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If we talk about the rail in Algeria in the series of urban public transport modes in Algeria, it is because at the time the train stopped directly in the city center and circulated in the city in the same way as our modern tram. It was a short or long distance mode of transport.
The first road networks and railways were built by the colonial administration at the very beginning of the occupation.
On June 14, 1830, French troops landed in Algeria. As early as August 25, 1833, in the newspaper "Le National", the brothers Émile and Isaac Pereire, bankers of Portuguese origin, drafted a bill on the organization of Algeria. They planned that the territory would be divided into 3 departments (Algiers, Oran and Constantine). They demanded free transport for all workers and craftsmen useful to colonization. Based on this project, the Pereire brothers, convinced Saint Simonians, proposed the construction of a railway network consisting of a backbone parallel to the sea from Constantine to Oran via Algiers, connected to the ports most interesting for the army (Bône, Philippeville, Bougie, Ténès, Arzew).
This project was not followed up, it must be said that Louis-Philippe was not convinced of the opportunity of colonizing Algeria, apart from the occupation of major cities and a few ports.
It was only in 1857, under the influence of his half-brother, the Duke of Morny, who had already participated in the construction of lines in Metropolitan France, that Emperor Napoleon III took over, almost entirely, the Pereire brothers' project, by an imperial decree of April 18, which defined the initial framework of the Algerian railway network, which would continue to evolve throughout the second half of the 19th century, both in its dimensions and in its structures and the creation of a 1,357 km railway network.
In 1858, the army began to build the infrastructure from Algiers to Blida, which extended over a distance of 50 km. Work began in 1858 and the structure was inaugurated on August 15, 1862. It is worth knowing that this section was part of Napoleon III's plan, which aimed to exploit the resources of colonized Algeria through these achievements. In the suburbs of Algiers, the section linking Maison Carrée (Mohammadia) to downtown Algiers was used for the transport of goods as well as passengers.
In 1860, the Algerian Railway Company (CFA) created in Paris, headed by a member of the British parliament, Sir Morton-Pero, was declared the successful bidder for the construction and operation of the line from Algiers to Oran. The inauguration of the first section of this line, Algiers - Blida, took place on August 15, 1862.
After the almost programmed bankruptcy of the CFA company, the Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée en Algérie (PLM-A) company of the Talabot brothers, bankers among the founders of the Société Générale and shareholders of Crédit Lyonnais, competitors of the Pereire brothers, was entrusted with the construction and operation of the part of the backbone from Algiers to Oran. This line was finally opened to traffic in 1871.
Four other companies shared the construction of the network planned in the initial plan.
East of Algiers:
1 - The Compagnie de l'Est Algérien took charge of the construction and operation of the Algiers - Constantine section. To take into account the real needs of the traffic, this line should logically have passed through Tizi-Ouzou, but this route involved the construction of numerous engineering structures and was too costly. It was abandoned in favor of a route built further south using the valleys as much as possible. The Algiers-Constantine line was finally opened to traffic in 1886.
2 - The Bône-Guelma company, a subsidiary of the Batignolles construction company, created by Félix Gouin, a relative by marriage of the Pereire brothers, was entrusted with the construction of the line of the same name. The Bône to Guelma line was opened to traffic in 1877.
West of Algiers:
1 - The Franco-Algerian Company, created in 1873
2 - The West Algerian Company, created in 1881
Finally, we cannot ignore the importance of the Algerian Road Railways (CFRA). Created on the initiative of the three departments of Algeria, to compensate for the lack of investment from the metropolis, this company helped structure the territory.
The management of this section was entrusted to the company Chemins de fer sur routes de l’Algérie (CFRA), which had managed the three steam haulage networks since 1892: those of Algiers, Blida and Kabylie. The CFRA were financed by the Omnium lyonnais, created in 1896 and specialized — to be precise — in the electrification of networks. Because later there would be talk of a project to electrify the tramway and trolleybus networks of Algiers. In this phase that we will call the steam era, the Algiers railway network extended over 27 km. It connected the city center of Algiers to Aïn Taya with a fleet of 49 locomotives ensuring the haulage of steam trains.
In 1898, the CFRA decided to electrify the urban part of their network. That is to say between Deux Moulins and Maison Carrée. In 1905, the same company decided to build an antenna (interchange point) detaching itself from the Maison Carrée line at the place called Champs de Manœuvres, (1er Mai). This line crosses Belcourt (Belouizdad today), the Ruisseau to stop at Kouba.
The general structure of the railway network in Algeria was then established and would continue, with some adjustments (doubling of some sectors, removal of less interesting lines, change of gauge, etc.) until independence.
To conclude this brief presentation, a few words on the difficulties of operating such a network, divided between several companies with different management methods, particularly from a taxation point of view. To overcome this administrative burden, a law of July 1904 authorized the General Government of Algeria to proceed with a unification of tariffs on the basis of the lowest bidder. This measure had the effect of favoring the merger of the remaining companies and thus in 1921, only the PLM company and a new entity, the Algerian State Railways Company (CFAE) shared the operation of the lines. To simplify, let us say that the first was responsible for the network west of Algiers and the second for the network east of Algiers.
This regime was applied until 1938, the date of the creation of the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF) which eliminated the PLM company and therefore, de facto, its extension into Algeria.
The Algerian Railway Company (CFA) was thus created on December 31, 1938, to take over the entire operation of the network in Algeria.
Finally, an order of February 4, 1959, established the National Company of Railways in Algeria (SNCFA) in place of the CFA.
BLIDA - Arrival of the Micheline from Algiers in the city
The crossing of the city by the Micheline was not without posing some problems to the Blida residents.
Excerpt from the article "La Micheline Blida -Alger" by Pierre-Jacques Aresse published in the newspaper Le Tell in 1947:
"In any case, the railway line that can be admitted in the middle of the avenue de la gare (which it will divide into 2 parts wide enough to allow traffic) becomes a danger by extending to rue Lamy where motorists will have only 5 meters of tar to fight with cyclists who will get caught more than once in the rails and cars parked in front of the stores. This promises some serious traffic jams worthy of being fixed by Dubout's pencil, numerous accidents and fines distributed by the shovelful. (The Mayor has just issued a first decree banning rue Lamy to heavy Army vehicles. He will probably soon ban it to cyclists and pedestrians)".
The “Garratt” of the Algerian PLM
These huge "Garratt" locomotives built by the Société Franco-Belge de Matériel de Chemins de Fer, installed in the Raismes factory (North) remain, even today, a fascinating machine for railway enthusiasts. It must be said that, at the time, they were impressive and when France, in turn, adopted this type for the Algerian network, it designed a locomotive that fits well into the tradition of the exceptional surrounding this type of locomotive.
In 1933, the Algerian network was finally under single management, carried out without changing the organic status of the operations of the two networks that had been the only ones present since 1921, the Algerian P.L.M. with 1,287 km and the Algerian State with 3,631 km. The new network thus operates a total of 4,918 km of lines, i.e. a length greater than that of the Northern network in metropolitan France which totals 3,830 km, or of the South with 4,313 km.
The major modernization of Algerian rolling stock.
As for the modernization of rolling stock, the new articulated locomotives "Garratt" 241+142 narrow gauge and 231+132 standard gauge are the headline news of the time, overshadowing, perhaps very unfairly, the acquisitions of new equipment since the post-war years if we consider that the Algerian Railways received 289 locomotives (including 73 narrow gauge), 407 cars (including 132 narrow gauge), 131 vans (including 63 narrow gauge), 1,802 wagons (including 669 narrow gauge), about twenty locotractors and as many railcars. We are a long way, at the end of the 1930s, from the first fleet of Algerian equipment originally supplied by the PLM, which consisted only of 8 locomotives, 24 cars, 6 vans and 170 wagons. At the end of the 1930s, the Algerian network had 852 locomotives, around thirty shunters or railcars, 1,022 cars, 313 vans and 11,892 wagons.
The equipment, acquired in fairly large quantities in recent years, has nothing to envy the most modern units in the metropolis and we can see very recent type wagons with large capacity with hoppers or skips for the transport of phosphates or coals, or even special standard gauge wagons, used to transport narrow gauge wagons.
The great Algerian expresses hauled by "Garratt".
But what the CFA can be most proud of is certainly the new equipment of their great Algiers-Oran and Algiers-Constantine trains, composed of very comfortable metal cars hauled by these powerful and fast locomotives that are the "Garratt".
These locomotives haul 440 t at 48 km/h on a 20 per thousand gradient and 600 t at 110 km/h on a level and straight alignment. As for the metal bogie cars, to which these locomotives are coupled, they were built according to the same principles as those of the metropolis, but due to the difficult profiles of Algeria, the maximum lightening was sought and these cars weigh on average 41 t, or 12 to 13% less than the OCEM-CFA types. Let us add that they were equipped with an exterior covering of teak wood, which provided them with excellent insulation, and an air conditioning system using an ice tray.
Thanks to these new means, significant improvements were made and, since September 1, 1936, the commercial speeds of the fastest CFA trains were 62.5 km/h between Algiers and Oran (422 km), 53.3 km/h between Algiers and Constantine (464 km). For comparison, in 1929, the commercial speed of the fastest Algerian express trains was 42 per hour on the Algiers-Oran line and 38 per hour on the Algiers-Constantine line.
The Algiers-Oran line.
The Algerian network of the 1930s was expanding rapidly and powerful and fast locomotives were needed for the Algiers-Oran line in particular. The specifications were strict: total stability at all speeds from 0 to 110 km/h on all tracks, curve registration with a radius of 150 m (in a 200 m curve at 50 km/h, in a 650 m curve at 105 km/h), trailer with a load of 540 t at 105 km/h on a level and 540 t on a 20 mm per meter gradient on the Algiers-Oran line.
This 421 km long line was built between 1860 and 1870 on a single track. It follows the terrain, resulting in a difficult profile and a winding route: numerous gradients combined with 300 m curves limit the speeds for conventional locomotives. The line was doubled and straightened during the 1920s. It was also possible to travel at 120 km/h, which put it on a par with the mainland tracks. However, the tonnage of trains increased significantly, from an average of 180 t in 1923 to over 400 t during the 1930s. The network only had type 230 locomotives capable of towing 248 t at 25 km/h on a gradient of 20 per 1000, and for better performance, double traction was required.
In the 30 years that followed, 2,035 km of railway lines were added to the network, forming the framework of the future Algerian railway network.
However, the difficult operating conditions of the 1950s, the Algerian War, and the arrival of the diesel locomotive combined to put an end to their careers.
On May 16, 1963, the National Company of French Railways in Algeria, created in 1959, became the National Company of Algerian Railways (keeping the same acronym SNCFA).
In the aftermath of independence, the new SNCFA inherited a fairly dense, heterogeneous and partly dilapidated network. 25 It also had to Algerianize its workforce to hastily replace the railway workers of French origin, mainly managers, who had left Algeria, while the Algerian staff was limited to tasks as shunters, maintenance workers or rail layers, handlers, etc. In 1963, an entirely Algerian operation of the network was possible thanks to a few engineers and supervisors who took up this challenge. But that year, passenger and goods traffic represented respectively only 68% and 51% of those of the 1960s.
For an entire decade, from 1962 to 1972, the SNCFA devoted itself to maintaining its lines and equipment. During this period, narrow-gauge lines were closed either for economic reasons or because of the difficulties of maintaining or renewing the rolling stock due to its particularity. The notable exception was the completion in 1966 of the extension of the line from Annaba to Tébessa over a length of 110 km to the Djebel Onk phosphate mine.
A passenger train departing from Algiers station, hauled by a 060-DC diesel-electric locomotive, in the 1960s.
A SNTF ZZN 200 railcar, equivalent to the FS ALn 668 that replaced the ZZN 11-15.
The French railway equipment was kept for about ten years. It began to be replaced gradually from 1972.
On March 31, 1976, at the end of the French State concession, the Algerian State divided the SNCFA into three separate organizations:
the National Railway Transport Company (SNTF), responsible for operating and maintaining the railway network;
the National Railway Infrastructure Studies and Construction Company (SNERIF), responsible for renewing and extending the railway network;
and the SIF, the railway infrastructure engineering and construction company.
In 1986, the financial crisis led to the dissolution of SNERIF and SIF, whose prerogatives were taken over by SNTF, which changed its status in 1990 to become an EPIC.
During the black decade, between 1991 and 2002, the network suffered numerous attacks on passengers and sabotage of infrastructure, making its operation difficult and dangerous. However, SNTF and its staff managed to maintain the circulation of passenger and freight trains throughout this period.
In 2022, the National Railway Transport Company (SNTF) operates a network of 4,200 km of railway lines. The entire Algerian rail network is 4,560 km long.
SNTF and ANESRIF (National Agency for Studies and Monitoring of the Implementation of Railway Investments) divide Algerian railway lines into four geographical groups:
the Northern lines (or Northern ring road);
the High Plateaux lines (or High Plateaux ring road);
the West, Center and East penetrating lines;
the mining lines.
The last major Algerian rail project is the high-speed line (LGV) which will connect Algerian cities at 220 km/h.
The next article is about taxi.
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