Call for Papers

Rail Routes from the Baghdad Railway to the New Silk Road (19th to 21st 
Centuries) – Utopian Dreams, Past Achievements, and Future Prospects for 
Rail Transport between Europe and the Middle and Far East

7th International International Conference on Railway History in the 
historic sta-tion of Haydarpaça in Istanbul (Turkey)  from 2nd to 5th 
November 2016. Organ-ised by the International Railway History 
Association (IRHA), and supported by the Turkish Railways (TCDD), and 
the International Union of Railways (UIC)

The dream of a transcontinental railway connection between Europe and 
Asia dates back to the beginning of the railway age when many memoranda 
sketched a golden future of journeys and exchange of goods between both 
continents and of easy ac-cess to Asian markets. But for decades such 
projects, often characterised as “utopian dreams”, remained unfulfilled. 
It was not until the 1880s, and also at the beginning of the 20th 
century, that the Ottoman and Russian Empires invested heavily in big 
infrastructure projects of this kind.
Seeking to shake off stagnation, the Ottoman Empire initially considered 
railways an economic and strategic tool that would help it become a 
bridge between Europe and the Middle East. However, in order to build 
railway lines the Empire depended on European capital and therefore 
became part of the complex and difficult interests of different 
imperialistic powers. Next, the Ottoman Empireʼs dissolution and the 
emer-gence of new states in the aftermath of World War One divided the 
railway network that had actually been built (over 8,000 kilometres, 
across the Empire) into separate entities with limited efficiency. 
Several decades later, the new geo-political reality after World War 
Two, as well as the Cold War, boosted Turkey’s role as a hub between 
Europe and Asia, but priority was given to road construction. New 
opportunities for the expansion of rail infrastructure arose at the end 
of the Cold War, in the 1990s, when the number of those promoting the 
establishment of new railway corridors between Europe and Asia increased 
significantly. Recent achievements of Turkey ‒ its investments in 
high-speed lines or the Marmaray line and Avrasya rail tunnel under the 
Bosphorus (official slogan: “an unbroken journey by rail from London to 
Beijing”) fit in this picture.

The role Turkey played during the 19th and 20th centuries deserves a 
wider research perspective and raises a set of specific questions: Which 
railway projects besides the famous Baghdad Railway were accomplished 
and for what purpose? How did the system of traffic and transport 
corridors between Europe and Asia endure the clash of the Ottoman Empire 
and the creation of the Arab successor states? Did railways continue to 
act as links between Europe and the Middle East, and did they support 
economic integration between the regions affected, or was their role 
purely local? Other topics may be considered as well: How did railways 
enact or modify the traditional role and image of Turkey as a staging 
post between Europe and Asia? Can observations be made about 
contributions by railways to the modernisation of societies or the 
integration of territories? What do old railway stations and the 
presence of railways in villages and in museums tell us about the 
railways’ past? How did railways in the Middle (and Far) East affect 
European imaginations about travel to Asia, as mirrored, for example, in 
literature about the Orient Express in former days or in Paul Theroux’s 
The Great Railway Bazaar in modern times?

The conference will also examine the past, presence, and future of 
alternative inter-national corridors to the Far East. One of the most 
important ones is of course the Trans-Siberian Railway, built by Russia 
in the 1890s. But contrary to original inten-tions, this line did only 
in limited ways serve as a link between two continents. Used mainly for 
internal purposes for many decades, the line was not opened to transit 
business until the 1980s. The main question remains: Why have all 
efforts to modernise and open the Transsib met with only limited success 
up to the present, and what will be its future? Its inefficiency was the 
reason why at the end of the 20th century new alternatives were planned 
and proposed, such as the ECO corridor, TAR, TRACECA, or Chinaʼs 
initiative to restore the former Silk Road. These more recent 
developments will be an important part of the conference. Although we 
would like to include aspects of earlier projects, in the context of a 
long-lasting memory of the Silk Road, the following questions will be 
central: Do these projected links between Europe and the Far East have a 
chance to be realised? How will the projects be funded and which 
countries will be involved? What about harsh political confrontations 
between countries likely to be involved, and escalations potentially 
leading to armed conflicts and even wars? Are there ways to surmount the 
technical problems of different track gauges being used in many of the 
existing railway networks alongside the projected corridors? What will 
be the time frame, and last but not least, are these corridors likely to 
compete with existing routes across Russia or with traditional road or 
maritime routes? It is in this broad context that the conference will 
address role of all the countries concerned by these visions of a future 
con-tinental transport system and especially the role of present-day 
Turkey as one of the prominent transit countries, as well as its 
potential to become a major player in a future intercontinental 
transport system and an important hub between Europe and the Middle and 
Far East.

Please, send in proposals of max. 1 page length and a short CV.

Prof. Dr. Ralf Roth
Historisches Seminar der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, 
Norbert-Wollheimplatz 1
60629 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]

Deadline for submission of proposals: 20 May 2016
Up to 300 Euros will be available to each contributor towards travel and 
lodging ex-penses.