Train/Train

I believe strongly that Train/Train NGO needs further to develop a Mobility equity coalition to launch initiatives in social equity and mobility rights in order to advocate for equality within the transport sector on the national, regional and global level. This coalition will multiply and disseminate the social impact of this effort and accelerate the social learning process through experience exchange and networking at all three levels. The ELEVATE PRIZE funding will allow me and my team to strengthen our work on Transport equity initiatives that we have undertaken since 2018 in Lebanon and Armenia. This funding will further provide the chance to build the Mobility equity coalition to create a New Mobility narrative for Lebanon, the region and across boundaries.  The Mobility equity coalition is an opportunity to bring the stakeholders together and build the much-needed trust. The success of this pilot project will enable the coalition to create a Mobility E-Academy that will promote rights for green, sustainable and equitable mobility. This E- platform will build a new generation of policymakers and influencers that will be detrimental in formulating the new story of change, creating a new episode in people mobility while enhancing local, regional and global peace.

My dream was to become an agricultural engineer, but mobility was the main obstacle to achieve it. I was living in an area where no buses, trains or any public transport existed, so I ended up opting for the nearest university and for a different major as well. 

With an enthusiastic team of volunteers, I am leading the advocacy works for Mobility equity and rights by promoting the rehabilitation of the Lebanese railways and other means of public transportation.

We believe that the re-establishment of railway service and other green, sustainable and equitable means of transportation will facilitate access to education, healthcare, employment and more.

While trains build cities, they also build connections and peace between people. In the Middle East , the majority of citizens do not have mobility rights at different levels. I believe that building a national and regional coalition for mobility right will help to rebuild the economic ties and cultural exchange and bring back the region on the path of prosperity and peace.

Eighty % of people in Lebanon depend on private cars, and only 1.7% use the informal minibus network. This lead to high pollution as well as economic, health, environmental and societal costs. 

Lebanon has a high road death rate of 15deaths per 100k. About 1.2 million people worldwide are estimated to be killed and 50 million injured in road  accidents yearly, and  80% of road deaths occur in low-income countries. 

To note that Lebanon’s steep financial crisis, with a fuel bill ranking as the top import, has concentrated economic activity in the capital and marginalized 60% of the population. 

Given the background cited above, Train Train has been conducting many educational seminars for students coming from different disciplines and universities. These seminars aim to build a new generation of citizens that believe in green, sustainable and equitable vision for mobility.

We have also devised a national railway master plan to guide any future governmental reform on the mobility level. This initiative will contribute to decentralize the economy, create social equity and support job creation in the rural areas. 

Train Train is the only Mobility equity grassroots NGO in Lebanon and the Middle East promoting citizen mobility needs for accessible, equitable, green and sustainable transport. What makes our work unique is our grassroots movement at the national level that can be disseminated regionally and across boundaries. We are capitalizing on our unique position as we do not locally have an international grassroots mobility equity movement or coalition of NGO's that can vehicle the voice of the people to reach and influence global policy makers and stakeholders

For the past ten years, Train Train has been a first-line advocate for sustainable, modern, accessible, equitable public transportation. We have been working in full transparency at the highest ethical standards with all government bodies and private institutions thus earning flawless credibility and influencing power among all our stakeholders.  

We have succeeded through sustained governance to lobby the political class to adopt many of our transportation initiatives. Thus a number of candidates for the 2018 parliamentary elections have endorsed our ideas and actively promoted them during their electoral campaigns.  Their message has struck a different note among the constituents base especially in rural and remote areas where residents lack decent means of public transportation. And it is also a relief to note that mobility projects comprising railways have up moved up on the execution list of the government and were presented to the international CEDRE conference held in Paris for funding.