# LIBYA | High Speed Rail



## EngineerinLibya (Oct 27, 2010)

Libyan Railways is building a high speed railway between Benghazi and Tripoli. The project is divided into 2 in Sirte. Tripoli - Sirte is being build by China Railways and Sirt - Benghazi by Russian Railways. I believe a topic for this big project should be listed in this forum.


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## Gadiri (Oct 30, 2009)

No article, no picture, no map, what a poor information !^^

*We talked about in moroccan forum *OUJDA - FEZ > TGV MAGHREB | High-Speed Rail (LGV) | 328 km (TRIPOLI + 2672 km) | 320 km/h | #Project  thread.


> *BORDER LINKS FROM LIBYA​*
> 
> 
> > Posted on *21 September 2010 *
> ...


and 



> > *ANSALDO TO SIGNAL LIBYA​*
> > Posted on *20 August 2010 *
> >
> > A consortium of Finmeccanica companies Ansaldo STS and Selex Communications has received a €*247 million contract *from Russian Railways subsidiary Zarubezhstroyteknologiya to provide signalling*, automation, telecommunications, power supply, security, and ticketing systems for Libya’s 551km Surt-Benghazi line.*
> ...





> Libyan Railways *is building *a high speed railway between Benghazi and Tripoli. The project is divided into 2 in Sirte. Tripoli - Sirte is being build by China Railways and Sirt - Benghazi by Russian Railways. I believe a topic for this big project should be listed in this forum.


:nono:

Phase 1, *Lybia is building *: diesel train at 160 km/h 
Phase 2 ,* Lybia will built *: electrification and passage to 250km/h with ERMTS installed on phae 1.
Phase 3, *Lybia will built *: extension to Tunisia with a IUC gauge (Tunisia is narrow gauge)
Phase 4, *Lybia will built *: extension to East and then to Egypt.


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## Gadiri (Oct 30, 2009)

> *LIBYA’S NEW RAILWAY*
> 
> Posted on *13 September 2010 *
> 
> ...


http://www.railwaysafrica.com/blog/2010/09/border-links-from-libya/

*The project Tripoli-Sirte is no part of Transmaghreb HST Network*. 



> *TGVM : Trains à Grande Vitesse Maghrebin​*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


http://www.ctfm.org.dz/Fr-TGVM.htm


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## Gadiri (Oct 30, 2009)

For information, Lybia is member of : CFTM



> *Comité des Transports Ferroviaires Maghrébin (CTFM)​*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Aujourd'hui pour faire Casablanca-Tunis il ne faut ni 8h, ni 25h, ni 30h. La seule alternative c'est l'avion. 

http://www.ctfm.org.dz/Presentation.htm


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## Gadiri (Oct 30, 2009)

> > *ANSALDO TO SIGNAL LIBYA​*
> > Posted on *20 August 2010 *
> >
> > A consortium of Finmeccanica companies Ansaldo STS and Selex Communications has received a €*247 million contract *from Russian Railways subsidiary Zarubezhstroyteknologiya to provide signalling*, automation, telecommunications, power supply, security, and ticketing systems for Libya’s 551km Surt-Benghazi line.*
> ...


Chinese works contract :



> *CRCC Wins USD2.6 bln Railway Contracts in Libya​*
> 
> AUTHOR： DATE：2008-02-24
> 
> ...


http://www.crcc.cn/532-1704-4099.aspx

Normally works began on june 2008, and will take 4 years.


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## jimfaster (Feb 9, 2011)

The Libyan government is considering a feasibility study for the estimated 2 billion rail at high speed between Benghazi and Tobruk in the east.

The source of the company, said Dorsch Afrique, a subsidiary of Germany's Dorsch Holding, is a consultant to conduct a feasibility study and is considering several options for the routing of the railway, including coastal, desert and mountain options. This leads to the track is between 440 km and 480 km in length.

Dorsch Africa is also working on the design of 150 km of high speed rail operation in Umm Saad Tobruk on the border with Egypt. These projects are the last part of plans by Libya to build USD 7.9 billion high-speed line that runs along the Mediterranean coast between Tunisia and Egypt through Libya's major cities.

In 2008, Russian Railways, has won a 2.2 billion euro deal to build a high-speed rail along the Mediterranean coast of Sirte and Benghazi. Construction is scheduled for 2012. China Railway employs 2.6 billion dollars worth of railway projects in Libya, including fast track between Khums and Sirte.

The client for the development of railways in Libya Railway Board, which also plans to extend the line west of Tripoli Khums.

In addition to its plans for high-speed, Libya also plans to develop the nurses station. Tender documents are being prepared, and this project could start moving in 2011. 104 km of subway in Tripoli is also provided. The first step is a red line that runs 41 km from the airport to the center of Tripoli, and then east towards the Tajura.


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## k.k.jetcar (Jul 17, 2008)

At this moment I think Libya has more important things to consider than building a HSR line...


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## Never give up (Apr 8, 2009)

An interesting photo in International Railway Journal, has started a series of articles in the Danish media.
The big question is how a Ansaldo built Danish IC4 diesel Intercity train set can suddenly appear in Libiya.
One theory is that Berlisconi (Silvio Corrupzioni as Danish cartoonists call him) sent it as a present to Gadaffi on the occasion of his 40 years anniversary as dictator, and probaby in the hope of securing some HS orders for Ansaldo.
Well I hope the train works better than the models sent to Denmark, where the order for over 90 sets is over 5 years delayed and still doesn´t work very well.

The Libiyan version.










and the Danish version.


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## Gag Halfrunt (Jun 25, 2006)

Libya's oil money has made it major world shareholder


> Libya has been switching its ever-growing funds from low-yielding company shares into all manner of higher-return investments in recent years. Given the close relationship between Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and Colonel Gaddafi it is perhaps not surprising that Libya has many investments in Italy.
> 
> These include a stake of about 2% in Fiat, 7.5% of Juventus football club, a 2% stake in – and joint venture with – Italian aerospace and defence group Finmeccanica and 7.5% in UniCredit, the bank.


Finmeccanica is AnsaldoBreda's parent company.


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## Alseimik (Aug 30, 2010)

Never give up said:


> An interesting photo in International Railway Journal, has started a series of articles in the Danish media.
> The big question is how a Ansaldo built Danish IC4 diesel Intercity train set can suddenly appear in Libiya.
> One theory is that Berlisconi (Silvio Corrupzioni as Danish cartoonists call him) sent it as a present to Gadaffi on the occasion of his 40 years anniversary as dictator, and probaby in the hope of securing some HS orders for Ansaldo.
> Well I hope the train works better than the models sent to Denmark, where the order for over 90 sets is over 5 years delayed and still doesn´t work very well.
> ...


And you know, one thing let to another, and now we have F-16 flying around there.

Btw, Anybody knows anything about the two parts using railways, or destroying it for that matter?


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## stingstingsting (Jun 5, 2010)

Well, isn't Danske Statsbaner's motto "Gode Tog til Alle"? Trains for all, including Libya! 

Whether they are good or not is quite a different issue altogether...


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## hmmwv (Jul 19, 2006)

I hope the line gets completed once that nut case is removed.


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## Alseimik (Aug 30, 2010)

^^ it will, but time is probably a problem! either part of that case would have to use a lot time to recover.


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## Alien x (Jul 9, 2005)

hmmwv said:


> I hope the line gets completed once that nut case is removed.


Unfortunatly highly unlikely because nut cases like him are the only ones able to procure funding for projects like these. In addition to million other things that are going to be needed that are more important.


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## sathya_226 (Mar 26, 2006)

Now the question is who will build the rest of the tracks! The rebels or King? Or is it the NATO?


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## Alseimik (Aug 30, 2010)

^^ I'm quite sure the NATO is unthinable, there's no way they will even put land troops in that area, on every side, as it is now. So why they should take control over the area, i don't know.


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## Gadiri (Oct 30, 2009)

:lol:




> ​
> 
> *DSB IC4 train shows up in Libya​*
> *A Danish IC4 train has been spotted in Libya. But what does it in an African country? The DSB did not. Actually they did not even know it was there*
> ...


http://ing.dk/artikel/116494-dsbs-ic4-tog-dukker-op-i-libyen


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## Uppsala (Feb 26, 2010)

Never give up said:


> The Libiyan version.


^^
Is this train still exists? Or is it destroyed by the war now?


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## Alseimik (Aug 30, 2010)

^^ probably, it doesn't seem to be a main objective


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## rudyrudy (Jan 4, 2011)

del


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## gael atangana (Apr 7, 2014)

its sad to see Libya go in the drain this way. I was in Libya in 2009. and back then before the fall of Qaddafi , Libya was the most wealthy nation in Africa(in GDP per capital terms), and had almost every basic living items citizens needs. some even had unemployment benefits(which is almost unheard of in Africa).:grouphug: In fact there were Hundreds if not Millions of Africans migrants who came to Libya for a better life, and funny enough most of them came from so called 'democratic countries'. I was also surprise to see that the french speaking African countries i visited, Qaddafi was so popular there, i barely saw anybody who didn't like him, they kept talking about all the investment and help he has been providing to the poorer African countries neighboring Libya like: Niger, Cameroon, Chad,Mauritania Senegal etc). This is one of the reason that i tend to believe those who said his toppling was planned and organized by external forces who are after the resources/Geo strategic interests of Libya. I really sad for my African brethren's. One of it most prosperous/independent country has now turned into a warlord/Al Qaeda state:horse: :gunz:were lawlessness is rampant. Good save Africa. 
coming to the topic, yes its true i don't think Libya needs a high speed rail at the moment. its a luxury the country doesnt need at the moment(it will have been more appropriate pre-Qaddafi) . The country needs to first solve its security issues and stability.


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## Woonsocket54 (May 7, 2005)

*"Libya's train project remains off the rails"*

http://www.dw.com/en/libyas-train-project-remains-off-the-rails/a-19565824


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## Woonsocket54 (May 7, 2005)

Map from the above article:


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## the- (Feb 6, 2013)

Picture from the above article



> This Italian locomotive stranded in downtown Tripoli is waiting for the railroad to be completed












Another picture








http://www.unhcr.org/ar/4be7cc27231.html


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## M-NL (Sep 18, 2012)

> This Italian locomotive stranded in downtown Tripoli is waiting for the railroad to be completed


They should start by extending the tracks to the nearest maintenance depot, because given the build quality of the other IC4 sets, it's going to spend a lot of time there.


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## krisu99 (May 16, 2008)

It is now 10 years ago that construction works on the ambitious Libyan HSR-project were abandoned, when Chinese (CRCC) and Russian (RZD) companies and their employees fled from the country disastrously hit by civil war, as Gaddafi was gently removed from power, thanks to French and US bombing in order to replace him with love, prosperity, peace, pétanque and democracy.

The IC4 DMU which Berlusconi (literally) donated 2009 to his friend Gadaffi is still waiting under the hot sunrays on its 3km double track demonstration line in Tripoli. The train still retains DSB (Danish State Railways) labels on the bogies and elsewhere. It looks like the perimeter is fenced and still now guarded. The site was the Libyan Railroads Execution and Management Board headquarters (LREMB), as well as railway engineering training center.





Civil works had reached an already advanced state, with around 1100km of land cleared and/or under construction along the east-west double track HSR route (CRCC western section, RZD eastern section), and 180km along the single track center-to-sea freight line (CRCC).



Tracks have been laid on a few sections only, which can be seen in Google Earth:
1.) Around 3 km double track in Tripoli as mentioned above
2.) Around 10.5km of single track line in Al-Kums, connecting the harbour with a large CRCC rail welding and warehouse facility.
3.) Around 0,4km near Zilten
4.) Around 4km of linear line at Ras Lanuf, in addition to another rail welding facility, this time operated by RZD. It slowly decays as sand storms blow through it.
5.) Around 0,3km of double track at Benghazi. This was a present by RZD, similar to the Italian one in Tripoli.




Some mysterious train operations took place from 2015 to 2020. A sad but nevertheless interesting history which I suggest deserves to be further analysed and documented. Google Earth and its embedded photos reveal quite a bit of it....
Anyone else investigating this maybe?

Fun side note: While the Italian PM hoped for his (at that time state owned) Ansaldo company "expected" from Gaddafi to win the contract for delivering the future HSR fleet, he made a small mistake though: His present, the IC4 did not comply with the specifications set forth in the tender at all...



(ad by the image hoster: two betta fish in one tank )


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## krisu99 (May 16, 2008)

A blog in Russian about the last days of the RZD base camp:








Ливия. Странная революция


Эксклюзив. Статья написана арабистом, начальником отдела перевода и информации компании "Зарубежстройтехнология" Андреем Вечор-Щербовичем (ранее он работал в нашей телекомпании,а последние недели снабжал нас исчерпывающей информацией "с места"). С мая 2010 года Андрей работал в




topwar.ru





A list of 58 rail vehicles deployed to Ras Lanuf by RZD:


Statement



I.) Ras Lanuf main Russian construction base, images from around 2010, before war started.:










#############################################################################
Since 2011 this site too is abandoned. Sand slowly reconquers its land, while machinery continues to look as new due to absence of humidity:


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## dyonisien (Aug 30, 2010)

The unfortunate Libyan people, who once enjoyed the highest living standard of the continent, has alas many other things to worry about. _Just surviving_ must rank high in what is, for the time being, no more than some territory "freed" by the usual world gang. I can wish the Libyan people to be able some day to have interest in planning new railways. That would mean that the other problems have been solved.


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## krisu99 (May 16, 2008)

Time comparison series of Ras Lanuf RZD main camp. The base measures 3km in length, it is said that 14kms of tracks had already been laid. Its main facility there is the 300m long rail welding hall. Housing for workforce and managers (the two more isolated buildings) were also provided, both having their own small park!

The first Google Earth image date from March 2011, the second from September 2019 respectively:

a,) Overview. The pink line indicates the main HSL alignment, along which track-laying however never started.



b.) It looks like no trains have been moved since 2011


c.) Long rail welding facility. Short rails were delivered from overseas and then by truck, unloaded into the building on the right and finally welded together to form approx. 300m long rails. It looks like there were two parallel rail production lines, exiting the building on the left. Rails were then pulled onto rail wagons and then delivered to destination.


d) Details. Sand now mostly covers the trackbed



e.) Labour houses on the lower right, with a small park




f.) Larger managers houses with larger park


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## D K (May 8, 2009)

Very interesting report, thanks.
Let's hope this country will recover so we can achieve this trans-Maghrebian line, from south Morocco to Egyptian border


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## VITORIA MAN (Jan 31, 2013)

Edit


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## krisu99 (May 16, 2008)

It may be less known, that Tripoli was also executing a Metro project. In Google Earth images from 2011, first works on line B (red line), alongside the north-south road to the airport, can be observed....


From Uvaterv :
_ Operation length of the metro lines: (underground/surface/elevated) _
_ o Line „A” (green) : 29,60 km /0,0 km /0,0 km_​_o Line „B” (red): 32,87 km /14,53 km /4,88 km_​_o Line „C” (blue) : 22,33 km /0,0 km /0,0 km- Total operation length of the entire network: 104,21 km_​_ 
_

_
Total length of the network including the connecting tunnels: ~106 km
Number of stations: (underground/surface/elevated)
_


_ o Line „A”: 22/0/0_​_o Line „B”: 23/3/5_​_o Line „C”: 19/0/0_​_ - Total number of stations: 72_










It looks like attempts were made in 2019 to resume works, but those announcements are rarely serious .... :








Libya to launch subway line project worth 10 billion euros in investment | The Libya Observer


The Libyan Minister of Economy Ali Al-Essawi said Sunday that the ministry is going to launch 10-billion-euro project of underground railway, saying they had met with investors and the Libyan concerned authorities. Al-Essawi said in a presser that this project will be implemented by investors...




www.libyaobserver.ly





(there is no general railway thread for Libya, so I post this here.....)

Animation about the first line to be built, dating May 2011, when war was about to start:


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## Canucklehead83 (Apr 28, 2020)

Such a shame that neither project was completed because of the war and the chaos since said war. But I get it... C'mon African Union mega-project fund, maybe?


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