Transport in Jordan

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Inside Queen Alia International Airport
The Abdoun Bridge connecting east and west Amman
The Highway 65 (Dead Sea Highway) passing by the Dead Sea.
Aqababahn Strecke.jpg
A Phosphate train passing near the Desert Highway
The port of Aqaba

With the exception of a railway system, Jordan has a developed public and private transportation system. There are three international airports in Jordan. The Hedjaz Jordan Railway runs one passenger train a day each way.

Roadways[]

In 2009, it was estimated that Jordan had 7,891 kilometres (4,903 mi) of paved highways. Some of the major highways in Jordan are:

  • Highway 15 (Desert Highway): connects the Syrian border with Amman and to the port city of Aqaba on the Gulf of Aqaba. It is a four-lane, double carriageway road almost on its entirety, from the Syrian border until the junction with the road to Petra.
  • Highway 35 (King's Highway): connects Irbid in the northern region to Aqaba, it takes the name and route of the historic King's Highway. It has four lanes on double carriageway on its stretch from Irbid until Amman.
  • Highway 65 (Dead Sea Highway): connects Aqaba to the northwestern region of Jordan.
    • The first part of the highway (Safi-Aqaba) was constructed in 1978 as part of the Red Sea - Dead Sea Access. It connected Safi, the south end of Dead Sea to Aqaba, the north point of Red Sea.
  • : encircles the city of Amman and connects it to Jerash and Irbid

Railways[]

Total: 507 km - narrow gauge of 1,050 mm (3 ft 5+1132 in) (2008) Railway companies in Jordan are:

Plans[]

The Jordanian government has begun acquiring land for new rail routes. Following a study by BNP Paribas, three routes are planned, which are expected to be tendered later in 2010. The three routes are:[1]

  1. From the Syrian border, via Zarqa, to the Saudi border; replacing part of the Hedjaz Railway;
  2. Connecting the first line to Aqaba, and from Mafraq to Irbid, replacing another part of the Hedjaz Railway;
  3. A link to the Iraqi border.

However, in late 2010 the government announced an economic relief package and following the 2011 Jordanian protests it was decided to reduce the expected three year capital investment plan in the national railway network by 72 percent, partly to fund the relief package.[2] Therefore, it is unclear when the ambitions railway expansion plan will be carried out.

There are also plans for a light rail system operating between Amman and Zarqa and metro line in Amman.

Currently, two connected but non-contiguously operated sections of the Hedjaz Railway exist:

  • from Amman in Jordan to Syria, as the "Hedjaz Jordan Railway."
  • from phosphate mines near Ma'an to the Gulf of Aqaba as the "Aqaba Railway."

In August 2011, Jordanian government approved the construction of the railway from Aqaba to the Iraqi border (near Trebil). The Iraqis in the meantime started the construction of the line from the border to their current railhead at Ramadi.[3]

Timeline[]

  • The Israeli business newspaper Globes reported that in a meeting between the Israeli minister of transport, Shaul Mofaz and the Jordanian ambassador in Tel Aviv in November, the transport minister announced that European nations are interested in financing the construction of a Haifa-Irbid-Amman railway.
  • Jordan - Jordanian Transport Minister responds to comments made on Monday, December 12, by Israeli Transport Minister Meir Shitrit. Shitrit had announced his intentions to propose a new standard gauge railway to connect Haifa, Israel, to Irbid, Jordan, passing through King Hussein Bridge and Jenin, a project that could cost as much as $300 million (for the Jordanian portion of the line). Nseirat responded to Shitrit's comments with a denial, stating that there have not been any discussions between the two nations on such a project and no plans for such a connection have been proposed by anyone in the Jordanian government. Shitrit plans to make his formal proposal at a conference for Mediterranean transport ministers in Marrakesh on December 20.[6]
    • Jordan - The Public Transport Regulatory Commission has entered into an agreement with a private sector consortium, following a competitive bidding process, to develop a light rail system between the Jordanian capital Amman and nearby industrial city of Zarqa. This light rail project, to be operational by 2011, will be the first urban rail public-private partnership (PPP) in the Middle East. The system will be operated using 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) (standard gauge) electrically propelled light rail vehicles on a double track. The total length of the LRS system will be approximately 25 kilometres. The majority of the LRS route, between Al-Mahatta (in Amman) and will be constructed within the existing Hedjaz Railway right-of-way (22.2 kilometres). The Public Transport Regulatory Commission estimates that the new system will carry about 45,000 passengers a day in its first year. Canada's CPCS was the lead advisor to the PTRC in this PPP transaction.
    • CPCS is also advising the Government of Jordan in the privatization of the Aqaba Railway Corporation, running from Ma'an to Aqaba. This railway is used to transport phosphate from mines located in Ma'an. The commission plans to modernize the old 1,050 mm (3 ft 5+1132 in) narrow gauge railway and replace it with new track.

Pipelines[]

gas 473 km; oil 49 km

Ports and harbors[]

The port of Aqaba on the Gulf of Aqaba is the only sea port in Jordan.

Merchant marine[]

total: 7 ships (with a volume of 1,000 gross tonnage (GT) or over) totaling 42,746 GT/59,100 tonnes deadweight (DWT)
ships by type (1999): bulk carrier 2, cargo ship 2, container ship 1, livestock carrier 1, roll-on/roll-off ship 1 The governments of Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq own and operate the Arab Bridge Maritime company, which is the largest passenger transport company on the Red Sea.

Airports[]

18 as of 2012

Airports - with paved runways[]

As of 2012, there was a total of 16 airports, the main airports being:

total (2012): 16
over 10,000 ft (3,000 m): 8
8,000 to 9,999 ft (2,438 to 3,048 m): 5
under 3,000 ft (910 m): 1

Airports - with unpaved runways[]

total (2012): 2 under 3,000 ft (910 m): 2

Heliports (2016)[]

56

Maps[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Railway Gazette: Ambitious strategy ready to start". Retrieved 2010-09-10.
  2. ^ Obeidat, Omar (14 March 2011). "Budget deficit prompts cuts in three-year development plan". The Jordan Times. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  3. ^ Construction begins on 500km Jordan-Iraq railway, Construction Week, Aug 24, 2011
  4. ^ http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/30/content_10434617.htm
  5. ^ "Home - Bruxelles Invest & Export". invest-export.brussels. Retrieved Dec 30, 2019.
  6. ^ ArabicNews.com (December 14, 2005), "Jordan denies reports on a railway project with Israel Archived 2006-02-15 at the Wayback Machine". Retrieved December 15, 2005.

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/.

External links[]

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