History of the railroad in Tunisia

Construction history of the Tunisian railway network from 1880 to 1941

The history of the railway in Tunisia began in the 1870s with the construction of a standard-gauge line in northern Tunisia .

Overview

From the 1880s onwards, however, the main focus of railway construction was in the south, where the Compagnie des phosphates et des chemins de fer de fer de Gafsa (CFG) built a meter- gauge network that, in addition to passenger traffic, primarily involved the phosphate mining in the region, which is still important today served. Thus, in Tunisia, both standard gauge lines - primarily in the western half of the country - and meter gauge - in the east and south of the country - were built. Networks in both gauges exist to this day and meet in Tunis, where double-lane tracks lead into both the port and the Tunis Ville main station . This railway infrastructure was supplemented by railways with a gauge of 600 mm, which primarily served industrial and mining companies as well as the military. These are - as far as they have not been re- tracked - shut down today.

Standard gauge network in the north

The Tunis train station: the intersection of the meter and standard gauge networks

Steam locomotive in La Marsa train station

Since 1856 there have been proposals from various sides to build railway lines in Tunisia . At that time Tunisia was an autonomous province within the Ottoman Empire . In 1869 Tunisia declared bankruptcy and an international commission took over financial control. In 1870 the Italian company Mancardi received a concession to build a railway line from Tunis to the Sahel region . A number of other foreign companies received concessions in the period that followed, but these were only partially implemented. Some companies merged, transferred existing concessions or went bankrupt . The holders of the concessions changed several times. Even Mancardi did not realize his project due to lack of capital. Instead, Bey Muhammad III opened. al-Husain built the 19-kilometer standard-gauge line from Tunis to La Marsa as the first railway line in Tunisia in 1872 . In the same year, the British company Pickering received a concession to build a line to Jendouba , but this also made no use. Instead, in 1876, the French company Batignolles and its subsidiary Compagnie des chemins des fer Bône-Guelma (BGP) took the initiative in 1876. She already owned a railroad network in Algeria and wanted to connect it to Tunisia. She also proved to be the most assertive of the railway operating companies.

Construction work on the BGP began on April 30, 1877. On June 24, 1878, the section to Tebourba was opened to traffic. The line reached Medjez el-Bab on September 30, Béja on September 1, 1879 and Ghardimaou on March 30, 1880 on the border with Algeria. The connection to Souq Ahras and thus the connection to the Algerian network was delayed until September 1884.

In 1892, the BGP and the French state signed agreements on the construction of railway lines between Tunis and Sousse with branch lines to Nabeul and Henchir Lebna , from Tunis to Zaghouan and Pont-du-Fahs and from Sousse to Kairouan . In 1894 the BGP opened a line from Tunis via Mateur to Bizerta . In 1912 this line was connected to Béja on the route from Tunis to Algeria. In 1922 the BGP built a line west from Mateur to Tabarka . The BGP owned the rights to the company until 1922 and then sold them to the Tunisian state. The operating company was now called Compagnie Fermière des Chemins de fer Tunisiens (CFT).

Field track railways

In 1881 France occupied Tunisia and made it a protectorate, and in 1882 the Bey of Tunis transferred the concession of railways to the French Colonial Ministry. As a result of the occupation, the French military built some lines in the light rail gauge of 600 mm for its own transport needs.

Meter gauge network in the south

The Sousse train station , one of the most important stations on the meter-gauge network

SNCFT locomotive on meter gauge in Sfax station (2008)

In 1885 considerable phosphate deposits were discovered in the Seldja region , in 1896 that of Métlaoui , the exploitation and removal of which was transferred to the CFG by concession in 1897. The condition of the concession was that the CFG connected the phosphate mining area with the port of Sfax by rail . In 1899, the CFG opened the meter- gauge line from Métlaoui via Gafsa to Sfax. In 1913 the line was extended to Tozeur and in 1916 to Gabès .

The Compagnie des chemins de fer Bône-Guelm (CBG), which originally only operated in Algeria, was granted the concession for a route from the capital Tunis to Sousse . This meter- gauge line was built between 1895 and 1899, including the associated branch lines to the Pont du Fahs , to Cap Bon , to Nabeul , Kairouan and Moknine . This was supplemented with the connection according to Fahs Ksar Ghilane 1906, which served the removal of phosphate and iron ore. In 1909, the Sousse – Henchir – Souatir line was added, which established the connection to the CFG network. The second connection to the CFG was made in 1911 with the 129 km long Sousse – Sfax line

In 1923 the CBG was separated into an Algerian and a Tunisian part. The Tunisian part became the Compagnie fermière des chemins de fer tunisiens . In 1930 it established a connection between the Tunisian meter gauge network and the Algerian Ksar Rhilane, and in 1940 it built the strategic connection between Haidra and Kasserine, financed by the French state . Also in 1940 the Cap Bon route was extended to the lignite deposits of El Oudiane .

Since the Second World War

In 1952, the Tunisian railway network comprised 2044 km, of which 456 km were standard gauge in the north of the country and 1110 km meter gauge network operated by CFG. The operation of the lines was operated as a state railway with the exception of the line from Tunis to Ghardimaou . With Tunisia's independence in 1956, the Société nationale des chemins de fer tunisiens (SNCFT) was founded as a state railway, but initially only managed the standard gauge network in the north of the country in 1957. It was only when the concession of the Compagnie des phosphates et des chemins de fer de Sfax-Gafsa expired on December 31, 1966 that Tunisia also transferred the meter-gauge network of the south to the SNCFT on January 1, 1967.

Light rail vehicles

Horse tram in the L'Avenue de Carthage of Tunis

In 1885 a Belgian company received its first concession for a horse-drawn tram in Tunis and opened a line that same year. In 1886 a French company received another concession for Tunis and also for Belvedere (now a district of Tunis), Bab Saadoun and the Kasbah of Tunis. The two networks in Tunis were merged in 1890. In 1903 the Compagnie Génerale Française des Tramways (CGFT) took over the tram from Tunis, founded its own operating company, the Compagnie des Tramways de Tunis (CTT), and electrified the network. In 1905 their network was expanded to include the railway line to La Goulette and La Marsa , which they also electrified. In 1908 the route was given up again. In 1958, both systems were nationalized and now operated jointly by Résau Électricité et Transport (RET). Tram operations in Tunis ceased in 1960.

In 1981 the Société de métro léger de Tunis (SMLT) was founded in preparation for a subway in Tunis , and in 2003 it was merged with the Société des transports de Tunis . The first line of the new Tunis light rail system in standard gauge went into operation in 1985, others followed.

literature

Neil Robinson: World Rail Atlas and historical summary. Vol. 7: North, East and Central Africa. World Rail Atlas Ltd., 2009. ISBN 978-954-92184-3-5 , pp. 74ff, plate 10ff.