Jezreel Valley railway
Encyclopedia
The Jezreel Valley railway, or simply the Valley railway refers to a historical railroad in Ottoman
and British Palestine, which was part of the larger Hejaz railway and ran along the Jezreel Valley
.
It was built in the beginning of the 20th century and connected Haifa
with the rest of the narrow gauge Hejaz railway, its last stop within the Palestine Mandate borders being al-Hamma
. After many failed attempts, the final planning and construction lasted 4 years. The railway was inaugurated on October 15, 1905, and operated until 1948.
In the decades since there have been several failed attempts to revive the railway. Finally, a large-scale project to build a new standard gauge
railway from Haifa to Beit She'an along roughly the same route as the historical valley railway began in 2011 and is expected to be completed in 2016.
, Thomas B. Sandwit, proposed the construction of a railway from the city to Baghdad
, through the Jezreel Valley
, with a possible extension to Damascus
. Sandwit hoped to created a continuous railway link between British India
and the Palestine, and increase British control of the area, which was under Ottoman rule.
In 1865, Dr. Charles Ferdinand Zimfel, a German-American doctor, engineer, priest and Zionist, proposed the creation of a railway from Jaffa
to Jerusalem, which would continue to Jericho
and end in Damascus, with an extension to Haifa through the Jezreel Valley. Zimfel surveyed the territory and became one of the first railway planners in Palestine.
Claude R. Conder, in his extensive Survey of Western Palestine, proposed the construction of a railway from Haifa to the Fertile Crescent
. His plans constituted the basis for the actual construction years later.
Sir Laurence Oliphant of Britain, who hoped to facilitate Jewish settlement in the Gilead
, proposed the creation of a railway from Haifa to that region, which would then branch out to Aqaba
in the south, and Damascus in the north. From Aqaba, he hoped to further extend the railway to the Suez Canal
. In his visit to Palestine in 1883, Oliphant changed his plans to what later became the actually valley railroad.
attained a permit for the construction of a railway in the Jezreel Valley
. The family sought to build a railway there to raise land value around the line, which was mostly family-owned, and to enable the cheap transport of goods from Hauran
, also owned by the family, to the Mediterranean Sea
for export.
On May 16, 1883, Sir Laurence Oliphant wrote in the New York Sun
that he met with Mr. Sursock regarding the construction of a railway in the Jezreel, and claimed that he could see surveying work as he wrote, from his home in Daliyat al-Karmel
. Oliphant founded a company along with Gottlieb Schumacher
, one of the founders of the German Colony
of Haifa
, and Georg Agger of Jaffa
, which would find investors for attaining a construction permit from the Sursock family, and the construction itself.
On June 13, 1883, early surveying work was completed and Oliphant began to look for investors, both in Britain and Germany. In a letter he wrote to the Duke of Sutherland
, Oliphant claimed that the construction of the line was extremely important both politically and economically, that it would eventually serve as the connection between Asia Minor
, the Fertile Crescent
, and Egypt
, and expressed fear that the line would be under sole German ownership. Oliphant and his peers advertised the line as extremely profitable for investors, estimating the gain at 34%, and promising additional permits to construct additional extensions, a modern port in Haifa or Acre
, and a shipping company. For that purpose, Oliphant purchased additional lands on Haifa's coast, and in the Megiddo area.
Despite these efforts, the plans failed—the British government, the only one interested in the project, sent the Duke of Sutherland to inspect it, who refused to help sponsor the project. The Lebanese families headed by Sursock, who wished to build the railway for their personal needs, also failed to raise the necessary funds. At the end of 1884, the Sursocks' permit expired, and the 50,000 franc
s deposited by Oliphant's company to the Sultan Abdul Hamid II
were also lost.
to Damascus
to the public servant Shukri Bey and a Christian Lebanese engineer and effendi
named Yusuf Elias, both of whom worked for the Ottoman government. The line was meant to go from Acre
to Damascus with spurs to Haifa and Bosra
. Elias did not have the ability to gather the funds necessary for such a project, and it was agreed that he would buy out Shukri's share and sell the rights to John Robert Pilling, a British entrepreneur. Pilling quickly founded an investment company, which was listed in the London Stock Exchange
as the S.O.R. Ltd.—Syria Ottoman Railway Limited.
The S.O.R. based its plans on the original surveying work done in the area, and after a financial re-evaluation, the planned terminus was changed to Haifa, which had a modern deep-water seaport, compared to Acre's old shallow one. The planned length of the line, from Haifa to Damascus via the Golan Heights, with two extensions, was 230 km. 27 stations were planned. On December 23, 1892, the contractor George Pauling started work on the line, after a flamboyant ceremony.
Work on the line was opposed by the Chémin de Fer Damas-Hama et Prolongements (DHP), a standard gauge
railway that carried freight between Damascus and al-Hamma. The DHP did everything in its power to prevent the construction of the line in order to avoid competition. At the same time, the DHP petitioned the Ottoman government for its own permit to build a railway from Beirut
to Hauran
via Damascus, eventually attaining it.
The French began building their line quickly, and finished construction in 1895, while the British worked slowly. At the time of the Beirut–Damascus line's inception, Pilling's company only managed to build a special port in Haifa to aid in the line's construction. Eight kilometers of railroad were laid, between Haifa and Yagur
, and a 20 km dike was created for the next stage of construction. Due to the competition from the French railway in Beirut, the port of Haifa became less attractive to international traders and that, coupled with strife within the Syria Ottoman Railway Company, caused Pilling to go bankrupt and lose the permit for the railway.
During 1898–1899, the British company was founded anew and, together with the company Palmer and Tritton, re-attained the permit for the valley line. The British restored the Jezreel dike and construction resumed. However, in 1900, the Ottomans began building the Hejaz railway, and saw the opportunity to convert the future Haifa–Damascus line to an extension thereof. In 1902, the Ottoman authorities revoked S.O.R.'s permit for a compensation of 150,000 Turkish lira
.
's original plans for the Hejaz railway did not include an extension to Haifa, the construction of such an extension was logical in order to assert Ottoman control over the section between the Hauran
and the Mediterranean Sea
, and to compete against the French-owned Beirut–Damascus railway.
The German engineer Heinrich August Meissner, who oversaw the construction of the Hejaz railway, considered the planned section immediately south of Damascus (Damascus–Muzeirib) to be useless, because of the French railway using the same route. After failing to acquire the French railway lines, Meissner signed a deal with the French which would allow a 45% discount in transporting equipment from Damascus to Muzeirib necessary to continue building the Ottoman Hejaz railway to the south.
Despite this, the French constituted a monopoly on the railway lines of the area, and cancelled the discount. Their trains were also not equipped to cross the sections of railway covered by snow in Lebanon
. Several months later, Meissner reconsidered, and decided to construct his own railway line between Damascus and the Hauran, close to the French line. On September 1, 1902, the Damascus–Daraa line was completed, and turned the Hauran from a remote near-inaccessible location into a transportation center with two railway connections.
Upon the initiation of the Damascus–Daraa line, Meissner realized that it was still very difficult to transport raw materials to Daraa for the construction of the rest of the Hejaz railway, as most of the materials came with ships via the Mediterranean. Meissner decided in 1902 that there was no choice but to build an extension connecting the new railway to a Mediterranean port nearby. Haifa was chosen for its already developed port, and because surveying, planning and some construction work for a railroad had already been done on the proposed route.
would make a better route. In 1902, the Ottomans revoked the British company S.O.R.'s construction permit, compensated them, and immediately started construction. The first phase was to narrow the gauge to the Ottoman standard in the 9 km already built by S.O.R.
In 1903, track laying began between Haifa
and Daraa. The biggest challenge was the construction east of Samakh (Samakh–Daraa). The length of this section was 73 km and the height difference was 529 m. Eight tunnels were dug for the section, totalling a length of 1,100 m and 329 bridges and aqueduct
s. These difficulties raised the price of the Haifa extension by tens of percents. A meter on the Damascus–Daraa section had an average cost of 2,070 Turkish lira
s, while a meter on the Daraa–Haifa line cost 3,480 liras.
The line was finally opened with 5 stations in January 1904, between Haifa and Beit She'an. On October 15, 1905, the entire Haifa–Daraa section opened, with 8 stations within Ottoman Palestine. On the opening ceremony, when the first train left Haifa for Damascus, a monument for Abdul Hamid II
was unveiled in Haifa, which stands to this day. The monument was built in Turkey at least two years before this ceremony, and was brought to Palestine by sea.
to the Mediterranean.
Prices dropped quickly both for passenger tickets and freight transfer. However, the Ottomans were able to lower the prices more because they did not have to pay dividend
s and did not require as high a profit. This caused the valley line to become favorite among exporters in the Hauran, to the point that many of them preferred to send their goods through the valley line to Haifa and ship them to Beirut, rather than send them directly to Beirut over the French railway.
The valley line quickly became the most profitable section of the Hejaz railway, and passenger traffic consequently increased as well. More trains were put into service on the line, and new technologies were utilized to shorten travel times. The railway was able to connect those locations to Haifa which were physically close, but had no road connection. The only usable roads at the time for horse-drawn carriages were Haifa–Nazareth
, Haifa–Acre
and Nazareth–Afula
–Jenin
, which left out places with high growth potential like Beit She'an and Tiberias.
Tiberias, which was previously completely isolated in terms of transportation, being several days' travel from Haifa, was now served by the Samakh station, which employed an ad hoc
ferry which travelled a short distance in the Sea of Galilee
. After World War I
, a road connection was also made between Samakh and Tiberias, cutting travel time from Haifa to just a few hours.
The railway also had much tourist potential. Already in 1906, Thomas Cook
's travel agency advertised trips to the Holy Land, which utilized the valley line. A notable package was a trip using the valley line from Haifa to Samakh, where the tourists would take a steam boat to Tiberias via the Sea of Galilee, and explore the Christian holy sites around the lake. When the line became popular with tourists, the travel conditions were improved drastically in order to give a good first impression to the dignitaries and aristocrats coming from all over Europe. In 1912, first and second class train cars were created in order to fit the needs of the different visiting social classes.
The increase in train frequency and lack of proper inspection led to numerous railway disasters. On July 7, 1909, for example, a train leaving Haifa crashed into a train travelling from Damascus, due to an error on the telegraphist's part. The driver of the Haifa–Tiberias train was killed instantly.
Following the Haifa extension's crucial success and high demand, 12 stations were added to the line's 8 original in the first few years. In addition, Meissner began planning and construction additional extensions in Palestine and outside of it. The first was completed in 1912 and travelled from Daraa to Bosra
in Syria, on a new 33 km route. In the end of 1912, an extension to Acre was completed from the Balad ash-Sheikh station, totalling 17.8 km.
The most important extension of the railway was planned to connect the Afula station with Jerusalem. The first 17 km section was completed at the beginning of 1913 and connected Afula with Jenin. Meissner's full plan never bore fruit however, because of the French government's extreme pressure on the Ottoman government to cancel the project, which would compete with the French-owned Jaffa–Jerusalem railway
. In the end, only 40 km were built from Afula, and terminated near the village Silat ad-Dhahr
(Sileh). This extension was later used by Meissner during World War I to continue to railway to Tulkarm
and from there via the Eastern Railway
to Lydda
where it connected with the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway and railways to the Sinai Peninsula
in Egypt
.
Many more minor extensions were built, both under Ottoman and British rule, mostly close to Haifa, and served mainly industrial and military needs.
Britain's forces besieged the Ottoman Empire's Mediterranean ports, which led to a lack of basic provisions and maintenance supplies needed to keep the railway working. The lack of coal rendered most steam locomotives inoperable. Attempts were made to mine coal in Lebanon, but the inferior coal there caused damage to the trains. Eventually it was decided to use charcoal
, and extensive logging operations were set up by the Ottomans to keep up the demand. More extensions to the line were built as a result, for the efficient transport of wood - one from Tulkarm
to the forest of Hadera
, and another to the Plains of Manasseh on the slopes of Mount Carmel
near Umm al-Fahm
. As these operations went on, the number of natural forests in Palestine dwindled, and the authorities ordered the cutting down of every tenth fruit-bearing tree to support the war effort.
In spring 1918, the tide was turned against the Ottomans when British forces were able to take control of some key points on the railway along the Yarmouk River
, and cut off the Haifa extension from the rest of the Hejaz railway. When defeated in September 1918, the Turks quickly destroyed any railway infrastructure and rolling stock
they could, so that it would not fall into British hands. By the end of the war, the British controlled all of the Jezreel Valley railway.
in the mandate. The Hejaz railway's ownership was transferred by the Turks to the Waqf
, out of fear of a French takeover (the French petitioned the International Court of Justice
for this purpose).
After the division of the Ottoman Empire
into League of Nations mandate
s, causing the Hejaz railway to be split between British and French rule, it was agreed that the Samakh/Tzemah station would denote the railway border between the British and French mandates, even though the more isolated al-Hamma station was physically also under British control.
The rolling stock left by the Ottomans in the mandates was also divided between the British and French, who had no intention of producing new rolling stock fit for the Ottoman narrow gauge
railways. The only trains produced by the British for this railway were two multiple unit
s from Sentinel Waggon Works
and Cammell Laird
, brought to the mandate in 1929.
The frequency of trains increased again on the valley line during British rule, to two daily trains from Haifa
to Samakh (one of which continued to Damascus
), three daily trains on the Acre extension (Balad ash-Sheikh–Acre), and one weekly train from Haifa to Nablus
, via Afula
. During World War II
, the frequency reached its peak, at 6 daily trains from Haifa to Samakh and back. The tourist packages were also improved, now also including flights on Imperial Airways
aircraft, which could land in the Sea of Galilee
's water.
, leaders of various Jewish underground organizations in Mandate Palestine founded The Jewish Resistance Movement. One of the resistance's first operations was the Night of the Trains
(November 1, 1945), in which 153 points along various railways in the mandate were damaged. The main damage to the valley line was done at a railway switch near the Afula station, under the noses of the Hindu guards there. Rehavam Ze'evi participated in this bombing.
The astounding success of the operation prompted more attacks, until the railway became a constant harassment target. In June 1946, as part of the Night of the bridges
, the Palmach
blew up one of the main bridges on the valley line, between Samakh and al-Hamma, which was 130 meters in length. As a result, the Jezreel Valley railway was completely cut off from the rest of the Hejaz line.
forces carried out bombing raids on railways in Mandate Palestine and harmed them significantly. The aim of the operation was to disable the maintenance ability of the lines, in order to prevent the quick transport of supplies and personnel by the Arab armies about to invade the Yishuv
. The most severe raid was carried out on a bridge near Geva
, on the 44th km of the line, which effectively disabled its entire operation.
The next major hit came on the eve of the Israeli declaration of independence, May 14, 1948, when Jewish forces destroyed yet another bridge, this time on the Jordan River, next to Gesher. The original plan was to destroy two road bridges in the area, but the soldiers spotted the railway bridge and decided to blow it up as well.
The railroad was thus rendered inoperable, and what remained of it was transferred to Israel Railways
upon the company's founding. The company made minor repairs along the line, which allowed trains to travel between Haifa and Afula. Repairs to the aforementioned damage inflicted by the Jewish forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
were never conducted. Service on the new shortened line was terminated in 1949. Two main reasons were the lack of financial feasibility, and the non-standard narrow gauge of the railway.
In 1950-51, the line was used occasionally for tourism. Its last use was registered in September 1951, for training exercises by the Israel Defense Forces
. In 1954, the rolling stock used in this line was completely dismantled and sold. An old steam locomotive and a single train car were the only remains, and are displayed at the Israel Railway Museum
.
The first renewal attempts in Israel
were made in the 1950s, when the possibility of converting the railway to the standard gauge
was examined. On June 13, 1962, talks were held between the CEO of Israel Railways Menachem Savidor
and head of the Afula
local council Yoash Dubnov. Savidor declared that if Afula and its suburbs could guarantee a concentration of 400–500,000 tons of freight to be moved on the railway, the project would be financially feasible, and Israel Railways would support it.
The plans failed, and Dubnov was not able to return the railway to Afula. However, the railway area, including in the middle of the city, was left in the possession of Israel Railways, and permission was never given to build on those plots. Many of the municipalities where these plots exist, have converted them to parks for public use, usually with a billboard or monument commemorating the Jezreel Valley railway. In spite of this, some authorities decided to build on the railway tracks and Israel Railways did not take any significant action to stop them (a fact emphasized by the State Comptroller of Israel in the 2000s). Notably, the Ramat David Airbase
is located on a major portion of the line's tracks and any renewal attempt in that area would require a significant alteration of the railroad's route.
, Tiberias and Beit She'an. It also became a popular tourist attraction, which further promoted tourism in Tiberias, the Jordan River, and the rest of the Sea of Galilee
area. The railway also connected the Hauran
to the Mediterranean Sea, turning it into a major export hub.
In spite of that, the British Empire completely changed the definition of goals and approach to the railway system in Palestine in their first years of rule. The British considered important only those assets which helped strengthen their colonial hold on the region, and thus the valley railway was not considered important. Few funds were allocated for its proper maintenance, and unlike other already-existing railroads in Palestine, the valley railway was not converted to standard gauge. It therefore slowly turned underserviced and obsolete. Even so, due to the rolling stock's use of coal, which at the time was imported from Britain, certain British companies fully supported the line's continued operation.
In the 1920s, the railway's main purpose became the transport of raw materials for construction. The first power station
in Palestine, a hydroplant
built in Naharayim
by Pinhas Rutenberg
, was mainly built from materials transported by trains using the valley railway. For that purpose, a minor extension was constructed from the main route to the construction site. In 1932, the railway was used to transport the concrete needed to build the Mosul-Haifa oil pipeline
- 38,000 tons of concrete were transported and laid on a 200 km route.
The Jewish sector in Mandate Palestine was the other main user of the railway, which allowed it to build new villages in relatively remote areas in the Jezreel Valley
. The Jewish Tower and stockade
organization extensively used the line to quickly bring vast amounts of construction materials to various sites to quickly establish new homes. This prompted the quick growth of the Jewish population in the area, which also used the railway as a passenger line.
The kibbutz
im in the area also used the railway to their economic advantage. In 1922, Deganya asked for a special wagon to transport its dairy products to Haifa in the late night hours. Permission was granted, and gave Deganya and other kibbutzim access to other parts of the country and the world for export.
gangs, and were comparatively a minor nuisance. However, with the outbreak of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, organized attacks and bombings began taking place, severely disrupting operations on the valley line, as well as other lines in Mandate Palestine.
A few months after the outbreak of hostilities, the Notrim
police organization was founded, and hundreds of Jewish youth were recruited. In 1938, a regiment of the organization was dirverted to protecting the railways of Palestine, known as the P.P.R.D. (Palestine Police Railway Department), or simply the Railway Guard (Mishmar HaRakevet)/Railway Corps (Heil HaRakevet) in Hebrew
. The guard consisted of over 700 Jewish policemen who underwent special training in the Haganah
.
The first line protected by the guard was the Lod
–Haifa
line, which suffered the most, although other lines were integrated later, including the valley line. The policemen erected watchtowers and conducted frequent patrols in search of the guerillas. Two designated armored train cars were built for the guard by the Ford Motor Company
, which could move faster than conventional trains, and in both directions. The Railway Guard sometimes took with them prominent Arab leaders on the patrols, in order to insure that the policemen were not harmed by the Arab gangs.
The Railway Guard's success prompted their stationing in other strategic locations, such as the Haifa Port. They continued serving in that capacity even during World War II
, when the valley railway was fully operational and supported the British war effort.
The Haifa Railway Station was the western terminus of the line. The cornerstone for its construction was laid on July 16, 1905, just one day before the inception of the new railroad. The architectural style was similar to that of railway station in southern Germany at the time. The Haifa station was the only railway station in the world, serving the lines of 3 continents - Africa and Europe (by the coastal railway), and Asia (by the Hejaz railway).
On September 20, 1946, the station was bombed by the Irgun
, and only the eastern hall of the station survived. It was later renamed to Haifa East Railway Station, following the construction of the Haifa Center Railway Station in 1937.
This is the only station of the valley railway still used today, being also located on the main railway line of Israel Railways
, although it does not serve as a stop for passenger trains. The Israel Railway Museum
is located near the station.
Distance from Haifa: 4.5 km
The Balad ash-Sheikh Railway Station, also known as Tel Hanan, was built in 1904 as the second station in the original valley line, and named after Balad ash-Sheikh
, the Arab village next to it.
In 1913, the Ottomans built an extension of the valley line to Acre
, with this station serving as terminus. When the Haganah
attacked the village of Balad ash-Sheikh on the night of December 30, 1947 – January 1, 1948, an attacker named Hanan Zelinger was killed in the operation. A Jewish village, Tel Hanan, was built there in his name.
The Nesher Railway Station was founded in 1925, the same year as the city Nesher
, which stands on the location today. Originally, the station was freight-only and intended for the efficient transportation of malt beer
produced in the Nesher Factory to Haifa.
The station was opened after the British finished converting the Haifa–Nesher part of the valley railway to the standard gauge
, which allowed the Nesher station to become part of the nationwide rail system.
This station was built in the 1920s to serve the residents of Yagur
, a kibbutz. The station's single stone structure stands to this day and is used for storage.
This station, also called Al Roy in English, was built next to the Kishon River
(a wadi
) to serve the residents of the moshav
Elro'i, today part of Kiryat Tiv'on. Originally, it was a simple wooden construction, similar to a bus stop. Later, it was converted into a small brick shed. The shed was later renovated by the residents of Elro'i.
Similar to the Elro'i station, Kiryat Haroshet was a small shed meant only to protect passengers from rough weather conditions. It was built by the British upon request from the residents of the area, even though the distance between it and the Elro'i station is less than 1 km. Today, Kiryat Haroshet is also part of the town Kiryat Tiv'on.
Distance from Haifa: 21.8 km
The Kfar Yehoshu'a Railway Station, initially Tel ash-Shamam, was the 3rd original station of the line. The station was built in an empty area, at the time filled with swampland, and served as a service station for locomotives. The station consisted of 8 buildings in the German style, which stand to this day.
In 2005, as part of the 100-year celebration of the Jezreel Valley railway, the station underwent a renovation, and 1950s wooden cars were placed in it. There are plans to open a railway museum on its grounds, and renovate old train cars used on the railway.
This station was built in 1926 for the residents of the moshav Kfar Baruch, to the north of the village. It was a simple shack for awaiting passengers and had neither a ticket salesman, nor tickets printed for the station. Therefore, the residents had to haggle with the ticket salesman on the train in hopes of being let in. Today, the station is complete destroyed.
Distance from Haifa: 36.4
The Afula Railway Station was the fourth original station in the valley line. It was named after the Arab village there, al-Fuleh, until the Jewish town Afula
was founded there in 1925. The station was an important crossroads and served as a terminus for the Afula–Nablus
extension of the valley line, which started operations to Jenin
in 1913.
The station prompted the quick growth of al-Puleh/Afula, and various civilian and military installation were built in its vicinity, including a regional post office that served the entire Jezreel Valley
built in 1922.
On November 1, 1945, the station was destroyed as part of the Night of the Trains
by the Jewish Resistance Movement, and has not been used since. A museum was built on the grounds of the station, commemorating the history of the Jezreel Valley railway.
Ein Harod
was the first kibbutz
founded in the Jezreel Valley (1921), and with it the small railway station. The station was called Ein Harod even after the workers of the kibbutz copied all their residences to a nearby hill in 1927. Only many years later, after a new station was created for Ein Harod (see Tel Yosef Station), the station was renamed. Initially, it was renamed to Yehezkeliya for the nearby moshav
Kfar Yehezkel
, but due to pressure from kibbutz Geva
, the station eventually took on the kibbutz's name.
This station was a small shed, built for the residents of the new Ein Harod, and for Tel Yosef. It was located next to the road junction leading to the kibbutzim. Today, nothing remains of the station.
This station served the residents of Beit HaShita
, and named after the Arab name for the location. Several stone structures were built for the station, and the largest of them can be found today within the Shata Prison.
During the British Mandate period, a Tegart fort
encompassing the entire station was built, and later converted into the Shata Prison by the Israel Prison Service
.
In 2003, the station's structures were renovated by the prisoners in Shata. These renovations were not according to the original architectural design, but no major damage was done to the station. Until then, the station served as the prison's carperntry, but since the refurbishment, it is used for offices and storage.
This station served the residents of Sde Nahum
(originally called Kibbutz HaSade). The station was created in 1934 for the residents of the village, who feared using the Arab Beisan station during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. This 'station' consisted only of a trilingual sign, without any structures.
Distance from Haifa: 59.3 km
The Beit She'an Railway Station (originally Beisan) was the fifth original station and specifically ordered by the Turkish sultan, in hopes of raising property value in the area and hence tax value. However, only upon Jewish settlement in the area, did it finally see the desired growth.
In 2006, the municipality of Beit She'an decided to renovate the station's abandoned structures. A new passenger station will be built at the site by 2016 as part of the reconstruction of the Valley line.
This station was built in 1937 for the residents of the moshav Beit Yosef. After it fell into disuse with the closure of the line, any structures on the station's grounds were razed and the exact location is unknown today.
The Gesher Railway Station (also Gesher Nehalim) was the 6th station in the original line, and served mainly the residents of Gesher and Menahemiya. It was located next to the Mujami Bridge, which when intact was the lowest railway bridge in the world at 257.5 m below sea level.
Today, the remnants of the bridge, destroyed on May 14, 1948, as well as two wooden train cars can be seen from the Gesher kibbutz, beyond the border fence although technically on Israeli territory.
The Naharayim station was constructed near the Naharayim Power Station built by Pinhas Rutenberg
in the Bauhaus
architectural style. After the 1949 Armistice Agreements
, the area of Naharayim was ceded to Jordan
and today, the remnants of the station are located on the Peace Island
within the borders of Jordan.
This station was created to serve the Arab village of al-Dalhamiyya
. With the founding of kibbutz Ashdot Ya'akov
in 1935, it began also serving the residents of the kibbutz. Like the HaSade station, this 'station' was merely a trilingual sign where trains stopped.
The Arlosorow Halt Station was named after the prominent Zionist Haim Arlosoroff. It was built in 1937 and served the kibbutzim Masada and Sha'ar HaGolan, which were also founded in memory of Arlosoroff. This station replaced the temporary Jordan Valley Station, and a tin shack was created to protect passengers from harsh weather conditions. Today, nothing remains of this station.
This was a temporary station created in 1936 in light of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, to allow the Jewish residents of the Jordan Valley
to travel safely without going through the Arab Samakh (Tzemah) station. The station, which was funded by the Jews in the area, sported a single small sign. It was cancelled following the inception of the Arlosorow Halt.
Distance from Haifa: 86.9 km
The Tzemah Railway Station (originally Samakh) was the seventh of the eight original stations on the valley line. It served the village of Samakh, inhabited mostly by settled Bedouins. The station facilitated the growth of the village, which reached an Arab population of 3,460. A quay was built near the station, on the Sea of Galilee
, for moving freight from the railway to Tiberias.
The station was damaged during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, in the Battles of the Kinarot Valley
. Starting in 2011, the station is undergoing extensive restoration work.
Distance from Haifa: 95.3 km
The al-Hamma
(now Hamat Gader
) Station was the eighth and last of the original station on the valley line. While located within the borders of what was then defined as Palestine, it was relatively isolated, and could not serve as a major transportation hub and gateway to Syria
, a function which was performed by the Tzemah Station.
The station was built near the Roman bath house
s of al-Hamma, and included several stone structures. These also served as the residence for the founder of kibbutz Mevo Hama
, who renovated the bath houses.
Today, the station is located in Israel, near the Syrian border, and its structures are used for a fish farm
. A tin sign can still be seen bearing the name of the station.
was considered too prohibitive to be carried out in the early days of the state. Since then there have been several attempts to rebuild the railway along approximately the same route.
In 1988, a decision was passed to renew the Jezreel Valley railway, and plans were made to alter the historical route to conform to new realities on the ground in several points on the route. However, it was not until ten years later, in 1998, that a survey of the land was made to inspect its suitability for a modern railway line, which was also not immediately used. Several years later, major foreign investment began flowing into the country following the worldwide early 2000s recession
, which prompted resuming discussions about renewing the valley railway which has regional importance for transporting goods to/from parts of Israel and Jordan via rail links for export/import through Israeli seaports on the Mediterranean sea.
On October 28, 2002, the Transportation Ministry of Israel and the minister Ephraim Sneh announced in a press release that Israel Railways
started extensive planning of the valley line's renovation, at a cost of NIS 40 million for the planning stage, and an additional NIS 1 billion to be appropriated later for the construction itself. The railway would connect Haifa with the Sheikh Hussein Bridge on the Jordan River, on a 74 km route. It would later be extended by Jordan
to Irbid
. The original planned completion date was the second half of 2007.
In 2003, the new Minister of Transportation Avigdor Lieberman announced that in July 2005, work would start on the renewal of the line. Plans for a national infrastructure project were presented which would further alter the rail route, due to changes on the ground since the 1988 plans. These changes included relocating the Afula section to a partially-underground route between Afula and Afula Illit, instead of its previous location in the very center of the city. By the end of 2005, many of the plans were approved by the Construction and Planning Committees, which called for the completion of the line by 2010. Five stations were approved: Haifa East, Nesher, Kfar Yehoshua (in a different location from the historical one), Afula and Beit She'an. Israel Railways also proposed a completely new route to connect the Beit She'an station to Jordan
, via the Sheikh Hussein bridge, as well as a future revival of the historical extension to Jenin
to serve the Palestinian Authority.
However, work did not start in 2003. In November 2005, there was still no progress to be seen, and the extensive planning was not fully completed. In a press release on November 30, 2005, Transportation Minister Meir Sheetrit
announced that he was considering connecting Nazareth
and Migdal HaEmek to the planned valley railway, and that the railway would be completed in 2008–09 (starting construction in 2006). The original plans to build a full dual-track railway in the initial phase were scrapped in favor of single-track for most of the route (between Nesher
and Beit She'an). On February 22, 2006, Israel Railways and the Nature and Parks Authority
transferred 1,500 endangered geophytes from the route of the railway.
Although the atmosphere remained optimistic, and some Israeli railway maps labeled the line as 'under construction', actual work had yet to begin on the valley railway (besides preliminary design work and right-of-way purchases). On February 24, 2010 the Israeli government voted to appropriate the sum of NIS 3.5 billion (since then raised to 4.1 billion, equivalent to about US$1.15 billion) for the detailed design and construction of the railway between Haifa and Beit Shea'an beginning in 2011. On March 7, 2011 the National Roads Authority
, which is in charge of managing the project, published a design-build
tender for a 6.5 km section of the line near Afula. This is the first of a dozen tenders which the authority will publish through mid-2012 for the railway and five stations with overall completion of construction expected in 2016. The railway will terminate in Beit Shea'an and the extension to the border crossing at the Sheikh Hussein bridge is planned at a later stage.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and British Palestine, which was part of the larger Hejaz railway and ran along the Jezreel Valley
Jezreel Valley
-Etymology:The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city of Jezreel which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley, though some scholars think that the name of the city originates from the name of the clan which founded it, and whose existence is mentioned in...
.
It was built in the beginning of the 20th century and connected Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
with the rest of the narrow gauge Hejaz railway, its last stop within the Palestine Mandate borders being al-Hamma
Al-Hamma, Tiberias
Al-Hamma is a depopulated Palestinian Arab village in the District of Tiberias, 12 km southeast of Tiberias. Situated on a narrow strip of land in the Yarmouk valley, it was one of the stations on the Jezreel Valley railway, linking the Hejaz Railway to Haifa.-History:The Old Testament...
. After many failed attempts, the final planning and construction lasted 4 years. The railway was inaugurated on October 15, 1905, and operated until 1948.
In the decades since there have been several failed attempts to revive the railway. Finally, a large-scale project to build a new standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
railway from Haifa to Beit She'an along roughly the same route as the historical valley railway began in 2011 and is expected to be completed in 2016.
Early plans
In the 1860s the deputy British consul in HaifaHaifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, Thomas B. Sandwit, proposed the construction of a railway from the city to Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, through the Jezreel Valley
Jezreel Valley
-Etymology:The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city of Jezreel which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley, though some scholars think that the name of the city originates from the name of the clan which founded it, and whose existence is mentioned in...
, with a possible extension to Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. Sandwit hoped to created a continuous railway link between British India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
and the Palestine, and increase British control of the area, which was under Ottoman rule.
In 1865, Dr. Charles Ferdinand Zimfel, a German-American doctor, engineer, priest and Zionist, proposed the creation of a railway from Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
to Jerusalem, which would continue to Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
and end in Damascus, with an extension to Haifa through the Jezreel Valley. Zimfel surveyed the territory and became one of the first railway planners in Palestine.
Claude R. Conder, in his extensive Survey of Western Palestine, proposed the construction of a railway from Haifa to the Fertile Crescent
Fertile Crescent
The Fertile Crescent, nicknamed "The Cradle of Civilization" for the fact the first civilizations started there, is a crescent-shaped region containing the comparatively moist and fertile land of otherwise arid and semi-arid Western Asia. The term was first used by University of Chicago...
. His plans constituted the basis for the actual construction years later.
Sir Laurence Oliphant of Britain, who hoped to facilitate Jewish settlement in the Gilead
Gilead
In the Bible "Gilead" means hill of testimony or mound of witness, , a mountainous region east of the Jordan River, situated in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is also referred to by the Aramaic name Yegar-Sahadutha, which carries the same meaning as the Hebrew . From its mountainous character...
, proposed the creation of a railway from Haifa to that region, which would then branch out to Aqaba
Aqaba
Aqaba is a coastal city in the far south of Jordan, the capital of Aqaba Governorate at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba. Aqaba is strategically important to Jordan as it is the country's only seaport. Aqaba is best known today as a diving and beach resort, but industrial activity remains important...
in the south, and Damascus in the north. From Aqaba, he hoped to further extend the railway to the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
. In his visit to Palestine in 1883, Oliphant changed his plans to what later became the actually valley railroad.
Sursock family and Sir Oliphant
In 1882, a group headed by the aristocratic Sursock familySursock family
Sursock is a Greek Orthodox, Lebanese family and one of Beirut's aristocratic families. The Sursock family made their money as traders. The Sursocks were also landowners and for many decades Lebanon's leading business family, joining forces with the Otis Elevator Company to manufacture elevators...
attained a permit for the construction of a railway in the Jezreel Valley
Jezreel Valley
-Etymology:The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city of Jezreel which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley, though some scholars think that the name of the city originates from the name of the clan which founded it, and whose existence is mentioned in...
. The family sought to build a railway there to raise land value around the line, which was mostly family-owned, and to enable the cheap transport of goods from Hauran
Hauran
Hauran, , also spelled Hawran or Houran, is a volcanic plateau, a geographic area and a people located in southwestern Syria and extending into the northwestern corner of Jordan. It gets its name from the Aramaic Hawran, meaning "cave land." In geographic and geomorphic terms, its boundaries...
, also owned by the family, to the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
for export.
On May 16, 1883, Sir Laurence Oliphant wrote in the New York Sun
New York Sun
The New York Sun was a weekday daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 to 2008. When it debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of an otherwise unrelated earlier New York paper, The Sun , it became the first general-interest broadsheet newspaper to be started...
that he met with Mr. Sursock regarding the construction of a railway in the Jezreel, and claimed that he could see surveying work as he wrote, from his home in Daliyat al-Karmel
Daliyat al-Karmel
Daliyat al-Karmel is a Druze local council in the North District of Israel, located around 20 km southeast of Haifa.-History:The town was given local council status in 1951. However, in 2003 it was merged with nearby Isfiya to create Carmel City...
. Oliphant founded a company along with Gottlieb Schumacher
Gottlieb Schumacher
Gottlieb Schumacher was a German-American civil engineer, architect and archaeologist who was an important figure in the early archaeological explorations of Palestine....
, one of the founders of the German Colony
German Colony, Haifa
The German Colony was established in Haifa in 1868 by the German Templers. It was the first of several colonies established by the group in the Holy Land...
of Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, and Georg Agger of Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
, which would find investors for attaining a construction permit from the Sursock family, and the construction itself.
On June 13, 1883, early surveying work was completed and Oliphant began to look for investors, both in Britain and Germany. In a letter he wrote to the Duke of Sutherland
George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland
George Granville William Sutherland Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland , styled Viscount Trentham until 1833, Earl Gower in 1833 and Marquess of Stafford between 1833 and 1861, was a British politician.-Background:Sutherland was the son of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland...
, Oliphant claimed that the construction of the line was extremely important both politically and economically, that it would eventually serve as the connection between Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
, the Fertile Crescent
Fertile Crescent
The Fertile Crescent, nicknamed "The Cradle of Civilization" for the fact the first civilizations started there, is a crescent-shaped region containing the comparatively moist and fertile land of otherwise arid and semi-arid Western Asia. The term was first used by University of Chicago...
, and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and expressed fear that the line would be under sole German ownership. Oliphant and his peers advertised the line as extremely profitable for investors, estimating the gain at 34%, and promising additional permits to construct additional extensions, a modern port in Haifa or Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
, and a shipping company. For that purpose, Oliphant purchased additional lands on Haifa's coast, and in the Megiddo area.
Despite these efforts, the plans failed—the British government, the only one interested in the project, sent the Duke of Sutherland to inspect it, who refused to help sponsor the project. The Lebanese families headed by Sursock, who wished to build the railway for their personal needs, also failed to raise the necessary funds. At the end of 1884, the Sursocks' permit expired, and the 50,000 franc
Franc
The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the Swiss franc, still a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions and the former currency of France, the French franc until the Euro was adopted in 1999...
s deposited by Oliphant's company to the Sultan Abdul Hamid II
Abdul Hamid II
His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...
were also lost.
Syria Ottoman Railway Company
On May 13, 1890, the Ottoman authorities gave a permit to build a railway line from HaifaHaifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
to Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
to the public servant Shukri Bey and a Christian Lebanese engineer and effendi
Effendi
Effendi, Effendy or Efendi is a title of nobility meaning a lord or master.It is a title of respect or courtesy, equivalent to the English Sir, which was used in Ottoman Empire...
named Yusuf Elias, both of whom worked for the Ottoman government. The line was meant to go from Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
to Damascus with spurs to Haifa and Bosra
Bosra
Bosra , also known as Bostra, Busrana, Bozrah, Bozra, Busra Eski Şam, Busra ash-Sham, and Nova Trajana Bostra, is an ancient city administratively belonging to the Daraa Governorate in southern Syria...
. Elias did not have the ability to gather the funds necessary for such a project, and it was agreed that he would buy out Shukri's share and sell the rights to John Robert Pilling, a British entrepreneur. Pilling quickly founded an investment company, which was listed in the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
as the S.O.R. Ltd.—Syria Ottoman Railway Limited.
The S.O.R. based its plans on the original surveying work done in the area, and after a financial re-evaluation, the planned terminus was changed to Haifa, which had a modern deep-water seaport, compared to Acre's old shallow one. The planned length of the line, from Haifa to Damascus via the Golan Heights, with two extensions, was 230 km. 27 stations were planned. On December 23, 1892, the contractor George Pauling started work on the line, after a flamboyant ceremony.
Work on the line was opposed by the Chémin de Fer Damas-Hama et Prolongements (DHP), a standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
railway that carried freight between Damascus and al-Hamma. The DHP did everything in its power to prevent the construction of the line in order to avoid competition. At the same time, the DHP petitioned the Ottoman government for its own permit to build a railway from Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
to Hauran
Hauran
Hauran, , also spelled Hawran or Houran, is a volcanic plateau, a geographic area and a people located in southwestern Syria and extending into the northwestern corner of Jordan. It gets its name from the Aramaic Hawran, meaning "cave land." In geographic and geomorphic terms, its boundaries...
via Damascus, eventually attaining it.
The French began building their line quickly, and finished construction in 1895, while the British worked slowly. At the time of the Beirut–Damascus line's inception, Pilling's company only managed to build a special port in Haifa to aid in the line's construction. Eight kilometers of railroad were laid, between Haifa and Yagur
Yagur
Yagur is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located on the slopes of Mount Carmel about 9 km southeast of Haifa, it is one of the two largest kibbutzim in the country, with a population of 1,124 in 2008. It falls under the jurisdiction of Zevulun Regional Council....
, and a 20 km dike was created for the next stage of construction. Due to the competition from the French railway in Beirut, the port of Haifa became less attractive to international traders and that, coupled with strife within the Syria Ottoman Railway Company, caused Pilling to go bankrupt and lose the permit for the railway.
During 1898–1899, the British company was founded anew and, together with the company Palmer and Tritton, re-attained the permit for the valley line. The British restored the Jezreel dike and construction resumed. However, in 1900, the Ottomans began building the Hejaz railway, and saw the opportunity to convert the future Haifa–Damascus line to an extension thereof. In 1902, the Ottoman authorities revoked S.O.R.'s permit for a compensation of 150,000 Turkish lira
Turkish lira
The Turkish lira is the currency of Turkey and the de facto independent state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The lira is subdivided into 100 kuruş...
.
Events that led to the construction of the valley railway
While Sultan Abdul Hamid IIAbdul Hamid II
His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...
's original plans for the Hejaz railway did not include an extension to Haifa, the construction of such an extension was logical in order to assert Ottoman control over the section between the Hauran
Hauran
Hauran, , also spelled Hawran or Houran, is a volcanic plateau, a geographic area and a people located in southwestern Syria and extending into the northwestern corner of Jordan. It gets its name from the Aramaic Hawran, meaning "cave land." In geographic and geomorphic terms, its boundaries...
and the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, and to compete against the French-owned Beirut–Damascus railway.
The German engineer Heinrich August Meissner, who oversaw the construction of the Hejaz railway, considered the planned section immediately south of Damascus (Damascus–Muzeirib) to be useless, because of the French railway using the same route. After failing to acquire the French railway lines, Meissner signed a deal with the French which would allow a 45% discount in transporting equipment from Damascus to Muzeirib necessary to continue building the Ottoman Hejaz railway to the south.
Despite this, the French constituted a monopoly on the railway lines of the area, and cancelled the discount. Their trains were also not equipped to cross the sections of railway covered by snow in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. Several months later, Meissner reconsidered, and decided to construct his own railway line between Damascus and the Hauran, close to the French line. On September 1, 1902, the Damascus–Daraa line was completed, and turned the Hauran from a remote near-inaccessible location into a transportation center with two railway connections.
Upon the initiation of the Damascus–Daraa line, Meissner realized that it was still very difficult to transport raw materials to Daraa for the construction of the rest of the Hejaz railway, as most of the materials came with ships via the Mediterranean. Meissner decided in 1902 that there was no choice but to build an extension connecting the new railway to a Mediterranean port nearby. Haifa was chosen for its already developed port, and because surveying, planning and some construction work for a railroad had already been done on the proposed route.
Construction
The construction plans for the valley railway were based on the earlier British plans. Originally, the line was meant to climb the Golan Heights next to the Samakh Stream, although later it was decided that the Yarmouk RiverYarmouk River
The Yarmouk River is the largest tributary of the Jordan River. It drains much of the Hauran Plateau. It is one of three main tributaries which enter the Jordan between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. To the south, are the Jabbok/Zarqa and the Arnon/Wadi Mujib) rivers...
would make a better route. In 1902, the Ottomans revoked the British company S.O.R.'s construction permit, compensated them, and immediately started construction. The first phase was to narrow the gauge to the Ottoman standard in the 9 km already built by S.O.R.
In 1903, track laying began between Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
and Daraa. The biggest challenge was the construction east of Samakh (Samakh–Daraa). The length of this section was 73 km and the height difference was 529 m. Eight tunnels were dug for the section, totalling a length of 1,100 m and 329 bridges and aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
s. These difficulties raised the price of the Haifa extension by tens of percents. A meter on the Damascus–Daraa section had an average cost of 2,070 Turkish lira
Turkish lira
The Turkish lira is the currency of Turkey and the de facto independent state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The lira is subdivided into 100 kuruş...
s, while a meter on the Daraa–Haifa line cost 3,480 liras.
The line was finally opened with 5 stations in January 1904, between Haifa and Beit She'an. On October 15, 1905, the entire Haifa–Daraa section opened, with 8 stations within Ottoman Palestine. On the opening ceremony, when the first train left Haifa for Damascus, a monument for Abdul Hamid II
Abdul Hamid II
His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...
was unveiled in Haifa, which stands to this day. The monument was built in Turkey at least two years before this ceremony, and was brought to Palestine by sea.
Under Ottoman rule
With the construction of the valley railway, it served mainly for delivering construction materials from the Haifa port for the continuing work on the main Hejaz railway line. The Hejaz railway was built for ideological, religious, and to a lesser extent military needs, and the Ottoman authorities initially underutilized its potential as a commercial venue. Over the years however, the potential was realized and the Jezreel valley line quickly became a major competitor to the French Beirut-Damascus line for transferring products from the HauranHauran
Hauran, , also spelled Hawran or Houran, is a volcanic plateau, a geographic area and a people located in southwestern Syria and extending into the northwestern corner of Jordan. It gets its name from the Aramaic Hawran, meaning "cave land." In geographic and geomorphic terms, its boundaries...
to the Mediterranean.
Prices dropped quickly both for passenger tickets and freight transfer. However, the Ottomans were able to lower the prices more because they did not have to pay dividend
Dividend
Dividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members. It is the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two uses: it can either be re-invested in the business , or it can be distributed to...
s and did not require as high a profit. This caused the valley line to become favorite among exporters in the Hauran, to the point that many of them preferred to send their goods through the valley line to Haifa and ship them to Beirut, rather than send them directly to Beirut over the French railway.
The valley line quickly became the most profitable section of the Hejaz railway, and passenger traffic consequently increased as well. More trains were put into service on the line, and new technologies were utilized to shorten travel times. The railway was able to connect those locations to Haifa which were physically close, but had no road connection. The only usable roads at the time for horse-drawn carriages were Haifa–Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
, Haifa–Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
and Nazareth–Afula
Afula
Afula is a city in the North District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley", referring to the Jezreel Valley. The city had a population of 40,500 at the end of 2009.-History:...
–Jenin
Jenin
Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
, which left out places with high growth potential like Beit She'an and Tiberias.
Tiberias, which was previously completely isolated in terms of transportation, being several days' travel from Haifa, was now served by the Samakh station, which employed an ad hoc
Ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
ferry which travelled a short distance in the Sea of Galilee
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is approximately in circumference, about long, and wide. The lake has a total area of , and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m...
. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, a road connection was also made between Samakh and Tiberias, cutting travel time from Haifa to just a few hours.
The railway also had much tourist potential. Already in 1906, Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook of Melbourne, Derbyshire, England founded the travel agency that is now Thomas Cook Group.- Early days :...
's travel agency advertised trips to the Holy Land, which utilized the valley line. A notable package was a trip using the valley line from Haifa to Samakh, where the tourists would take a steam boat to Tiberias via the Sea of Galilee, and explore the Christian holy sites around the lake. When the line became popular with tourists, the travel conditions were improved drastically in order to give a good first impression to the dignitaries and aristocrats coming from all over Europe. In 1912, first and second class train cars were created in order to fit the needs of the different visiting social classes.
The increase in train frequency and lack of proper inspection led to numerous railway disasters. On July 7, 1909, for example, a train leaving Haifa crashed into a train travelling from Damascus, due to an error on the telegraphist's part. The driver of the Haifa–Tiberias train was killed instantly.
Following the Haifa extension's crucial success and high demand, 12 stations were added to the line's 8 original in the first few years. In addition, Meissner began planning and construction additional extensions in Palestine and outside of it. The first was completed in 1912 and travelled from Daraa to Bosra
Bosra
Bosra , also known as Bostra, Busrana, Bozrah, Bozra, Busra Eski Şam, Busra ash-Sham, and Nova Trajana Bostra, is an ancient city administratively belonging to the Daraa Governorate in southern Syria...
in Syria, on a new 33 km route. In the end of 1912, an extension to Acre was completed from the Balad ash-Sheikh station, totalling 17.8 km.
The most important extension of the railway was planned to connect the Afula station with Jerusalem. The first 17 km section was completed at the beginning of 1913 and connected Afula with Jenin. Meissner's full plan never bore fruit however, because of the French government's extreme pressure on the Ottoman government to cancel the project, which would compete with the French-owned Jaffa–Jerusalem railway
Jaffa–Jerusalem railway
The Jaffa–Jerusalem railway is a railroad that connected Jaffa and Jerusalem. The line was built in Ottoman Palestine by the French company Société du Chemin de Fer Ottoman de Jaffa à Jérusalem et Prolongements and inaugurated in 1892, after previous attempts by the Jewish philanthropist Moses...
. In the end, only 40 km were built from Afula, and terminated near the village Silat ad-Dhahr
Silat ad-Dhahr
Silat adh Dhahr is a Palestinian town in the Jenin Governorate in the Northern area of the West Bank, located 14 kilometers South west of Jenin. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of over 6,259 inhabitants in mid-year 2006...
(Sileh). This extension was later used by Meissner during World War I to continue to railway to Tulkarm
Tulkarm
Tulkarem or Tulkarm is a Palestinian city in the northern Samarian mountain range in the Tulkarm Governorate in the extreme northwestern West Bank adjacent to the Netanya and Haifa districts to the west, the Nablus and Jenin Districts to the east...
and from there via the Eastern Railway
Eastern Railway (Israel)
The Eastern Railway refers to a railroad in central Israel stretching from Lod to Hadera. As of 2011, the section between Kfar Saba and Lod, as well as a short section just north of Hadera are in use, while the rest of the railway has not been operative since 1969, though there are plans to...
to Lydda
Lod
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...
where it connected with the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway and railways to the Sinai Peninsula
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
Many more minor extensions were built, both under Ottoman and British rule, mostly close to Haifa, and served mainly industrial and military needs.
World War I
Due to the severe lack of modern infrastructure in the Middle East during the war, the few railways in the region were of vital strategic importance to the Ottomans. The valley railway, as well as the entire Hejaz line, was quickly taken over by the army and civilian use was reduced to a bare minimum. The Hejaz railway's headquarters were moved to Haifa, closer to the front, and military engineers were placed in command of each of the 3 main Hejaz sections:- Daraa–MedinaMedinaMedina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
—a German engineer named Cooper - Samakh–Daraa–DamascusDamascusDamascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
—a Jewish engineer named Y. Musheli - HaifaHaifaHaifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
–Samakh—a Jewish engineer named Baruch Katinka
Britain's forces besieged the Ottoman Empire's Mediterranean ports, which led to a lack of basic provisions and maintenance supplies needed to keep the railway working. The lack of coal rendered most steam locomotives inoperable. Attempts were made to mine coal in Lebanon, but the inferior coal there caused damage to the trains. Eventually it was decided to use charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
, and extensive logging operations were set up by the Ottomans to keep up the demand. More extensions to the line were built as a result, for the efficient transport of wood - one from Tulkarm
Tulkarm
Tulkarem or Tulkarm is a Palestinian city in the northern Samarian mountain range in the Tulkarm Governorate in the extreme northwestern West Bank adjacent to the Netanya and Haifa districts to the west, the Nablus and Jenin Districts to the east...
to the forest of Hadera
Hadera
Hadera is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel approximately from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along of the Israeli Mediterranean Coastal Plain...
, and another to the Plains of Manasseh on the slopes of Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel ; , Kármēlos; , Kurmul or جبل مار إلياس Jabal Mar Elyas 'Mount Saint Elias') is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. Archaeologists have discovered ancient wine and oil presses at various locations on Mt. Carmel...
near Umm al-Fahm
Umm al-Fahm
Umm al-Fahm is a city in the Haifa District of Israel with a population of 43,300, nearly all of whom are Arab citizens of Israel. The city is situated on the Umm al-Fahm mountain ridge, the highest point of which is Mt. Iskander , overlooking Wadi Ara...
. As these operations went on, the number of natural forests in Palestine dwindled, and the authorities ordered the cutting down of every tenth fruit-bearing tree to support the war effort.
In spring 1918, the tide was turned against the Ottomans when British forces were able to take control of some key points on the railway along the Yarmouk River
Yarmouk River
The Yarmouk River is the largest tributary of the Jordan River. It drains much of the Hauran Plateau. It is one of three main tributaries which enter the Jordan between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. To the south, are the Jabbok/Zarqa and the Arnon/Wadi Mujib) rivers...
, and cut off the Haifa extension from the rest of the Hejaz railway. When defeated in September 1918, the Turks quickly destroyed any railway infrastructure and rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
they could, so that it would not fall into British hands. By the end of the war, the British controlled all of the Jezreel Valley railway.
British Mandate
On October 1, 1920, the British company Palestine Railways (P.R.) was founded, which oversaw all the railways within the British Mandate of Palestine. It was a commercial company, but answered to the British High CommissionerHigh Commissioner
High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...
in the mandate. The Hejaz railway's ownership was transferred by the Turks to the Waqf
Waqf
A waqf also spelled wakf formally known as wakf-alal-aulad is an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law, typically denoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious or charitable purposes. The donated assets are held by a charitable trust...
, out of fear of a French takeover (the French petitioned the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
for this purpose).
After the division of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
into League of Nations mandate
League of Nations mandate
A League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the internationally agreed-upon terms for administering the territory on behalf of the League...
s, causing the Hejaz railway to be split between British and French rule, it was agreed that the Samakh/Tzemah station would denote the railway border between the British and French mandates, even though the more isolated al-Hamma station was physically also under British control.
The rolling stock left by the Ottomans in the mandates was also divided between the British and French, who had no intention of producing new rolling stock fit for the Ottoman narrow gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
railways. The only trains produced by the British for this railway were two multiple unit
Multiple unit
The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...
s from Sentinel Waggon Works
Sentinel Waggon Works
Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was a British company based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire that made steam-powered lorries, railway locomotives, and later, diesel engined lorries and locomotives.-Alley & MacLellan, Sentinel Works, Jessie Street Glasgow:...
and Cammell Laird
Cammell Laird
Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century.- Founding of the business :The Company...
, brought to the mandate in 1929.
The frequency of trains increased again on the valley line during British rule, to two daily trains from Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
to Samakh (one of which continued to Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
), three daily trains on the Acre extension (Balad ash-Sheikh–Acre), and one weekly train from Haifa to Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
, via Afula
Afula
Afula is a city in the North District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley", referring to the Jezreel Valley. The city had a population of 40,500 at the end of 2009.-History:...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the frequency reached its peak, at 6 daily trains from Haifa to Samakh and back. The tourist packages were also improved, now also including flights on Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long range air transport company, operating from 1924 to 1939 and serving parts of Europe but especially the Empire routes to South Africa, India and the Far East...
aircraft, which could land in the Sea of Galilee
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is approximately in circumference, about long, and wide. The lake has a total area of , and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m...
's water.
Post-World War II
After the perceived British betrayal of Jewish interests after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, leaders of various Jewish underground organizations in Mandate Palestine founded The Jewish Resistance Movement. One of the resistance's first operations was the Night of the Trains
Night of the Trains
The Night of the Trains was a sabotage operation of the British railroads in Palestine on November 1, 1945...
(November 1, 1945), in which 153 points along various railways in the mandate were damaged. The main damage to the valley line was done at a railway switch near the Afula station, under the noses of the Hindu guards there. Rehavam Ze'evi participated in this bombing.
The astounding success of the operation prompted more attacks, until the railway became a constant harassment target. In June 1946, as part of the Night of the bridges
Night of the bridges
Operation Markolet was a Haganah venture on the night of the 16th to the 17th of June 1946 in the British Mandate of Palestine...
, the Palmach
Palmach
The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
blew up one of the main bridges on the valley line, between Samakh and al-Hamma, which was 130 meters in length. As a result, the Jezreel Valley railway was completely cut off from the rest of the Hejaz line.
Demise
The beginning of the end of the Jezreel Valley railway is considered March 2, 1948. On this date at night, HaganahHaganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
forces carried out bombing raids on railways in Mandate Palestine and harmed them significantly. The aim of the operation was to disable the maintenance ability of the lines, in order to prevent the quick transport of supplies and personnel by the Arab armies about to invade the Yishuv
Yishuv
The Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv is the term referring to the body of Jewish residents in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel...
. The most severe raid was carried out on a bridge near Geva
Geva
-External links:*...
, on the 44th km of the line, which effectively disabled its entire operation.
The next major hit came on the eve of the Israeli declaration of independence, May 14, 1948, when Jewish forces destroyed yet another bridge, this time on the Jordan River, next to Gesher. The original plan was to destroy two road bridges in the area, but the soldiers spotted the railway bridge and decided to blow it up as well.
The railroad was thus rendered inoperable, and what remained of it was transferred to Israel Railways
Israel Railways
Israel Railways is the principal passenger railway operating company in Israel, and is responsible for all inter-city and suburban rail way passenger and freight traffic in the country. All its lines are standard gauge. The network is centered in Israel's densely populated coastal plain, from...
upon the company's founding. The company made minor repairs along the line, which allowed trains to travel between Haifa and Afula. Repairs to the aforementioned damage inflicted by the Jewish forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
were never conducted. Service on the new shortened line was terminated in 1949. Two main reasons were the lack of financial feasibility, and the non-standard narrow gauge of the railway.
In 1950-51, the line was used occasionally for tourism. Its last use was registered in September 1951, for training exercises by the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
. In 1954, the rolling stock used in this line was completely dismantled and sold. An old steam locomotive and a single train car were the only remains, and are displayed at the Israel Railway Museum
Israel Railway Museum
Israel Railway Museum is the national railway museum of Israel, located in Haifa. The railway museum is owned by Israel Railways and is at the now closed Haifa East Railway Station.-Features:...
.
Early renewal attempts
- See also: Current status and future plans below.
The first renewal attempts in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
were made in the 1950s, when the possibility of converting the railway to the standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
was examined. On June 13, 1962, talks were held between the CEO of Israel Railways Menachem Savidor
Menachem Savidor
Menachen Savidor 20 August 1917 – 2 November 1988) was an Israeli civil servant and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud from 1977 until 1984...
and head of the Afula
Afula
Afula is a city in the North District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley", referring to the Jezreel Valley. The city had a population of 40,500 at the end of 2009.-History:...
local council Yoash Dubnov. Savidor declared that if Afula and its suburbs could guarantee a concentration of 400–500,000 tons of freight to be moved on the railway, the project would be financially feasible, and Israel Railways would support it.
The plans failed, and Dubnov was not able to return the railway to Afula. However, the railway area, including in the middle of the city, was left in the possession of Israel Railways, and permission was never given to build on those plots. Many of the municipalities where these plots exist, have converted them to parks for public use, usually with a billboard or monument commemorating the Jezreel Valley railway. In spite of this, some authorities decided to build on the railway tracks and Israel Railways did not take any significant action to stop them (a fact emphasized by the State Comptroller of Israel in the 2000s). Notably, the Ramat David Airbase
Ramat David Airbase
Ramat David Israeli Air Force Base is one of three principal airbases of the Israeli Air Force, located southeast of Haifa, close to kibbutz Ramat David and Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley...
is located on a major portion of the line's tracks and any renewal attempt in that area would require a significant alteration of the railroad's route.
Impact
When built, the Jezreel Valley railway was highly profitable and quickly became the most worthwhile project of the Hejaz railway. It prompted the quick growth of previously isolated localities, such as AfulaAfula
Afula is a city in the North District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley", referring to the Jezreel Valley. The city had a population of 40,500 at the end of 2009.-History:...
, Tiberias and Beit She'an. It also became a popular tourist attraction, which further promoted tourism in Tiberias, the Jordan River, and the rest of the Sea of Galilee
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is approximately in circumference, about long, and wide. The lake has a total area of , and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m...
area. The railway also connected the Hauran
Hauran
Hauran, , also spelled Hawran or Houran, is a volcanic plateau, a geographic area and a people located in southwestern Syria and extending into the northwestern corner of Jordan. It gets its name from the Aramaic Hawran, meaning "cave land." In geographic and geomorphic terms, its boundaries...
to the Mediterranean Sea, turning it into a major export hub.
In spite of that, the British Empire completely changed the definition of goals and approach to the railway system in Palestine in their first years of rule. The British considered important only those assets which helped strengthen their colonial hold on the region, and thus the valley railway was not considered important. Few funds were allocated for its proper maintenance, and unlike other already-existing railroads in Palestine, the valley railway was not converted to standard gauge. It therefore slowly turned underserviced and obsolete. Even so, due to the rolling stock's use of coal, which at the time was imported from Britain, certain British companies fully supported the line's continued operation.
In the 1920s, the railway's main purpose became the transport of raw materials for construction. The first power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
in Palestine, a hydroplant
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
built in Naharayim
Naharayim
Naharayim is a site on the border between Israel and Jordan where an hydroelectric power-plant was established in 1930. The Yarmuk River flows into the Jordan River at Naharayim. The plant, established by Pinchas Rutenberg, produced much of the energy consumed in the British Mandate of Palestine...
by Pinhas Rutenberg
Pinhas Rutenberg
Pinhas Rutenberg was a prominent engineer and a businessman, a Russian socialist and a Zionist leader. He played an active role in two Russian revolutions, in 1905 and 1917. During World War I, he was among the founders of the Jewish Legion and of the American Jewish Congress...
, was mainly built from materials transported by trains using the valley railway. For that purpose, a minor extension was constructed from the main route to the construction site. In 1932, the railway was used to transport the concrete needed to build the Mosul-Haifa oil pipeline
Mosul-Haifa oil pipeline
Mosul-Haifa oil pipeline led crude oil from the oil fields in Kirkuk, located in north Iraq, through Jordan to Haifa, and was active in the years 1935-1948. The oil line's length was about 942 km, and it took about 10 days to move oil from start to finish...
- 38,000 tons of concrete were transported and laid on a 200 km route.
The Jewish sector in Mandate Palestine was the other main user of the railway, which allowed it to build new villages in relatively remote areas in the Jezreel Valley
Jezreel Valley
-Etymology:The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city of Jezreel which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley, though some scholars think that the name of the city originates from the name of the clan which founded it, and whose existence is mentioned in...
. The Jewish Tower and stockade
Tower and stockade
Tower and stockade was a settlement method used by Zionist settlers in the British Mandate of Palestine during the 1936–39 Arab revolt, when the establishment of new Jewish settlements was restricted by the Mandatory authorities...
organization extensively used the line to quickly bring vast amounts of construction materials to various sites to quickly establish new homes. This prompted the quick growth of the Jewish population in the area, which also used the railway as a passenger line.
The kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
im in the area also used the railway to their economic advantage. In 1922, Deganya asked for a special wagon to transport its dairy products to Haifa in the late night hours. Permission was granted, and gave Deganya and other kibbutzim access to other parts of the country and the world for export.
Security
As the Jezreel Valley railway became more and more important, so did it become a more lucrative target for criminal and terrorist gangs in the area. Initially, attacks were mostly limited to raids by BedouinBedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
gangs, and were comparatively a minor nuisance. However, with the outbreak of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, organized attacks and bombings began taking place, severely disrupting operations on the valley line, as well as other lines in Mandate Palestine.
A few months after the outbreak of hostilities, the Notrim
Notrim
The Notrim were a Jewish Police Force set up by the British in the Mandatory Palestine in 1936 to help defend Jewish lives and property during the 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. The force was divided into Supernumerary Police and highly mobile Settlement Police...
police organization was founded, and hundreds of Jewish youth were recruited. In 1938, a regiment of the organization was dirverted to protecting the railways of Palestine, known as the P.P.R.D. (Palestine Police Railway Department), or simply the Railway Guard (Mishmar HaRakevet)/Railway Corps (Heil HaRakevet) in Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
. The guard consisted of over 700 Jewish policemen who underwent special training in the Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
.
The first line protected by the guard was the Lod
Lod
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...
–Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
line, which suffered the most, although other lines were integrated later, including the valley line. The policemen erected watchtowers and conducted frequent patrols in search of the guerillas. Two designated armored train cars were built for the guard by the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, which could move faster than conventional trains, and in both directions. The Railway Guard sometimes took with them prominent Arab leaders on the patrols, in order to insure that the policemen were not harmed by the Arab gangs.
The Railway Guard's success prompted their stationing in other strategic locations, such as the Haifa Port. They continued serving in that capacity even during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when the valley railway was fully operational and supported the British war effort.
Stations
There were 8 stations in the original line and numerous stations were added later. The stations are listed from west to east.- Haifa Station
The Haifa Railway Station was the western terminus of the line. The cornerstone for its construction was laid on July 16, 1905, just one day before the inception of the new railroad. The architectural style was similar to that of railway station in southern Germany at the time. The Haifa station was the only railway station in the world, serving the lines of 3 continents - Africa and Europe (by the coastal railway), and Asia (by the Hejaz railway).
On September 20, 1946, the station was bombed by the Irgun
Irgun
The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...
, and only the eastern hall of the station survived. It was later renamed to Haifa East Railway Station, following the construction of the Haifa Center Railway Station in 1937.
This is the only station of the valley railway still used today, being also located on the main railway line of Israel Railways
Israel Railways
Israel Railways is the principal passenger railway operating company in Israel, and is responsible for all inter-city and suburban rail way passenger and freight traffic in the country. All its lines are standard gauge. The network is centered in Israel's densely populated coastal plain, from...
, although it does not serve as a stop for passenger trains. The Israel Railway Museum
Israel Railway Museum
Israel Railway Museum is the national railway museum of Israel, located in Haifa. The railway museum is owned by Israel Railways and is at the now closed Haifa East Railway Station.-Features:...
is located near the station.
- Balad ash-Sheikh Station
Distance from Haifa: 4.5 km
The Balad ash-Sheikh Railway Station, also known as Tel Hanan, was built in 1904 as the second station in the original valley line, and named after Balad ash-Sheikh
Balad ash-Sheikh
Balad al-Sheikh or Balad ash-Shaykh is a former Palestinian village located just north of Mount Carmel, southeast of Haifa. Currently the town's land is located within the jurisdiction of the Israeli city, Nesher.-History:...
, the Arab village next to it.
In 1913, the Ottomans built an extension of the valley line to Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
, with this station serving as terminus. When the Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
attacked the village of Balad ash-Sheikh on the night of December 30, 1947 – January 1, 1948, an attacker named Hanan Zelinger was killed in the operation. A Jewish village, Tel Hanan, was built there in his name.
- Nesher Station
The Nesher Railway Station was founded in 1925, the same year as the city Nesher
Nesher
Nesher is a city in the Haifa District of Israel. In 2011, Nesher had a population of 23,000. The mayor of Nesher is David Amar.-Etymology:...
, which stands on the location today. Originally, the station was freight-only and intended for the efficient transportation of malt beer
Malt beer
Malt beer is a beverage made from barley malt syrup, sugar, water, yeast and hops. It is very popular in Israel where it is called "בירה שחורה" . Malt beer has a negligible alcohol content. It is sometimes called Malta or Wheat Soda...
produced in the Nesher Factory to Haifa.
The station was opened after the British finished converting the Haifa–Nesher part of the valley railway to the standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
, which allowed the Nesher station to become part of the nationwide rail system.
- Yagur Station
This station was built in the 1920s to serve the residents of Yagur
Yagur
Yagur is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located on the slopes of Mount Carmel about 9 km southeast of Haifa, it is one of the two largest kibbutzim in the country, with a population of 1,124 in 2008. It falls under the jurisdiction of Zevulun Regional Council....
, a kibbutz. The station's single stone structure stands to this day and is used for storage.
- Elro'i Station
This station, also called Al Roy in English, was built next to the Kishon River
Kishon River
The Kishon River is a river in Israel that flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the city of Haifa.- Course :The Kishon River is a 70-km-long perennial stream in Israel...
(a wadi
Wadi
Wadi is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some cases, it may refer to a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream.-Variant names:...
) to serve the residents of the moshav
Moshav
Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
Elro'i, today part of Kiryat Tiv'on. Originally, it was a simple wooden construction, similar to a bus stop. Later, it was converted into a small brick shed. The shed was later renovated by the residents of Elro'i.
- Kiryat Haroshet Station
Similar to the Elro'i station, Kiryat Haroshet was a small shed meant only to protect passengers from rough weather conditions. It was built by the British upon request from the residents of the area, even though the distance between it and the Elro'i station is less than 1 km. Today, Kiryat Haroshet is also part of the town Kiryat Tiv'on.
- Kfar Yehoshu'a Station
Distance from Haifa: 21.8 km
The Kfar Yehoshu'a Railway Station, initially Tel ash-Shamam, was the 3rd original station of the line. The station was built in an empty area, at the time filled with swampland, and served as a service station for locomotives. The station consisted of 8 buildings in the German style, which stand to this day.
In 2005, as part of the 100-year celebration of the Jezreel Valley railway, the station underwent a renovation, and 1950s wooden cars were placed in it. There are plans to open a railway museum on its grounds, and renovate old train cars used on the railway.
- Kfar Baruch Station
This station was built in 1926 for the residents of the moshav Kfar Baruch, to the north of the village. It was a simple shack for awaiting passengers and had neither a ticket salesman, nor tickets printed for the station. Therefore, the residents had to haggle with the ticket salesman on the train in hopes of being let in. Today, the station is complete destroyed.
- Afula Station
Distance from Haifa: 36.4
The Afula Railway Station was the fourth original station in the valley line. It was named after the Arab village there, al-Fuleh, until the Jewish town Afula
Afula
Afula is a city in the North District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley", referring to the Jezreel Valley. The city had a population of 40,500 at the end of 2009.-History:...
was founded there in 1925. The station was an important crossroads and served as a terminus for the Afula–Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
extension of the valley line, which started operations to Jenin
Jenin
Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
in 1913.
The station prompted the quick growth of al-Puleh/Afula, and various civilian and military installation were built in its vicinity, including a regional post office that served the entire Jezreel Valley
Jezreel Valley
-Etymology:The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city of Jezreel which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley, though some scholars think that the name of the city originates from the name of the clan which founded it, and whose existence is mentioned in...
built in 1922.
On November 1, 1945, the station was destroyed as part of the Night of the Trains
Night of the Trains
The Night of the Trains was a sabotage operation of the British railroads in Palestine on November 1, 1945...
by the Jewish Resistance Movement, and has not been used since. A museum was built on the grounds of the station, commemorating the history of the Jezreel Valley railway.
- Ein Harod Station
Ein Harod
Ein Harod
Ein Harod was a kibbutz in Israel. It was located in northern Israel near Mount Gilboa. It is notable for being built near the battlefield of Ayn Jalut , a battle of huge macro-historical importance where the Mongols were defeated for the first time, in 1260.-History:The kibbutz was founded by...
was the first kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
founded in the Jezreel Valley (1921), and with it the small railway station. The station was called Ein Harod even after the workers of the kibbutz copied all their residences to a nearby hill in 1927. Only many years later, after a new station was created for Ein Harod (see Tel Yosef Station), the station was renamed. Initially, it was renamed to Yehezkeliya for the nearby moshav
Moshav
Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
Kfar Yehezkel
Kfar Yehezkel
Kfar Yehezkel is a moshav ovdim in northern Israel. It is located in the Jezreel Valley, six kilometres southeast of Afula. It is under the jurisdiction of the Gilboa Regional Council. In 2007, the moshav had a population of 755.-History:...
, but due to pressure from kibbutz Geva
Geva
-External links:*...
, the station eventually took on the kibbutz's name.
- Tel Yosef Station
This station was a small shed, built for the residents of the new Ein Harod, and for Tel Yosef. It was located next to the road junction leading to the kibbutzim. Today, nothing remains of the station.
- Shata Station
This station served the residents of Beit HaShita
Beit Hashita
Beit HaShita is a kibbutz between Afula and Beit She'an, Israel founded on 4 December 1928 by members of "Kvuzat HaHugim" and members of "Tnuat HaMahanot HaOlim" from Haifa and Jerusalem. The kibbutz was named after the biblical town of the same name, where the Midianites fled after being beaten...
, and named after the Arab name for the location. Several stone structures were built for the station, and the largest of them can be found today within the Shata Prison.
During the British Mandate period, a Tegart fort
Tegart fort
A Tegart fort is a style of militarized police "fortress" constructed throughout Palestine during the British Mandatory period.The forts are named after British police officer and engineer Sir Charles Tegart, who designed them in 1938 based on his experiences in the Indian insurgency.Tens of the...
encompassing the entire station was built, and later converted into the Shata Prison by the Israel Prison Service
Israel Prison Service
The Israel Prison Service , commonly known in Israel by its acronym Shabas , is the prison service of Israel. It is responsible for maintaining civilian prisons in Israel, as well as detention centers for security prisoners. It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Security...
.
In 2003, the station's structures were renovated by the prisoners in Shata. These renovations were not according to the original architectural design, but no major damage was done to the station. Until then, the station served as the prison's carperntry, but since the refurbishment, it is used for offices and storage.
- HaSade Station
This station served the residents of Sde Nahum
Sde Nahum
Sde Nahum is a kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley in northern Israel. Located around 4 km northwest of Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council...
(originally called Kibbutz HaSade). The station was created in 1934 for the residents of the village, who feared using the Arab Beisan station during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. This 'station' consisted only of a trilingual sign, without any structures.
- Beit She'an Station
Distance from Haifa: 59.3 km
The Beit She'an Railway Station (originally Beisan) was the fifth original station and specifically ordered by the Turkish sultan, in hopes of raising property value in the area and hence tax value. However, only upon Jewish settlement in the area, did it finally see the desired growth.
In 2006, the municipality of Beit She'an decided to renovate the station's abandoned structures. A new passenger station will be built at the site by 2016 as part of the reconstruction of the Valley line.
- Beit Yosef Station
This station was built in 1937 for the residents of the moshav Beit Yosef. After it fell into disuse with the closure of the line, any structures on the station's grounds were razed and the exact location is unknown today.
- Gesher Station
The Gesher Railway Station (also Gesher Nehalim) was the 6th station in the original line, and served mainly the residents of Gesher and Menahemiya. It was located next to the Mujami Bridge, which when intact was the lowest railway bridge in the world at 257.5 m below sea level.
Today, the remnants of the bridge, destroyed on May 14, 1948, as well as two wooden train cars can be seen from the Gesher kibbutz, beyond the border fence although technically on Israeli territory.
- Naharayim Station
The Naharayim station was constructed near the Naharayim Power Station built by Pinhas Rutenberg
Pinhas Rutenberg
Pinhas Rutenberg was a prominent engineer and a businessman, a Russian socialist and a Zionist leader. He played an active role in two Russian revolutions, in 1905 and 1917. During World War I, he was among the founders of the Jewish Legion and of the American Jewish Congress...
in the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
architectural style. After the 1949 Armistice Agreements
1949 Armistice Agreements
The 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel and neighboring Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The agreements ended the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and established armistice lines between Israeli forces and the forces in...
, the area of Naharayim was ceded to Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
and today, the remnants of the station are located on the Peace Island
Peace Island
The Island of Peace is an Israeli-Jordanian park at the confluence of the Jordan River and Yarmouk River, on the border between Israel and Jordan....
within the borders of Jordan.
- al-Dalhamiyya Station
This station was created to serve the Arab village of al-Dalhamiyya
Al-Dalhamiyya
Al-Dalhamiyya was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Tiberias. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on April 15, 1948 under Operation Gideon. It was located 14 km south of Tiberias, situated on the north bank of the Yarmuk River, on the...
. With the founding of kibbutz Ashdot Ya'akov
Ashdot Ya'akov
Ashdot Ya'akov was a kibbutz in northern Israel. It was founded in 1924 by a kvutza of Hashomer members from Latvia on the land which is today Gesher...
in 1935, it began also serving the residents of the kibbutz. Like the HaSade station, this 'station' was merely a trilingual sign where trains stopped.
- Arlosorow Halt Station
The Arlosorow Halt Station was named after the prominent Zionist Haim Arlosoroff. It was built in 1937 and served the kibbutzim Masada and Sha'ar HaGolan, which were also founded in memory of Arlosoroff. This station replaced the temporary Jordan Valley Station, and a tin shack was created to protect passengers from harsh weather conditions. Today, nothing remains of this station.
- Jordan Valley Station
This was a temporary station created in 1936 in light of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, to allow the Jewish residents of the Jordan Valley
Jordan Valley (Middle East)
The Jordan Valley forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. It is 120 kilometers long and 15 kilometers wide, where it runs from Lake Tiberias in the north to northern Dead Sea in the south. It runs for an additional 155 kilometer south of the Dead Sea to Aqaba, an area also known as Wadi...
to travel safely without going through the Arab Samakh (Tzemah) station. The station, which was funded by the Jews in the area, sported a single small sign. It was cancelled following the inception of the Arlosorow Halt.
- Tzemah Station
Distance from Haifa: 86.9 km
The Tzemah Railway Station (originally Samakh) was the seventh of the eight original stations on the valley line. It served the village of Samakh, inhabited mostly by settled Bedouins. The station facilitated the growth of the village, which reached an Arab population of 3,460. A quay was built near the station, on the Sea of Galilee
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is approximately in circumference, about long, and wide. The lake has a total area of , and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m...
, for moving freight from the railway to Tiberias.
The station was damaged during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, in the Battles of the Kinarot Valley
Battles of the Kinarot Valley
The Battles of the Kinarot Valley , is a collective name for a series of military engagements between the Haganah and the Syrian army during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, fought between May 15–22, 1948 in the Kinarot Valley. It includes two main sites: the Battle of Degania–Tzemah, and battles near...
. Starting in 2011, the station is undergoing extensive restoration work.
- al-Hamma Station
Distance from Haifa: 95.3 km
The al-Hamma
Al-Hamma, Tiberias
Al-Hamma is a depopulated Palestinian Arab village in the District of Tiberias, 12 km southeast of Tiberias. Situated on a narrow strip of land in the Yarmouk valley, it was one of the stations on the Jezreel Valley railway, linking the Hejaz Railway to Haifa.-History:The Old Testament...
(now Hamat Gader
Hamat Gader
Hamat Gader is a site in the Yarmouk River valley, near the Sea of Galilee in the Golan Heights. The name means "hot springs of Gadara", referring to the several mineral springs with temperatures up to 50°C...
) Station was the eighth and last of the original station on the valley line. While located within the borders of what was then defined as Palestine, it was relatively isolated, and could not serve as a major transportation hub and gateway to Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, a function which was performed by the Tzemah Station.
The station was built near the Roman bath house
Public bathing
Public baths originated from a communal need for cleanliness. The term public may confuse some people, as some types of public baths are restricted depending on membership, gender, religious affiliation, or other reasons. As societies have changed, public baths have been replaced as private bathing...
s of al-Hamma, and included several stone structures. These also served as the residence for the founder of kibbutz Mevo Hama
Mevo Hama
Mevo Hama is an Israeli settlement and a kibbutz, on the southern Golan Heights. The southernmost village in the Golan, it is located from the Sea of Galilee at a height of above sea level. It falls under the jurisdiction of Golan Regional Council...
, who renovated the bath houses.
Today, the station is located in Israel, near the Syrian border, and its structures are used for a fish farm
Fish farming
Fish farming is the principal form of aquaculture, while other methods may fall under mariculture. Fish farming involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food. A facility that releases young fish into the wild for recreational fishing or to supplement a species'...
. A tin sign can still be seen bearing the name of the station.
Current status and future plans
The Jezreel Valley railway fell into disrepair after the founding of the State of Israel, and as the years progressed, the chances of renovating the line diminished even further. The fact that the line was the only narrow gauge line in Israel meant that its rolling stock was incompatible with the rest of Israel Railways' network, a fact which greatly contributed to the line's demise. The significant cost to convert the line to standard gaugeStandard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
was considered too prohibitive to be carried out in the early days of the state. Since then there have been several attempts to rebuild the railway along approximately the same route.
In 1988, a decision was passed to renew the Jezreel Valley railway, and plans were made to alter the historical route to conform to new realities on the ground in several points on the route. However, it was not until ten years later, in 1998, that a survey of the land was made to inspect its suitability for a modern railway line, which was also not immediately used. Several years later, major foreign investment began flowing into the country following the worldwide early 2000s recession
Early 2000s recession
The early 2000s recession was a decline in economic activity which occurred mainly in developed countries. The recession affected the European Union mostly during 2000 and 2001 and the United States mostly in 2002 and 2003. The UK, Canada and Australia avoided the recession for the most part, while...
, which prompted resuming discussions about renewing the valley railway which has regional importance for transporting goods to/from parts of Israel and Jordan via rail links for export/import through Israeli seaports on the Mediterranean sea.
On October 28, 2002, the Transportation Ministry of Israel and the minister Ephraim Sneh announced in a press release that Israel Railways
Israel Railways
Israel Railways is the principal passenger railway operating company in Israel, and is responsible for all inter-city and suburban rail way passenger and freight traffic in the country. All its lines are standard gauge. The network is centered in Israel's densely populated coastal plain, from...
started extensive planning of the valley line's renovation, at a cost of NIS 40 million for the planning stage, and an additional NIS 1 billion to be appropriated later for the construction itself. The railway would connect Haifa with the Sheikh Hussein Bridge on the Jordan River, on a 74 km route. It would later be extended by Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
to Irbid
Irbid
Irbid , known in ancient times as Arabella or Arbela , is the capital and largest city of the Irbid Governorate. It also has the second largest metropolitan population in Jordan after Amman, with a population of around 660,000, and is located about 70 km north of Amman on the northern ridge of...
. The original planned completion date was the second half of 2007.
In 2003, the new Minister of Transportation Avigdor Lieberman announced that in July 2005, work would start on the renewal of the line. Plans for a national infrastructure project were presented which would further alter the rail route, due to changes on the ground since the 1988 plans. These changes included relocating the Afula section to a partially-underground route between Afula and Afula Illit, instead of its previous location in the very center of the city. By the end of 2005, many of the plans were approved by the Construction and Planning Committees, which called for the completion of the line by 2010. Five stations were approved: Haifa East, Nesher, Kfar Yehoshua (in a different location from the historical one), Afula and Beit She'an. Israel Railways also proposed a completely new route to connect the Beit She'an station to Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, via the Sheikh Hussein bridge, as well as a future revival of the historical extension to Jenin
Jenin
Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
to serve the Palestinian Authority.
However, work did not start in 2003. In November 2005, there was still no progress to be seen, and the extensive planning was not fully completed. In a press release on November 30, 2005, Transportation Minister Meir Sheetrit
Meir Sheetrit
Meir Sheetrit is a Moroccan-born Israeli politician. He is currently a member of the Knesset for Kadima. He has served as Minister of the Interior, Minister of Housing & Construction, Minister of Finance, Minister of Justice, Minister of Transportation and Minister of Education, Culture &...
announced that he was considering connecting Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
and Migdal HaEmek to the planned valley railway, and that the railway would be completed in 2008–09 (starting construction in 2006). The original plans to build a full dual-track railway in the initial phase were scrapped in favor of single-track for most of the route (between Nesher
Nesher
Nesher is a city in the Haifa District of Israel. In 2011, Nesher had a population of 23,000. The mayor of Nesher is David Amar.-Etymology:...
and Beit She'an). On February 22, 2006, Israel Railways and the Nature and Parks Authority
Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority is a government organization in Israel that manages the country's nature reserves and national parks...
transferred 1,500 endangered geophytes from the route of the railway.
Although the atmosphere remained optimistic, and some Israeli railway maps labeled the line as 'under construction', actual work had yet to begin on the valley railway (besides preliminary design work and right-of-way purchases). On February 24, 2010 the Israeli government voted to appropriate the sum of NIS 3.5 billion (since then raised to 4.1 billion, equivalent to about US$1.15 billion) for the detailed design and construction of the railway between Haifa and Beit Shea'an beginning in 2011. On March 7, 2011 the National Roads Authority
National Roads Company of Israel
The National Roads Company of Israel , also called National Roads Authority, is a government-owned corporation, in charge of planning, construction and maintenance of most road infrastructure in Israel, including roads, bridges and interchanges....
, which is in charge of managing the project, published a design-build
Design-Build
Design-build is a project delivery system used in the construction industry. It is a method to deliver a project in which the design and construction services are contracted by a single entity known as the design–builder or design–build contractor...
tender for a 6.5 km section of the line near Afula. This is the first of a dozen tenders which the authority will publish through mid-2012 for the railway and five stations with overall completion of construction expected in 2016. The railway will terminate in Beit Shea'an and the extension to the border crossing at the Sheikh Hussein bridge is planned at a later stage.