track in place. The total track laying is expected to take four years.

2011

* March –

China Railway Group China Railway Group Limited known as CREC (the acronym of its predecessor and parent company China Railway Engineering Corporation) is a Chinese construction company which floats in Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges. The major shareholder ...

suspended work on the 3 projects valued in total at $4.24 billion with $3.55 billion of the project yet to be finished due to the rising violence levels in the

2013

*February – Talks started between RZD and Libyan authorities to resume construction

References

Notes

External links

About the Railway Executive Board

Railway Gazette International ''Railway Gazette International'' is a monthly business magazine and news website covering the railway, metro, light rail and tram industries worldwide. Available by annual subscription, the magazine is read in over 140 countries by transport ...

January 2001.
History of railways in colonial Libya (in Italian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rail Transport In Libya