This book, which is remarkable in many respects, covers tram and metro operations in Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Israel, and the Arabian Peninsula: Alexandria, Alger, Cairo, Casablanca, Constantine, Mostaganem, Oran, Ouargla, Rabat, Sétif, Sidi Bel Abbès, Tunis, Doha, Dubai, Haifa, Jerusalem, Mecca, Riyadh and Tel Aviv. The diversity of the systems in terms of their infrastructure, vehicles and operational handling is enormous, ranging from the only remaining classic tram and suburban light rail system with vehicles up to 65 years old, to modern low-floor trams and those that are in line with light rail standards, through to driverless metros.
This book is particularly noteworthy because it covers a region that is anything but easy to travel in many places and, in addition, presents particular challenges in terms of the reliability of the information available. Even countries close to Europe such as Algeria (flight time from Spain just 45-60 minutes) are difficult to access for foreigners. The good selection and high quality of the photos is therefore all the more surprising, and absolutely comparable to the illustrations in other country/regional books from the publisher. The quality of Robert Schwandl’s maps, many of them with detailed track layout, is excellent – as usual.
An interesting topic that has received little attention so far, but invites to visit the cities mentioned in it, at least the more easily accessible countries in the region – there is a lot to see! And for everyone else, the many new details make it well worth a read.
Authors: Bernhard Kußmagk & Robert Schwandl
128 pages, approx. 150 colour images, numerous network maps
Text German/English
EUR 19.50
ISBN 978-3-936573-82-4
