The revitalization and greening of decommissioned rail infrastructure has been the subject of significant practical and theoretical focus over the past four decades. In Lebanon, efforts to reclaim abandoned rail infrastructure have largely taken place informally and at the community level, without official approval. At the same time, the process of natural overgrowth, disuse and dereliction has created a dynamic interplay between the forces of decay, overgrowth, and reuse – an ever-evolving “network ruin.” Within this network, new uses and users of the railway have sprung up organically as actors within the remnants of the now-defunct rail system, forming complex and heterogenous relations that have iteratively redefined the line’s potential. As part of my ongoing doctoral research, this paper offers an analysis of relevant relational spaces and actor-networks as both explanation and critique of the partial reclamation of the Beirut-Bekaa section of Lebanon’s abandoned rail infrastructure. Adapting Qviström's (2012) concept of "network ruin" to map the opposing inertial and transformative forces determining the uses of abandoned railways and structures, we identify five influences that have both directed and limited the partial transformation of the rail line between Beirut and Bekaa. Natural regrowth, informal reclamation, physical dereliction, sanctioned repurposing, and the political status of the railway form key components of the network ruin in which relevant actors – including community members, policymakers, and organizations – have shaped outcomes and uses on the abandoned line. This paper argues for an approach to reclamation that recognizes the complexity, scope and heterogeneity of the railway’s evolving uses and networks, traces the historical development of these network ruins to contextualize future planning, and challenges dichotomous assumptions about official vs. informal use modalities.
Mots clés : abandoned railways|network-ruin|actor-network theory|reclamation|Lebanon
A104140CE