Khartoum – Wadi Halfa railway line

Khartoum – Wadi Halfa
O&K steam locomotive No. 6, D2220 from 1907
Route length:	919 km
Gauge :	1067 mm ( cape track )
Legend from Sannar 0 El Khartoum Central Blue Nile 5.1 El Khartoum Barchi 10 Halfaja 18.3 Kadaru connection 34.1 El Qubba Connection quarry 47.3 El Geili 65.5 Rauwiyan Connection to the oil refinery 83.1 Jabael Querri 107.4 El Miga 125 Kilometer 125 132.3 Wadi Ban Naga 152.4 El Goz 171.7 Schendi 188.6 Taragma 198.8 Km 199 208.9 Kabushiya 218.6 Kilometer 219 227.9 To Ali 233.75 233.75 kilometers 238.8 Machmiya 246.5 Kilometers 246.5 249 Kilometer 249 254 Kilometer 254 261.3 Aliab 272.75 272.75 kilometers 280.7 It-Seidab 285 Kilometer 285 299.0 Ed Damer Connection Maspio ACC Connection to the ACC quarry 307.7 El Akad connection Atbara 312.9 Atbara connection to Port Sudan 322 Kanur South 323.7 Darmali South 326.3 Darmali 329 Salama 337, 2 Kilometer 337 341.1 Ineibis 345.3 Violinist 347.5 Ed Dikka 349.1 Berber 352.6 El-Gadawab 355.7 Nagaso 358.9 E-Hassa 362.3 El Fereika 365.8 El Dschemeirab 369.0 El Tashab 371.4 Abidija Market 373.3 El Abidija 376.2 El Bawga Scheme 378.4 Wad el Sheik 380.0 Kilometer 380 381.8 Artoli Scheme 386.2 El Galobab Scheme 389.0 Mebereika 419.3 El Karaba 440.0 Kilometer 440 448.1 Nadi 461.0 Schereik 470.0 Kilometer 470 480.2 Abu Hashim 490.0 Km 490 501.3 Abu Dis 514.0 Km 514 522.0 Km 522 530.6 Dagasch 538.0 Kilometer 538 547.0 Km 547 556.6 Abu Hamed 582.7 No. 10 junction 21.8 Maheisa 50.8 Keheili 61.0 Km 61 69.5 El Kab 93.9 Daghfeli 117.5 Abu Girban 145.6 Abu Haras 170.7 To Rahau 194.7 El Ban Connection to Merowe Dam 221.8 Karima 614.7 No. 9 646.6 No. 8th 668.2 No. 78 686.5 No. 7th 720.2 No. 6th 738.2 No. 56 758.2 No. 5 773.1 No. 45 797.5 No. 4th 815.3 No. 34 833.2 No. 3 862.7 No. 2 894.1 No. 1 907.6 Wadi Halfa 919.0 Kilometer 919 after Kerma

The Khartoum – Wadi Halfa railway was driven from Wadi Halfa to Khartoum in 1897 as a supply route for the British troops advancing against the Mahdists in Sudan from Wadi Halfa in a south-easterly direction, directly to Abu Hamed . Contrary to the original direction of construction, the route is now kilometer starting from Khartoum .

occasion

The central transport route in Sudan, given by nature, is the Nile . However, it is not navigable south of Aswan because it is interrupted by 6 cataracts between Khartoum and Aswan . For traffic, this meant a short distance of land transport and two reloading to and from the river boats. This made the transport more expensive and extended transport times enormously. Both of these were extremely hindering the British in their fight against the Mahdists. The Wadi Halfa – Kerma railway line , which only bypassed the second and third cataracts and ended far west of Khartoum, was not really helpful.

construction

O&K steam locomotive with a passenger train in Omdurman

The stretch from Wadi Halfa to Khartoum cut the lower knee arch of the Nile by the shortest route. South of Abu Hamed, where it reached the Nile again, it leads along its right bank via Atbara (then: Berber ) to Khartoum. The gauge was chosen based on the first railroad in Sudan from Wadi Halfa to Kerma Kapspur . In 1899 the railway reached Khartoum after 917 km. It was put into service in full on January 4, 1900. The track runs on level ground so that - with one exception - there were no major obstacles in the way of construction. The exception was the crossing of the Atbara , a right tributary of the Nile, which required a 380 m long bridge. From 1906, the line received a branch line to Meroe , with which the fourth cataract of the Nile was bypassed and the Nile valley was opened up between the third and fourth cataracts.

meaning

The Wadi Halfa – Khartoum line was and still is the central artery of the Sudanese railway network, even if the importance of rail transport in Sudan has declined drastically over the past three decades. It is the only route on which regular passenger services are still offered.

Events

On February 26, 1965, a freight train heading for Khartoum and the passenger train from Khartoum to Port Sudan collided near the village of Miseiktab . 100 people died and 29 were injured.

literature

• Franz Baltzer : The colonial railways with a special focus on Africa . 1916. ND Holzminden o. J. ISBN 978-3-8262-0233-9
• Neil Robinson: World Rail Atlas and Historical Summary 7 = North, East and Central Africa. 2009. ISBN 978-954-92184-3-5

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Miseiktab is about 100 km north of Khartoum (16 ° 20'28 "N, 32 ° 43'29" E).
2. ↑ From the English language Wikipedia, there without further evidence .