Misplaced Pages

#738261

109-583: Sudan has 4,725 kilometers of narrow-gauge , single-track railways . The main line runs from Wadi Halfa on the Egyptian border to Khartoum and southwest to El-Obeid via Sennar and Kosti , with extensions to Nyala in Southern Darfur and Wau in Western Bahr al Ghazal , South Sudan . Other lines connect Atbara and Sennar with Port Sudan , and Sennar with Ad-Damazin . A 1,400-kilometer line serves

218-695: A 20-mile (32 km) line from Suakin on the Red Sea inland to Otau, but it was abandoned in 1885. In May 1887, the Wadi Halfa-Saras line was extended again to Kerma , above the third cataract, to support the Anglo-Egyptian Dongola Expedition against the Mahdist State . The line, which was poorly constructed and of little other use, was abandoned in 1905. The first segment of the present-day Sudan Railways, from Wadi Halfa to Abu Hamad on

327-683: A dynastic change, while another one in 1761–1762 resulted in the Hamaj Regency , where the Hamaj (a people from the Ethiopian borderlands) effectively ruled while the Funj sultans were their mere puppets. Shortly afterwards the sultanate began to fragment; by the early 19th century it was essentially restricted to the Gezira. The coup of 1718 kicked off a policy of pursuing a more orthodox Islam, which in turn promoted

436-552: A free vote on whether they wished independence or a British withdrawal. A polling process was carried out resulting in the composition of a democratic parliament and Ismail al-Azhari was elected first Prime Minister and led the first modern Sudanese government. On 1 January 1956, in a special ceremony held at the People's Palace, the Egyptian and British flags were lowered and the new Sudanese flag, composed of green, blue and yellow stripes,

545-609: A key province of the New Kingdom, economically, politically, and spiritually. Indeed, major pharaonic ceremonies were held at Jebel Barkal near Napata. As an Egyptian colony from the 16th century BC, Nubia ("Kush") was governed by an Egyptian Viceroy of Kush . Resistance to the early eighteenth Dynasty Egyptian rule by neighboring Kush is evidenced in the writings of Ahmose, son of Ebana , an Egyptian warrior who served under Nebpehtrya Ahmose (1539–1514 BC), Djeserkara Amenhotep I (1514–1493 BC), and Aakheperkara Thutmose I (1493–1481 BC). At

654-448: A lasting split similar to that of Libya during its civil wars. Port Sudan has been described as becoming a " de facto " capital of Sudan. The city has an oil refinery and handles 90% of the country's international trade. Major exports include oilseed , senna , and hides and skins. Imports include construction materials, heavy machinery, and vehicles. The city has a modern container port to handle imports and exports. The port

763-533: A new line from Atbara to the Red Sea was undertaken, with the line being completed in October 1905. In 1906, the new line reached the recently built Port Sudan to provide a direct connection between Khartoum and ocean-going transport. In 1911, a line was also constructed from Khartoum southward to Sennar within the cotton -growing region of Al Jazirah . In February 1912, a westward continuation reached El-Obeid , then

872-740: A one-seat ride to Alexandria . After the Declaration of Independence of South Sudan in 2011, 248 km of the Babanousa- Wau line was no longer located within Sudan. Sudan Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in Northeast Africa . It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north,

981-570: A petty kingdom. After the prosperous reign of king Joel ( fl. 1463–1484) Makuria collapsed. Coastal areas from southern Sudan up to the port city of Suakin was succeeded by the Adal Sultanate in the fifteenth century. To the south, the kingdom of Alodia fell to either the Arabs, commanded by tribal leader Abdallah Jamma , or the Funj , an African people originating from the south. Datings range from

1090-405: A result of intense fighting in the capital city Khartoum , leading to it being described as a de facto capital of the country. Port Sudan also has emerged as a refuge for internally displaced persons in Sudan. Port Sudan was built between 1905 and 1909 by the administration of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan to replace Suakin —the historic, coral-choked Arab port. An oil pipeline was built between

1199-710: A revival of the Nubian Empire, which rather continued in the form of a smaller kingdom centred on Napata . The city was raided by the Egyptian c. 590 BC, and sometime soon after to the late-3rd century BC, the Kushite resettled in Meroë . On the turn of the fifth century the Blemmyes established a short-lived state in Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia, probably centred around Talmis ( Kalabsha ), but before 450 they were already driven out of

SECTION 10

#1732852581739

1308-569: A sizable, populous empire rivaling Egypt. Mentuhotep II , the 21st century BC founder of the Middle Kingdom , is recorded to have undertaken campaigns against Kush in the 29th and 31st years of his reign. This is the earliest Egyptian reference to Kush ; the Nubian region had gone by other names in the Old Kingdom. Under Thutmose I , Egypt made several campaigns south. The Egyptians ruled Kush in

1417-587: A social hierarchy over the next centuries which became the Kingdom of Kerma at 2500 BC. Anthropological and archaeological research indicates that during the predynastic period Nubia and Nagadan Upper Egypt were ethnically and culturally nearly identical, and thus, simultaneously evolved systems of pharaonic kingship by 3300 BC. The Kerma culture was an early civilization centered in Kerma , Sudan. It flourished from around 2500 BC to 1500 BC in ancient Nubia . The Kerma culture

1526-564: A suburb of modern-day Khartoum). Still in the sixth century they converted to Christianity. In the seventh century, probably at some point between 628 and 642, Nobatia was incorporated into Makuria. Between 639 and 641 the Muslim Arabs of the Rashidun Caliphate conquered Byzantine Egypt. In 641 or 642 and again in 652 they invaded Nubia but were repelled, making the Nubians one of

1635-547: Is Khartoum . The area that is now Sudan witnessed the Khormusan ( c. 40000–16000 BC), Halfan culture ( c. 20500–17000 BC), Sebilian ( c. 13000–10000 BC), Qadan culture ( c. 15000–5000 BC), the war of Jebel Sahaba , the earliest known war in the world, around 11500 BC, A-Group culture (c. 3800–3100 BC), Kingdom of Kerma ( c. 2500–1500 BC), the Egyptian New Kingdom ( c. 1500–1070 BC), and

1744-432: Is 76 millimetres (3.0 in), and no rainfall occurred between January 1983 and June 1984. The mean temperature year round (the average of all daily highs and nighttime lows) is 28.4 °C (83.1 °F). The population consists mainly of Sudanese Arabs, including the native Beja people, with small Asian and European minorities. Hay Al-Arab SC founded in 1928, and Hilal Alsahil SC founded in 1937, both play at

1853-421: Is Sudan's main railway system and is operated by the government-owned Sudan Railways Corporation (SRC), provides services to most of the country's production and consumption centers. Rail dominated commercial transport in the early years of independent Sudan but competition from highways increased rapidly and by 2013, 90% of inland transport in Sudan was by road. The main rail system was reorganised into two parts;

1962-537: Is also an international ferry from Jeddah . In 2023 a new seaport was proposed about 200km north of Port Sudan at Abu Amama . A 450km road to the farming hub at Abu Hamad would also be provided. This new seaport is opposite Jeddah which shortens the ferry trip from Jeddah . The city is home to the Red Sea University , established in 1994. Places of worship are predominantly Muslim mosques, but there are also Christian churches and temples including

2071-561: Is dry and over 60% of Sudan's population lives in poverty. Sudan is a member of the United Nations , Arab League , African Union , COMESA , Non-Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation . The country's name Sudan is a name given historically to the large Sahel region of West Africa to the immediate west of modern-day Sudan. Historically, Sudan referred to both the geographical region , stretching from Senegal on

2180-779: Is mentioned in the Bible as having saved the Israelites from the wrath of the Assyrians, although disease among the besiegers might have been one of the reasons for the failure to take the city. The war that took place between Pharaoh Taharqa and the Assyrian king Sennacherib was a decisive event in western history, with the Nubians being defeated in their attempts to gain a foothold in the Near East by Assyria. Sennacherib's successor Esarhaddon went further and invaded Egypt itself to secure his control of

2289-588: Is now known as South Kordofan to the Sinai. Pharaoh Piye attempted to expand the empire into the Near East but was thwarted by the Assyrian king Sargon II . Between 800 BCE and 100 AD the Nubian pyramids were built, among them can be named El-Kurru , Kashta , Piye , Tantamani , Shabaka , Pyramids of Gebel Barkal , Pyramids of Meroe (Begarawiyah) , the Sedeinga pyramids , and Pyramids of Nuri . The Kingdom of Kush

SECTION 20

#1732852581739

2398-654: Is part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region of Trieste with its rail connections to Central and Eastern Europe . The main airport is Port Sudan New International Airport . There is now a tarred road linking Port Sudan to Khartoum via Atbara. Port Sudan also has a 1067mm gauge rail link with Khartoum . There

2507-623: The 'Urabi revolt , which threatened the Khedive's survival. Tewfik appealed for help to the British, who subsequently occupied Egypt in 1882. Sudan was left in the hands of the Khedivial government, and the mismanagement and corruption of its officials. During the Khedivial period, dissent had spread due to harsh taxes imposed on most activities. Taxation on irrigation wells and farming lands were so high most farmers abandoned their farms and livestock. During

2616-532: The 9th century after the Hijra ( c. 1396–1494), the late 15th century, 1504 to 1509. An alodian rump state might have survived in the form of the kingdom of Fazughli , lasting until 1685. In 1504 the Funj are recorded to have founded the Kingdom of Sennar , in which Abdallah Jamma's realm was incorporated. By 1523, when Jewish traveller David Reubeni visited Sudan, the Funj state already extended as far north as Dongola. Meanwhile, Islam began to be preached on

2725-576: The Al Jazirah cotton -growing region. There are plans to rehabilitate rail transport to reverse decades of neglect and declining efficiency. Service on some lines may be interrupted during the rainy season. As of 2022 the Sudan Railways Corporation maintains 4,578 km of 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) gauge rail. The main line linking Khartoum to Port Sudan carries over two-thirds of Sudan's rail traffic. Sudan Railways

2834-577: The Arabisation of the state. To legitimise their rule over their Arab subjects the Funj began to propagate an Umayyad descend . North of the confluence of the Blue and White Niles, as far downstream as Al Dabbah , the Nubians adopted the tribal identity of the Arab Jaalin . Until the 19th century Arabic had succeeded in becoming the dominant language of central riverine Sudan and most of Kordofan. West of

2943-557: The Atlantic Coast to Northeast Africa and the modern Sudan. The name derives from the Arabic bilād as-sūdān ( بلاد السودان ), or "The Land of the Blacks ". The name is one of various toponyms sharing similar etymologies , in reference to the very dark skin of the indigenous people. Prior to this, Sudan was known as Nubia and Ta Nehesi or Ta Seti by Ancient Egyptians named for

3052-714: The Bronze Age collapse and the disintegration of the New Kingdom of Egypt ; it was centred at Napata in its early phase. After King Kashta ("the Kushite") invaded Egypt in the eighth century BC, the Kushite kings ruled as pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt for nearly a century before being defeated and driven out by the Assyrians . At the height of their glory, the Kushites conquered an empire that stretched from what

3161-448: The Coptic alphabet , while also using Greek , Coptic and Arabic . Women enjoyed high social status: they had access to education, could own, buy and sell land and often used their wealth to endow churches and church paintings. Even the royal succession was matrilineal , with the son of the king's sister being the rightful heir. From the late 11th/12th century, Makuria's capital Dongola

3270-503: The Kingdom of Kush ( c. 785 BC – 350 AD). After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed the three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia , Makuria , and Alodia . Between the 14th and 15th centuries, most of Sudan was gradually settled by Arab nomads . From the 16th to the 19th centuries, central and eastern Sudan were dominated by the Funj sultanate , while Darfur ruled the west and the Ottomans

3379-518: The Middle Assyrian Empire (1365–1020 BC), and then the resurgent Neo-Assyrian Empire (935–605 BC). The Assyrians , from the tenth century BC onwards, had once more expanded from northern Mesopotamia , and conquered a vast empire, including the whole of the Near East , and much of Anatolia , the eastern Mediterranean , the Caucasus and early Iron Age Iran . According to Josephus Flavius,

Rail transport in Sudan - Misplaced Pages Continue

3488-684: The Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the southeast, and South Sudan to the south. Sudan has a population of 50 million people as of 2024 and occupies 1,886,068 square kilometres (728,215 square miles), making it Africa's third-largest country by area and the third-largest by area in the Arab League . It was the largest country by area in Africa and the Arab League until the secession of South Sudan in 2011 ; since then both titles have been held by Algeria . Sudan's capital and most populous city

3597-554: The Red Sea Hills and from salt-evaporating pans. Temperatures can easily exceed 30 °C (86 °F) in winter and 45 °C (113 °F) in summer. Over 90% of the annual rainfall falls between October and January, mostly in November, with the wettest month on record being November 1947 with 182 millimetres (7.2 in), whilst the wettest year was from July 1923 to June 1924 with 231 millimetres (9.1 in). Average annual rainfall

3706-469: The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Khartoum ( Catholic Church ), Sudan Interior Church ( Baptist World Alliance ), and Presbyterian Church in Sudan ( World Communion of Reformed Churches ) and Coptic Orthodox Churches . Port Sudan has a hot desert climate ( Köppen : BWh) with extremely hot summers and moderately hot winters, requiring the acquisition of fresh water from Wadi Arba'at in

3815-633: The Sudan Defence Force played an active part in responding to incursions early in World War Two. Italian troops occupied Kassala and other border areas from Italian Somaliland during 1940. In 1942, the SDF also played a part in the invasion of the Italian colony by British and Commonwealth forces. The last British governor-general was Robert George Howe . The Egyptian revolution of 1952 finally heralded

3924-728: The Sudanese Communist Party . Several days later, anti-communist military elements restored Nimeiry to power. In 1972, the Addis Ababa Agreement led to a cessation of the north–south civil war and a degree of self-rule. This led to ten years hiatus in the civil war but an end to American investment in the Jonglei Canal project. This had been considered absolutely essential to irrigate the Upper Nile region and to prevent an environmental catastrophe and wide-scale famine among

4033-703: The Vali of Egypt under the Ottoman Empire , Muhammad Ali styled himself as Khedive of a virtually independent Egypt. Seeking to add Sudan to his domains, he sent his third son Ismail (not to be confused with Ismaʻil Pasha mentioned later) to conquer the country, and subsequently incorporate it into Egypt. With the exception of the Shaiqiya and the Darfur sultanate in Kordofan, he was met without resistance. The Egyptian policy of conquest

4142-525: The 1870s, European initiatives against the slave trade had an adverse impact on the economy of northern Sudan, precipitating the rise of Mahdist forces. Muhammad Ahmad ibn Abd Allah , the Mahdi (Guided One), offered to the ansars (his followers) and those who surrendered to him a choice between adopting Islam or being killed. The Mahdiyah (Mahdist regime) imposed traditional Sharia Islamic laws . On 12 August 1881, an incident occurred at Aba Island , sparking

4251-561: The 1950s. It included extension of the western line to Nyala (1959) in Darfur Province , and a southwesterly branch to Wau (1961), southern Sudan's second largest city, located in Bahr el Ghazal . That essentially completed the Sudan Railways network, which totalled about 4,800 route km in 1990. There were small later extensions from Abu Gabra to El Muglad (52 km in 1995), El Obeid to

4360-441: The 1960s, rail had a practical monopoly on the transportation of goods to and from Sudan. Sudan Railways suffered losses in the early 1970s, though they briefly recovered following the acquisition of new diesel equipment in 1976 further losses occurred in the late 1970s. The losses were attributed to various factors including, inflation, the lack of spare parts, the company's headquarters being located in Atbara rather than in Khartoum,

4469-402: The Ansar at Tushkah. The failure of the Egyptian invasion broke the spell of the Ansar's invincibility. The Belgians prevented the Mahdi's men from conquering Equatoria , and in 1893, the Italians repelled an Ansar attack at Agordat (in Eritrea ) and forced the Ansar to withdraw from Ethiopia. In the 1890s, the British sought to re-establish their control over Sudan, once more officially in

Rail transport in Sudan - Misplaced Pages Continue

4578-414: The Bedoin of Asia, he sailed upstream to Upper Nubia to destroy the Nubian bowmen." The tomb writings contain two other references to the Nubian bowmen of Kush. By 1200 BC, Egyptian involvement in the Dongola Reach was nonexistent. Egypt's international prestige had declined considerably towards the end of the Third Intermediate Period . Its historical allies, the inhabitants of Canaan , had fallen to

4687-420: The British had a policy of running Sudan as two essentially separate territories; the north and south. The assassination of a Governor-General of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in Cairo was the causative factor; it brought demands of the newly elected Wafd government from colonial forces. A permanent establishment of two battalions in Khartoum was renamed the Sudan Defence Force acting as under the government, replacing

4796-418: The El Obeid refinery (10 km), and El Ban to the Merowe Dam (10 km.). In the 1950s Sudan Railways began replacing their steam locomotives with diesel locomotives and by the early 1960s had replaced all of the trains on their main lines. Steam locomotives continued to be used by Sudan Railways on lines with lighter weight rails. A number of South African diesel locomotives are in use in Sudan. Through

4905-420: The Great Depression. Cotton and gum exports were dwarfed by the necessity to import almost everything from Britain leading to a balance of payments deficit at Khartoum. In July 1936 the Liberal Constitutional leader, Muhammed Mahmoud was persuaded to bring Wafd delegates to London to sign the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, "the beginning of a new stage in Anglo-Egyptian relations", wrote Anthony Eden . The British Army

5014-467: The Levant. This succeeded, as he managed to expel Taharqa from Lower Egypt. Taharqa fled back to Upper Egypt and Nubia, where he died two years later. Lower Egypt came under Assyrian vassalage but proved unruly, unsuccessfully rebelling against the Assyrians. Then, the king Tantamani , a successor of Taharqa, made a final determined attempt to regain Lower Egypt from the newly reinstated Assyrian vassal Necho I . He managed to retake Memphis killing Necho in

5123-422: The Mahdist War. In 1899, Britain and Egypt reached an agreement under which Sudan was run by a governor-general appointed by Egypt with British consent. In reality, Sudan was effectively administered as a Crown colony . The British were keen to reverse the process, started under Muhammad Ali Pasha , of uniting the Nile Valley under Egyptian leadership and sought to frustrate all efforts aimed at further uniting

5232-464: The Mahdiyah period, largely because of the Khalifa's brutal methods to extend his rule throughout the country. In 1887, a 60,000-man Ansar army invaded Ethiopia , penetrating as far as Gondar . In March 1889, king Yohannes IV of Ethiopia marched on Metemma ; however, after Yohannes fell in battle, the Ethiopian forces withdrew. Abd ar-Rahman an-Nujumi, the Khalifa's general, attempted an invasion of Egypt in 1889, but British-led Egyptian troops defeated

5341-456: The New kingdom beginning when the Egyptian King Thutmose I occupied Kush and destroyed its capital, Kerma. This eventually resulted in their annexation of Nubia c.  1504 BC . Around 1500 BC, Nubia was absorbed into the New Kingdom of Egypt , but rebellions continued for centuries. After the conquest, Kerma culture was increasingly Egyptianized, yet rebellions continued for 220 years until c.  1300 BC . Nubia nevertheless became

5450-450: The Nile Valley by the Nobatians. The latter eventually founded a kingdom on their own, Nobatia . By the sixth century there were in total three Nubian kingdoms: Nobatia in the north, which had its capital at Pachoras ( Faras ); the central kingdom, Makuria centred at Tungul ( Old Dongola ), about 13 kilometres (8 miles) south of modern Dongola ; and Alodia , in the heartland of the old Kushitic kingdom, which had its capital at Soba (now

5559-412: The Nile by Sufi holy men who settled there in the 15th and 16th centuries and by David Reubeni's visit king Amara Dunqas , previously a Pagan or nominal Christian, was recorded to be Muslim. However, the Funj would retain un-Islamic customs like the divine kingship or the consumption of alcohol until the 18th century. Sudanese folk Islam preserved many rituals stemming from Christian traditions until

SECTION 50

#1732852581739

5668-400: The Nile to safeguard a planned irrigation dam at Aswan . Herbert Kitchener led military campaigns against the Mahdist Sudan from 1896 to 1898. Kitchener's campaigns culminated in a decisive victory in the Battle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898. A year later, the Battle of Umm Diwaykarat on 25 November 1899 resulted in the death of Abdallahi ibn Muhammad , subsequently bringing to an end

5777-409: The Nile, in Darfur , the Islamic period saw at first the rise of the Tunjur kingdom , which replaced the old Daju kingdom in the 15th century and extended as far west as Wadai . The Tunjur people were probably Arabised Berbers and, their ruling elite at least, Muslims. In the 17th century the Tunjur were driven from power by the Fur Keira sultanate . The Keira state, nominally Muslim since

5886-428: The Nile, was also a military undertaking. It was built by the British in the late 1890s, for use in General Herbert Kitchener 's drive against the Mahdist State. During the campaign, the line was pushed to Atbara on the Nile in 1897 and, after the Battle of Omdurman in 1898, was continued to Khartoum, which it reached on the last day of 1899. The line was built in the 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) gauge,

5995-454: The Nubian and Medjay archers or bowmen. Since 2011, Sudan is also sometimes referred to as North Sudan to distinguish it from South Sudan . Affad 23 is an archaeological site located in the Affad region of southern Dongola Reach in northern Sudan, which hosts "the well-preserved remains of prehistoric camps (relics of the oldest open-air hut in the world) and diverse hunting and gathering loci some 50,000 years old". By

6104-428: The Ottoman invasion saw the attempted usurpation of Ajib , a minor king of northern Nubia. While the Funj eventually killed him in 1611/1612 his successors, the Abdallab , were granted to govern everything north of the confluence of Blue and White Niles with considerable autonomy. During the 17th century the Funj state reached its widest extent, but in the following century it began to decline. A coup in 1718 brought

6213-430: The SRC which owned the physical assets of the Sudan Railways and the other part being a collection of private companies which organise the operation of the network. In 2013 10 private companies were reported to be running operations in different lines. The history of rail transport in Sudan began in 1874 when the Khedive of Egypt Isma'il Pasha established a line from Wadi Halfa to Sarras about 54 km upstream on

6322-476: The US$ 2 billion project had still not been signed nor started. In June 2020 the funding was approved to finance a $ 3.4m feasibility study into a standard-gauge rail link between Ethiopia and Sudan. Ethiopia is considering a 1,522 km line between Addis Ababa , Khartoum and Port Sudan on the Red Sea. The route has already been agreed by both governments. The two-year study will assess the railway's technical, economic, environmental and social challenges, including

6431-480: The US. In 2021 the government put forward a $ 640m programme to rehabilitate its rail system. The African Development Bank has offered a $ 75m grant towards the cost while China State Construction Engineering and several Gulf firms are reported to be interested in becoming involved with the project. The first phase of the project will be to carry out $ 17m of emergency repairs to lines that are in use. The second will be to renew abandoned lines, most of which are in

6540-485: The beginning of the 1970s to about 2 million tons at the end of the decade. The 1980s also saw a steady erosion of tonnage as a result of a combination of inefficient management, union stubbornness, the failure of agricultural projects to meet production goals, a lack of spare parts and the continuing civil war. The bridge at Aweil was destroyed in the 1980s and Wau was without rail access until 2010 and became part of South Sudan when it declared independence in 2011. During

6649-443: The beginning of the march towards Sudanese independence. Having abolished the monarchy in 1953, Egypt's new leaders, Mohammed Naguib , whose mother was Sudanese, and later Gamal Abdel Nasser , believed the only way to end British domination in Sudan was for Egypt to officially abandon its claims of sovereignty. In addition, Nasser knew it would be difficult for Egypt to govern an impoverished Sudan after its independence. The British on

SECTION 60

#1732852581739

6758-401: The biblical Moses led the Egyptian army in a siege of the Kushite city of Meroe. To end the siege Princess Tharbis was given to Moses as a (diplomatic) bride, and thus the Egyptian army retreated back to Egypt. The Kingdom of Kush was an ancient Nubian state centred on the confluences of the Blue Nile and White Nile , and the Atbarah River and the Nile River . It was established after

6867-423: The blockade was lifted. During the 2023 Sudan war , Port Sudan has emerged as a leading destination and refuge for internally displaced persons fleeing war in other parts of the country. Internally-displaced refugees in the city reportedly face extreme heat and shortages of food and water. By late October 2023, Reuters reported that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) controlled most of Khartoum , causing

6976-490: The civil war in the south (1983–2005) military trains went as far as Aweil accompanied by large numbers of troops and militia, causing great disruption to civilians and humanitarian aid organisations along the railway line. Efforts were made in the late 1970s and the 1980s to improve through laying heavier rails, repairing locomotives, purchasing new locomotives, modernizing signaling equipment, expanding training facilities, and improving repair facilities. Substantial assistance

7085-454: The continuation of certain lines having only light traffic. Hassan Ahmed El Sheikh, a former secretary of a railway union in the Sudan blamed Gaafar Nimeiry 's attempts to weaken unions (who had organised numerous strikes on the railway) by firing over 20,000 employees between 1975 and 1991. El Sheikh also blamed Omar al-Bashir who took office in 1989 and continued Nimeiry's anit-union policies. The road system, although generally more expensive,

7194-410: The country became a secular state . Sudan is a least developed country and among the poorest countries in the world, ranking 170th on the Human Development Index as of 2024 and 185th by nominal GDP per capita . Its economy largely relies on agriculture due to international sanctions and isolation, as well as a history of internal instability and factional violence. The large majority of Sudan

7303-404: The country's second-largest city, and the center of gum arabic production. In the north, a branch line was built from near Abu Hamad to Karima that tied the navigable stretch of the Nile between the fourth and third cataracts into the transport system. Traffic in this case, however, was largely inbound to towns along the river, a situation that still prevailed in 1990. In the 1920s, a spur of

7412-450: The east bank of the Nile , as a commercial undertaking. The line did not prove to be commercially viable, and operations were stopped by the Governor-General Charles Gordon in 1878 to reduce expenditure. In 1884, the line was extended to Akasha on the Nile by the Nile Expedition , but was destroyed by the Ansar when the Anglo-Egyptian troops withdrew to Wadi Halfa. In 1884, during the Red Sea Expedition, John Aird & Co. constructed

7521-402: The east. In 1811, Mamluks established a state at Dunqulah as a base for their slave trading . Under Turco-Egyptian rule of Sudan after the 1820s, the practice of trading slaves was entrenched along a north–south axis, with slave raids taking place in southern parts of the country and slaves being transported to Egypt and the Ottoman Empire . From the 19th century, the entirety of Sudan

7630-503: The eighth millennium BC, people of a Neolithic culture had settled into a sedentary way of life there in fortified mudbrick villages, where they supplemented hunting and fishing on the Nile with grain gathering and cattle herding. Neolithic peoples created cemeteries such as R12 . During the fifth millennium BC, migrations from the drying Sahara brought neolithic people into the Nile Valley along with agriculture. The population that resulted from this cultural and genetic mixing developed

7739-458: The end of the Second Intermediate Period (mid-sixteenth century BC), Egypt faced the twin existential threats—the Hyksos in the North and the Kushites in the South. Taken from the autobiographical inscriptions on the walls of his tomb-chapel, the Egyptians undertook campaigns to defeat Kush and conquer Nubia under the rule of Amenhotep I (1514–1493 BC). In Ahmose's writings, the Kushites are described as archers , "Now after his Majesty had slain

7848-501: The farm area by carrying cotton to ginneries and fertilizers, fuel, food, and other supplies to the villages in the area. Operations usually have been suspended during the rainy season. The Tokar -Trinkitat Light Railway was built in 1921 and 1922 at 600 mm ( 1 ft  11 + 5 ⁄ 8  in ) narrow gauge and was 29 km long, primarily used for the export of the cotton crop from Tokar. It used ex-War Department Light Railways rolling stock and Simplex locomotives. It

7957-570: The few who managed to defeat the Arabs during the Islamic expansion . Afterward the Makurian king and the Arabs agreed on a unique non-aggression pact that also included an annual exchange of gifts , thus acknowledging Makuria's independence. While the Arabs failed to conquer Nubia they began to settle east of the Nile, where they eventually founded several port towns and intermarried with the local Beja . From

8066-622: The former garrison of Egyptian army soldiers, saw action afterward during the Walwal Incident . The Wafdist parliamentary majority had rejected Sarwat Pasha 's accommodation plan with Austen Chamberlain in London; yet Cairo still needed the money. The Sudanese Government's revenue had reached a peak in 1928 at £6.6 million, thereafter the Wafdist disruptions, and Italian borders incursions from Somaliland, London decided to reduce expenditure during

8175-647: The government led by Abdul Fattah el-Burhan to have largely relocated to Port Sudan. General Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces, "has threatened to establish a cabinet at the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, with the intention of creating an alternative or second capital." Hemedti , leader of the RSF, in turn, warned that this would lead to him declaring his own rival government based in Khartoum or another city he controlled. Analysts have raised concerns of

8284-587: The help primarily of the Baggara of western Sudan, overcame the opposition of the others and emerged as the unchallenged leader of the Mahdiyah. After consolidating his power, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad assumed the title of Khalifa (successor) of the Mahdi, instituted an administration, and appointed Ansar (who were usually Baggara ) as emirs over each of the several provinces. Regional relations remained tense throughout much of

8393-485: The local tribes, most especially the Dinka. In the civil war that followed their homeland was raided, looted, pillaged, and burned. Many of the tribe were murdered in a bloody civil war that raged for over 20 years. Port Sudan Port Sudan has historically been a center for commercial activity, particularly in the shipping industry. During the 2023 Sudan war , the military government has largely relocated to Port Sudan as

8502-463: The medieval Nubians has been described as " Afro-Byzantine ", but was also increasingly influenced by Arab culture. The state organisation was extremely centralised, being based on the Byzantine bureaucracy of the sixth and seventh centuries. Arts flourished in the form of pottery paintings and especially wall paintings. The Nubians developed an alphabet for their language, Old Nobiin , basing it on

8611-431: The mid eighth to mid eleventh century the political power and cultural development of Christian Nubia peaked. In 747 Makuria invaded Egypt, which at this time belonged to the declining Umayyads , and it did so again in the early 960s, when it pushed as far north as Akhmim . Makuria maintained close dynastic ties with Alodia, perhaps resulting in the temporary unification of the two kingdoms into one state. The culture of

8720-533: The monarchy and demanded the withdrawal of British forces from all of Egypt and Sudan. Muhammad Naguib , one of the two co-leaders of the revolution and Egypt's first President, was half-Sudanese and had been raised in Sudan. He made securing Sudanese independence a priority of the revolutionary government. The following year, under Egyptian and Sudanese pressure, the British agreed to Egypt's demand for both governments to terminate their shared sovereignty over Sudan and to grant Sudan independence. On 1 January 1956, Sudan

8829-508: The name of the Egyptian Khedive, but in actuality treating the country as a British colony. By the early 1890s, British, French, and Belgian claims had converged at the Nile headwaters. Britain feared that the other powers would take advantage of Sudan's instability to acquire territory previously annexed to Egypt. Apart from these political considerations, Britain wanted to establish control over

8938-535: The other hand continued their political and financial support for the Mahdist successor, Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi , who it was believed would resist Egyptian pressure for Sudanese independence. Abd al-Rahman was capable of this, but his regime was plagued by political ineptitude, which garnered a colossal loss of support in northern and central Sudan. Both Egypt and Britain sensed a great instability fomenting, and thus opted to allow both Sudanese regions, north and south to have

9047-745: The outbreak of what became the Mahdist War . From his announcement of the Mahdiyya in June 1881 until the fall of Khartoum in January 1885, Muhammad Ahmad led a successful military campaign against the Turco-Egyptian government of the Sudan, known as the Turkiyah . Muhammad Ahmad died on 22 June 1885, a mere six months after the conquest of Khartoum. After a power struggle amongst his deputies, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad , with

9156-547: The port and Khartoum in 1977. In 2009, Israel allegedly used naval commandos to attack Iranian arms ships at Port Sudan as part of Operation Birds of Prey . In 2020, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian Navy would begin construction on a base with capacity for 300 personnel and four warships in Port Sudan. The facility would provide Russia with a naval base in the nation for at least 25 years. The plan

9265-471: The possibility of procuring it as a public–private partnership. A 250 km/h rail link from the Egyptian city of Aswan to Wadi Halfa in the north has been proposed. The $ 2.5 million feasibility study was signed with Kuwaiti investment in April 2022, and would include a 6 km bridge across Lake Nasser . A further standard-gauge extension from Halfa to Khartoum has been proposed to give travelers from there

9374-510: The process and besieged cities in the Nile Delta. Ashurbanipal , who had succeeded Esarhaddon, sent a large army in Egypt to regain control. He routed Tantamani near Memphis and, pursuing him, sacked Thebes . Although the Assyrians immediately departed Upper Egypt after these events, weakened, Thebes peacefully submitted itself to Necho's son Psamtik I less than a decade later. This ended all hopes of

9483-439: The railway was built from Hayya , a point on the main line 200 km southwest of Port Sudan , then extended south to the cotton-producing area near Kassala , the grain region of Al Qadarif and, finally, to a junction with the main line at Sennar . Much of the area's traffic, which formerly had passed through Khartoum , has since moved over that line directly to Port Sudan . The final phase of railway construction began in

9592-478: The railways were said to have 60 trains available but the maximum speed they could travel was 40 km/h due to poor railway tracks. In 2015 al-Bashir promised to modernise and upgrade the Sudanese railways with Chinese funds and technical assistance after years of poor administration and neglect. However a 2016 article noted that many Chinese firms had given up dealing with Sudan because of sanctions and pressure from

9701-477: The recent past. Soon the Funj came in conflict with the Ottomans , who had occupied Suakin c.  1526 and eventually pushed south along the Nile, reaching the third Nile cataract area in 1583/1584. A subsequent Ottoman attempt to capture Dongola was repelled by the Funj in 1585. Afterwards, Hannik , located just south of the third cataract, would mark the border between the two states. The aftermath of

9810-514: The regime killed an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 people. Protests erupted in 2018, demanding Bashir's resignation, which resulted in a coup d'état on 11 April 2019 and Bashir's imprisonment. Sudan is currently embroiled in a civil war between two rival factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Islam was Sudan's state religion and Islamic laws were applied from 1983 until 2020 when

9919-637: The region, which was thin on the ground. The British ambassador blocked Italian attempts to secure a Non-Aggression Treaty with Egypt-Sudan. But Mahmoud was a supporter of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem ; the region was caught between the Empire's efforts to save the Jews, and moderate Arab calls to halt migration. The Sudanese Government was directly involved militarily in the East African Campaign . Formed in 1925,

10028-558: The reign of Sulayman Solong (r. c. 1660–1680), was initially a small kingdom in northern Jebel Marra , but expanded west- and northwards in the early 18th century and eastwards under the rule of Muhammad Tayrab (r. 1751–1786), peaking in the conquest of Kordofan in 1785. The apogee of this empire, now roughly the size of present-day Nigeria , would last until 1821. In 1821, the Ottoman ruler of Egypt, Muhammad Ali of Egypt , invaded and conquered northern Sudan. Although technically

10137-429: The result of Kitchener's use of the rolling stock and rails of that gauge from the old line. That gauge became the standard for all later Sudanese mainline construction. The line opened a trade route from central Sudan through Egypt to the Mediterranean. The line became uneconomical due to the distance became uneconomic because of the distance and the need to ship things via boat down the Nile, so, in 1904, construction of

10246-521: The south of the country. The Gezira Light Railway, one of the largest light railways in Africa, evolved from tracks laid in the 1920s' construction of the canals for the Gezira Scheme . At the time, rail had about 135 route km of 2 ft ( 610 mm ) narrow gauge track. As the size of the project area increased, the railway was extended and by the mid-1960s consisted of a complex system totalling 716 route km. Its primary purpose has been to serve

10355-572: The southern rebels, whose most influential faction was the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), which eventually led to the independence of South Sudan in 2011. Between 1989 and 2019, a 30-year-long military dictatorship led by Omar al-Bashir ruled Sudan and committed widespread human rights abuses , including torture, persecution of minorities, alleged sponsorship of global terrorism , and ethnic genocide in Darfur from 2003–2020. Overall,

10464-562: The two countries. Under the Delimitation, Sudan's border with Abyssinia was contested by raiding tribesmen trading slaves, breaching boundaries of the law. In 1905 local chieftain Sultan Yambio, reluctant to the end, gave up the struggle with British forces that had occupied the Kordofan region, finally ending the lawlessness. Ordinances published by Britain enacted a system of taxation. This

10573-498: Was absorbed by Sudan Railways in 1933 and closed in 1952. In 2011 funds were reportedly obtained to construct an extension from Nyala to Chad with financing to be obtained from China. In 2012 a contract to build a rail line from the Chad–Sudan border to the capital of Chad, N'Djamena was also reported to be signed. But in 2014 it was reported that although Sudan and Chad had agreed to stop supporting rebels in each other's countries,

10682-753: Was allowed to return to Sudan to protect the Canal Zone. They were able to find training facilities, and the RAF was free to fly over Egyptian territory. It did not, however, resolve the problem of Sudan: the Sudanese Intelligentsia agitated for a return to metropolitan rule, conspiring with Germany's agents. Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini made it clear that he could not invade Abyssinia without first conquering Egypt and Sudan; they intended unification of Italian Libya with Italian East Africa . The British Imperial General Staff prepared for military defence of

10791-475: Was based in the southern part of Nubia, or " Upper Nubia " (in parts of present-day northern and central Sudan), and later extended its reach northward into Lower Nubia and the border of Egypt. The polity seems to have been one of several Nile Valley states during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt . In the Kingdom of Kerma's latest phase, lasting from about 1700–1500 BC, it absorbed the Sudanese kingdom of Saï and became

10900-664: Was conquered by the Egyptians under the Muhammad Ali dynasty . Religious-nationalist fervour erupted in the Mahdist Uprising in which Mahdist forces were eventually defeated by a joint Egyptian-British military force. In 1899, under British pressure, Egypt agreed to share sovereignty over Sudan with the United Kingdom as a condominium . In effect, Sudan was governed as a British possession. The Egyptian revolution of 1952 toppled

11009-689: Was duly declared an independent state. After Sudan became independent, the Gaafar Nimeiry regime began Islamist rule. This exacerbated the rift between the Islamic North, the seat of the government, and the Animists and Christians in the South. Differences in language, religion, and political power erupted in a civil war between government forces, influenced by the National Islamic Front (NIF), and

11118-523: Was expanded and intensified by Ibrahim Pasha 's son, Ismaʻil, under whose reign most of the remainder of modern-day Sudan was conquered. The Egyptian authorities made significant improvements to the Sudanese infrastructure (mainly in the north), especially with regard to irrigation and cotton production. In 1879, the Great Powers forced the removal of Ismail and established his son Tewfik Pasha in his place. Tewfik's corruption and mismanagement resulted in

11227-467: Was following the precedent set by the Khalifa. The main taxes were recognized. These taxes were on land, herds, and date-palms. The continued British administration of Sudan fuelled an increasingly strident nationalist backlash, with Egyptian nationalist leaders determined to force Britain to recognise a single independent union of Egypt and Sudan. With a formal end to Ottoman rule in 1914, Sir Reginald Wingate

11336-646: Was given by foreign governments and organizations, including the European Development Fund , the AFESD , the International Development Association , the United Kingdom, France, China and Japan. Implementation of much of this work was hampered by political instability in the 1980s, debt, the lack of hard currency, the shortage of spare parts, and import controls. Rail was estimated in mid-1989 to be operating at less than 20% of capacity. In 2015

11445-548: Was in decline, and Alodia's capital declined in the 12th century as well. In the 14th and 15th centuries Bedouin tribes overran most of Sudan, migrating to the Butana , the Gezira , Kordofan and Darfur . In 1365 a civil war forced the Makurian court to flee to Gebel Adda in Lower Nubia , while Dongola was destroyed and left to the Arabs. Afterwards Makuria continued to exist only as

11554-467: Was raised in their place by the prime minister Ismail al-Azhari . Dissatisfaction culminated in a coup d'état on 25 May 1969. The coup leader, Col. Gaafar Nimeiry , became prime minister, and the new regime abolished parliament and outlawed all political parties. Disputes between Marxist and non-Marxist elements within the ruling military coalition resulted in a briefly successful coup in July 1971 , led by

11663-568: Was sent that December to occupy Sudan as the new Military Governor. Hussein Kamel was declared Sultan of Egypt and Sudan , as was his brother and successor, Fuad I . They continued upon their insistence of a single Egyptian-Sudanese state even when the Sultanate of Egypt was retitled as the Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan , but it was Saad Zaghloul who continued to be frustrated in the ambitions until his death in 1927. From 1924 until independence in 1956,

11772-504: Was ultimately suspended, though Sudanese leadership has indicated that it is possible for the construction to go ahead in the future. In 2016, it was reported that residents of Port Sudan face water scarcity . Following the October–November 2021 Sudanese coup d'état , the Beja tribal council initiated a weeklong blockade of the city's ports. Following negotiations with military officials,

11881-431: Was used increasingly for low-volume, high-value goods because it could deliver more rapidly—2 or 3 days from Port Sudan to Khartoum , compared with 7 or 8 days for express rail freight and up to two weeks for ordinary freight. In 1982, only one to two percent of freight and passenger trains arrived on time. The gradual erosion of freight traffic was evident in the drop from more than 3 million tons carried annually at

#738261