Hedjaz Jordan Railway
Corporate brand
UnclaimedJordanian railway operator and custodian of the country's surviving passenger section of the historic Hejaz Railway.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
The Hedjaz Jordan Railway, also commonly rendered as the Hejaz Jordan Railway, is a Jordanian railway organization descended from the Ottoman Hejaz Railway. It operates the surviving Jordanian passenger railway corridor linking Jiza, Amman, Zarqa and Mafraq, and historically formed part of a longer route toward Damascus. The railway is a narrow-gauge system using a gauge of approximately 1,050 millimetres, reflecting the construction standards of the original Hejaz Railway. The historical background of the organization reaches back to the railway built by the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century to connect Damascus with Medina. After the collapse of Ottoman rule and the political reorganization of the region after the First World War, the railway infrastructure in Transjordan became part of separate successor systems. The Hedjaz Jordan Railway retained the northern Jordanian section, while the separate Aqaba Railway later handled freight movements in the south. The two systems should not be treated as the same operating entity. After Jordan became independent in 1946, the Jordanian section served as the country's principal railway for passenger movement. Its role was eventually reduced by competition from roads and by the deterioration of regional rail links, but it remains significant as Jordan's only currently operating passenger railway. The line has connected communities north and east of Amman, including Zarqa and Mafraq, and has also supported heritage and tourism-oriented railway experiences. A museum at Amman station preserves railway artifacts and historical displays, including material illustrating the development of the line. The former international connection to Damascus was suspended during the Syrian Civil War. The interruption removed the railway's principal cross-border passenger function and left the Jordanian operation focused on domestic and heritage services. The broader railway corridor remains important in transport planning because it represents a potential link between Jordan, Syria, Turkey and, through other proposed projects, the Gulf region. Various Jordanian plans have considered restoring or modernizing sections of the historic route, building new standard-gauge freight infrastructure, and creating urban or regional passenger services. The organization is therefore positioned at the intersection of public transport, railway heritage and national infrastructure policy. Its existing operation is relatively limited compared with a modern intercity network, but the brand carries historical importance because it preserves part of one of the Middle East's best-known railway corridors. Future expansion proposals are associated with the Jordanian government's wider plans for a national railway network rather than with a fully completed HJR modernization program. The separate Aqaba Railway, which formerly transported phosphate to the Port of Aqaba, ceased operations in 2018 after freight handling was moved to a non-rail-connected terminal.
History
The Hedjaz Jordan Railway is one of the Jordanian successor systems of the Ottoman Hejaz Railway. The original railway was constructed in the early twentieth century to connect Damascus with Medina and to support movement across the Ottoman provinces of the Levant and western Arabia. Its Jordanian route formed part of the northern section of that system and included the corridor through Amman toward the Syrian border. Following the First World War, the collapse of Ottoman administration and the emergence of new political jurisdictions divided the former railway into separate national and operating systems. In Jordan, the northern section became associated with the Hedjaz Jordan Railway. A distinct southern system, later known as the Aqaba Railway, served freight traffic and was not the same organization as HJR. This division explains why the historic railway network in Jordan has both a passenger-oriented northern corridor and a formerly freight-oriented southern corridor. The Jordanian railway played a central role in passenger transport after Jordan achieved independence in 1946. It connected Amman with settlements to the north and east, including Zarqa and Mafraq, and historically provided an international route toward Damascus. The network was built to narrow-gauge standards, with Jordan's section measuring about 1,050 millimetres. The different gauge used on parts of the Syrian railway network complicated interoperability even before conflict disrupted the cross-border service. In the later twentieth century, road transport and changing regional conditions reduced the railway's commercial importance. In 1975, HJR built a branch from Ma'an toward Aqaba. That southern line was transferred to the Aqaba Railway Corporation in 1979 and was used primarily to carry phosphate from inland mines to the port. The Aqaba operation was separate from HJR and ended in 2018 after phosphate logistics moved to another port terminal. The Syrian Civil War brought the suspension of the HJR connection to Damascus. Since then, the Jordanian railway has remained the country's only operating passenger railway, but its role has been narrower and has included heritage and tourism services. The Amman station museum has helped preserve the railway's historical identity; reference material describes a collection of more than 250 exhibits in the early 2000s, including murals covering the line's development. Jordanian authorities have repeatedly examined ways to rehabilitate the historic corridor and create a modern national railway system. In the 2000s, planning studies considered routes connecting the Syrian border, Amman-area cities, Aqaba, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. A proposed investment program was later reduced after economic pressures and the 2011 protests. Other proposals included upgrading the Aqaba–Ma'an corridor, changing its gauge to the international standard, constructing dry-port facilities and developing a wider national freight network. These plans form part of Jordan's broader transport and economic-modernization agenda, but they do not mean that all proposed routes have been built or that HJR has become a modern national network. The organization's current significance rests on its limited passenger operation, its railway heritage assets and its potential role in future regional connectivity. Any restoration of the Damascus route or construction of new freight and light-rail corridors would require separate government, cross-border and infrastructure decisions.
- 2019
Aqaba–Ma'an redevelopment memorandum
[1]Reference material reports a memorandum concerning redevelopment of the Aqaba–Ma'an railway corridor and a dry port, including consideration of conversion from narrow gauge to standard gauge.
- 2018
Aqaba phosphate railway operations suspended
[1]The separate Aqaba Railway ceased phosphate transport after the traffic moved to a new terminal without rail access.
- 2011
Aqaba–Iraq railway concept approved
[1]The Jordanian government approved a proposed railway route from Aqaba toward the Iraqi border, although the broader project was not completed as a functioning national line.
- 2010
National railway planning scaled back
[1]Jordan's planned national railway investment program was reduced after the government introduced an economic relief package and reassessed capital priorities.
- 2003
Amman station museum documented
[1]The railway museum at Amman station was reported to contain more than 250 exhibits and murals describing railway development.
- 1979
Aqaba Railway Corporation takes over southern freight route
[1]The Aqaba Railway Corporation was incorporated and assumed the southern route for phosphate freight operations.
- 1975
Ma'an–Aqaba branch constructed
[1]HJR built a southern branch from Ma'an toward Aqaba. The route was later transferred to the separate Aqaba Railway Corporation.
- 1946
Jordanian independence and continued passenger role
[1]Following Jordanian independence, the Jordanian railway served as the country's main passenger railway.
- 1920
Former Hejaz Railway is divided among successor systems
[1]After the collapse of Ottoman rule, the former railway was reorganized into separate successor operations, including the Hedjaz Jordan Railway in Jordan.
- 1908
Ottoman Hejaz Railway reaches the historical Jordanian corridor
[1]The Ottoman Empire's Hejaz Railway created the historic rail corridor from Damascus toward Medina, portions of which later became the basis for Jordanian successor railways.
Products and positioning
Jordanian public railway operator with a strong historic and heritage identity, maintaining the country's surviving passenger section of the former Ottoman Hejaz Railway.
Passenger rail
Domestic passenger railway
HJR's principal operating role is passenger service on the surviving Jordanian section of the former Hejaz Railway. The corridor connects Jiza, Amman, Zarqa and Mafraq. It is a narrow-gauge railway and is currently more limited in scope than a conventional national intercity network.
Tourism and heritage transport
Heritage railway services
The historic character of the railway supports heritage and tourism-oriented passenger experiences. These services use the surviving railway corridor and reinforce HJR's role as a custodian of Jordan's Ottoman-era railway heritage.
Museum and heritage asset
Amman station railway museum
The museum at Amman station presents artifacts and visual material related to the development of the Hejaz Railway and its Jordanian successor. Historical descriptions have recorded a collection of more than 250 exhibits, together with murals depicting railway history.
Brand decisions
2018
End phosphate service on the Aqaba RailwayStrategyBackground
Phosphate logistics were redirected to a new Port of Aqaba terminal that was not connected to the railway.
Action taken
The separate Aqaba Railway suspended its phosphate operations.
Aftermath
The southern freight railway stopped operating, while HJR remained the active passenger railway in Jordan.
1979
Separate southern freight operations from HJRStrategyBackground
The Ma'an–Aqaba branch had been constructed as an extension of Jordan's railway infrastructure, but the southern phosphate corridor required a distinct freight operating structure.
Action taken
The Aqaba Railway Corporation was established and took over the southern route, leaving HJR primarily associated with the northern passenger corridor.
Aftermath
Jordan's historic railway assets became divided between HJR passenger operations and a separate Aqaba freight railway.
Sources2 sources
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