Béni Mansour–Bejaïa railway

Béni Mansour–Bejaïa railway
Service
Type	Heavy rail
System	SNTF
History
Opened	1888 (1888)
Last extension	1889
Technical
Line length	88[1] km (55 mi)
Number of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	None
Operating speed	75 km/h (47 mph)

The Béni Mansour–Béjaïa railway is an Algerian railway connecting the Soummam River valley to the Algiers–Skikda railway over 88 kilometers. The line was opened in full in 1899.

History

During French Algeria, plans were made to connect Béjaia to the Algerian railway hub of Sétif in 1857. However, plans were revised to instead connect Béjaïa to the Algiers–Skikda main line in the village of Béni Mansour (municipality of Boudjellil) between Algiers and Sétif. The Compagnie de l'est algérien received the concession for building this railway on May 21, 1884. The line was first opened from Béjaïa to Tazmalt over a distance of 81 kilometers on December 10, 1888, and then connected to the Algiers–Skikda main line on March 24, 1889.

Description

This single-track line[1] generally flows the Soummam River valley in Bejaia Province and has stations in the communities of Béni Mansour (Boudjellil municipality), Tazmalt, Ouzellaguen municipality), Takriest-Seddouk (Seddouk municipality), Sidi Aïch, Ifenain Ilmathen, El Kseur, Oued Ghir, and the provincial capital of Béjaia.

References

1. "Staff Appraisal Report, Second Railway Project, p. 142" (PDF). World Bank. 1988-05-26. Retrieved 2020-10-23.