![Jerusalem Railway Station2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Jerusalem_Railway_Station2.jpg)
The Jaffa–Jerusalem railway (also J & J)
is a
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
that connected
Jaffa
Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
and
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. The line was built in the
Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem
The Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem ( ota, مُتَصَرِّف قدسی مُتَصَرِّفلغ, ; ar, متصرفية القدس الشريف, ), also known as the Sanjak of Jerusalem, was an Ottoman district with special administrative status ...
(
Ottoman Syria
Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and south ...
) by the French company ''Société du Chemin de Fer Ottoman de Jaffa à Jérusalem et Prolongements'' and inaugurated in 1892. The project was headed by
Joseph Navon
Yosef Navon (; 1858–1934) was a Jerusalem businessman and the man principally responsible for the construction of the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway. For his effort, Navon was awarded the Légion d'honneur from the French government, and the Medjidie ...
, an Ottoman Jewish entrepreneur from Jerusalem, after previous attempts by the British-Jewish philanthropist
Sir Moses Montefiore
Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, philanthropist and Sheriff of London. Born to an Italian Sephardic Jewish family based in London, afte ...
failed. While the first rail track in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
was laid elsewhere, the line is considered to be the first Middle Eastern railway.
The railway was originally built in , later
rebuilt
''Rebuilt'' is the second and final studio album by the American girl group Girlicious. The album was released on November 22, 2010, by Universal Music Canada. The album draws from the dance-pop genre while infusing hints of R&B. Production init ...
to and then to . The line was operated by the French, the Ottomans and after
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the British. After its closure in 1948, it was re-opened by
Israel Railways
Israel Railways Ltd. , dba Israel Railways ( he, רַכֶּבֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Rakevet Yisra'el''), is the state-owned principal railway company responsible for all inter-city, commuter, and freight rail transport in Israel. Isra ...
in 1949 as the Tel Aviv – Jerusalem railway,
although since 2019 this designation is instead used to refer to the
Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway
The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway (also higher-speed railway to Jerusalem, Plan A1, and Railway 29) is a railway line connecting the city of Tel Aviv in Israel with Jerusalem. The line serves as the main rail link between Tel Aviv and Jerus ...
– an electrified dual-track railway line constructed during the 21st century that employs extensive bridging and tunneling along a faster, more direct route between the two cities.
History
Early proposals
Sir Moses Montefiore
Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, philanthropist and Sheriff of London. Born to an Italian Sephardic Jewish family based in London, afte ...
spoke of establishing a railway between
Jaffa
Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
and Jerusalem in 1838. He met with
Culling Eardley
Sir Culling Eardley Eardley, 3rd Baronet (''né'' Smith; 21 April 1805 – 21 May 1863) was a British Christian campaigner for religious freedom and for the Protestant cause, one of the founders of the Evangelical Alliance.
Early life
Born in Lon ...
, who was also interested in the project, but stated that he would not be part of it if religious institutions would be involved.
In 1856, he contacted the British prime minister,
Lord Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...
, and discussed the construction of a railway.
Temple supported the plan, commenting that it would benefit both Britain and Turkey. A meeting was organized with the Ottoman
Grand Vizier
Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...
Aali Pasha upon his visit to London on May 20, 1856, where an agreement on the principles was signed. As a result,
Laurence Oliphant, an author and businessman who became a Member of Parliament in 1865, also put his force behind the project. On December 8, 1856, Count
Paweł Strzelecki
Sir Paweł Edmund Strzelecki (;By Australian English speakers: pɔːl strʌzlɛki (paul struhzLECKi). 20 July 17976 October 1873), also known as Paul Edmund de Strzelecki and Sir Paul Strzelecki, was a Polish explorer, geologist, humanitarian ...
, also involved in the project, sent a message from Istanbul that the Ottoman government was not willing to provide land for the construction, and the project withered.
In 1856, General
Francis Rawdon Chesney
Francis Rawdon Chesney (16 March 1789 – 30 January 1872) was a British general and explorer.
Life
He was a son of Captain Alexander Chesney, an Irishman of Scottish descent who, having emigrated to South Carolina in 1772, served under Lo ...
traveled to Palestine to survey the land for a railway in the company of Sir John McNeil, a railway expert.
After examining two possible routes, he deemed a rail line to Jerusalem too expensive, estimating construction costs at 4,000–4,500 pounds per kilometer. McNeil then proposed a short line from Jaffa to
Lydda
Lod ( he, לוד, or fully vocalized ; ar, اللد, al-Lidd or ), also known as Lydda ( grc, Λύδδα), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Sheph ...
only, and a
macadam road from there to Jerusalem (which would cost only 150 pounds per kilometer).
Chesney did not give up, contacting Sir Arthur Slade, a general in the Ottoman army, who supported the plan for a railway in what is today Iraq. Slade opposed a Jaffa–Jerusalem line, which he believed would benefit England and be against Turkey's interests. Although Montefiore was involved in it, nothing came of Chesney's initiative.
According to another account, Montefiore backed out of the project when Culling Eardley reiterated during a meeting that the railway would serve Christian missionary activity.
On his fifth visit to the Holy Land in 1857, Montefiore brought with him a British railway engineer who proposed the construction of the railway along the
Refa'im Stream The Valley of Rephaim ( he, עמק רפאים, ''Emeq Rephaim'') (; , R.V.) or Valley of the Rephaim,Jerusalem Bible (1966) adds "the": 1 Chronicles 14:9 is a valley descending southwest from Jerusalem to Nahal Sorek below, it is an ancient route fr ...
, to reduce construction costs and to allow the railway to be close to a source of water. He lost interest in the project in 1862, however, when his wife died on
Rosh HaShana
Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...
.
In 1864, the German-American engineer
Charles Frederick Zimpel
Charles Friedrich Zimpel (December 11, 1801 - June 26, 1879) was a German architect who designed buildings in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. from 1830 to 1837; and later, in 1864, the plan for the Jaffa to Jerusalem railway line. In particular, he de ...
proposed building several railways in the Syrian province (including Palestine) to the Ottoman authorities, that would allow the start of construction if Zimpel would be able to gather the necessary funds within half a year.
In 1865 Zimpel published a pamphlet with his own survey of the region, including a French-language map of the planned route, which was very similar to the route used today.
The main differences were two sections near Jaffa and Ramla, changed from the original plan for convenience, that lengthened the line by about 6.5 km. Zimpel spent a year in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
attempting to gain a concession for the railway's construction, to no avail.
The German architect and city engineer
Conrad Schick
Conrad Schick (1822–1901) was a German architect, archaeologist and Protestant missionary who settled in Jerusalem in the mid-nineteenth century.Perry & Yodim (2004) For many decades he was head of the "House of Industry" at the Christ Church, ...
, a Jerusalem resident, later published a similar booklet, where he also detailed his own proposal for a railway, which called for a line through
Ramallah
Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...
and
Beit Horon
Beit Horon ( he, בֵּית חוֹרוֹן) is a communal Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Bordering Route 443 between Modi'in and Jerusalem, the biblical pass of Beit Horon (Joshua 10:10), after which it is named, it falls under the juris ...
.
A route along the lines of Schick's plan was for a long time considered the most viable, and French engineers conducted an extensive survey to that end in 1874–75.
The concept of a railway to Jerusalem was also thought of by the American writer
James T. Barclay; he envisioned a line from
el-Arish
ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh ( ar, العريش ' , ''Hrinokorura'') is the capital and largest city (with 164,830 inhabitants ) of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the entire Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Medite ...
,
Askalon or
Gaza.
Another proposal was made by the engineer Humann, who surveyed the area suggested in 1864 that it would be wise to create a railway to Jerusalem.
Because of perceived British interest in the project,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Austro-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
also became interested. The Ottoman Empire rejected Montefiore's plan on the assumption that it would mainly serve Christian missionary interests. Nevertheless, the local press reported on the proposed railway in 1872 and praised the Turkish Sultan for his efforts to promote its construction.
The original failure of the Western powers to construct the railway is attributed to the unwillingness of the respective Western governments to allocate funds for the project, despite their political interest.
Financing
The man principally responsible for actually constructing the railroad was
Yosef Navon, a Jewish entrepreneur from Jerusalem.
Navon began to investigate the possibility of constructing a railway in 1885.
His advantage over earlier proposers of a railway was that as an Ottoman subject. Navon's chief partners and endorsers included his cousin
Joseph Amzalak, the Greek Lebanese engineer
George Franjieh, and the Swiss Protestant banker
Johannes Frutiger.
Navon spent three years in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
to promote the project and obtain a permit from the Ottoman Empire. On October 28, 1888, he received a 71-year concession (''
firman
A firman ( fa, , translit=farmân; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods they were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The word firman com ...
'') from the Ottoman authorities that also gave him permission to extend the line to
Gaza and
Nablus
Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
.
He also paid 5,000
Turkish lira
The lira ( tr, Türk lirası; sign: ₺; ISO 4217 code: TRY; abbreviation: TL) is the official currency of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. One lira is divided into one hundred ''kuruş''.
History
Ottoman lira (1844–1923)
The lira, along with t ...
to the Ottomans, and agreed to receive no financial guarantees.
Lacking the capital to proceed, Navon went to Europe in 1889 to find a buyer for the concession, and failed to do so both in England and Germany.
Bernard Camille Collas, a French lighthouse inspector, bought it for a million francs (40,000 pounds). On December 29, 1889, the Jaffa to Jerusalem Railway Company (''Société du Chemin de Fer Ottoman de Jaffa à Jérusalem et Prolongements'') was founded in Paris with Collas as the first director.
The total share capital was four million francs in 8,000 shares.
Navon sat on the
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
, which mostly consisted of French investors.
The company raised 14 million francs, of them 9,795,000 francs (390,000 pounds) from Christian religious followers.
Construction was carried out by the Parisian Company for Public Works and Construction (''Société des Travaux Publiques et Constructions''), at a cost of 10 million francs (400,000 pounds), and was to be completed by April 1, 1893.
Gerold Eberhard, from Switzerland, was selected to be the chief engineer for the project.
While the railway was considered a rare collaboration between Jews, Catholics and Protestants (J. Frutiger),
Jewish publications expressed concerns that the line was not serving Jewish interests. A prominent European Jew, H. Guedella, wrote in ''
The Jewish Chronicle
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' that the line was funded by "extreme orthodox Catholics", and the Hebrew newspaper ''
Havatzelet'' reported a disappointment that no Jewish backers for the line had been found.
When the project ran out of money, Navon secured more funds from investors in Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. However, by 1892 the line's shares dropped below their nominal value. He tried to raise more funds, including from
Theodor Herzl
Theodor Herzl; hu, Herzl Tivadar; Hebrew name given at his brit milah: Binyamin Ze'ev (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish lawyer, journalist, playwright, political activist, and writer who was the father of modern p ...
, although the latter was not interested and wrote that it was a "wretched little line from Jaffa to Jerusalem
hich
Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
was of course quite inadequate for our needs."
Construction
![Jafa Station1891](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Jafa_Station1891.jpg)
The groundbreaking ceremony took place on March 31, 1890, in
Yazur
Yazur ( ar, يازور, he, יאזור) was a Palestinian Arab town located east of Jaffa. Mentioned in 7th century BCE Assyrian texts, the village was a site of contestation between Muslims and Crusaders in the 12th-13th centuries.
During t ...
, attended by the governor of Palestine,
Ibrahim Hakkı Pasha, the Grand Mufti of Gaza, Navon, Frutiger, etc.
The track was chosen to be of , similarly to French minor railways, and was brought in from France and the Belgian manufacturer Angleur.
According to the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
, the materials for the railroad, as well as the
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...
, were bought from the Panama Canal Company owned by
Ferdinand de Lesseps
Ferdinand Marie, Comte de Lesseps (; 19 November 1805 – 7 December 1894) was a French diplomat and later developer of the Suez Canal, which in 1869 joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas, substantially reducing sailing distances and times ...
,
although the stamps on the rails suggest that they were created in Belgium, which, according to Anthony S. Travis, disproves the Panama Canal theory. A short gauge section, as well as a meter gauge section with a pier, was laid between the
Port of Jaffa and the Jaffa Station to easily transport materials from the harbor to the railway.
Engineers were brought from Switzerland, Poland, Italy and Austria, while construction workers were brought mostly from Egypt, Sudan and Algiers. Native Palestinian Arabs were also heavily involved in the work, although many were farmers and worked only during certain seasons. Stonemasons from
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
and
Beit Jala helped construction in the Judean hills. Despite receiving medical treatment, a considerable number of workers died of
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
,
scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...
,
dysentery
Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
and other diseases.
More died of construction accidents, including the process of cutting through rocks on the approach to Jerusalem.
Numerous bridges were built along the line. The shorter ones were of stone, while six of the seven longer ones were iron, supplied by the
Eiffel company.
Water for the railway's operation was taken from wells in Jaffa, Ramla and Bittir, and a spring at Sejed. Bittir also supplied the Jerusalem station with water.
The first test run was made on the railway in October 1890, an event that was attended by some 10,000 onlookers—more than half of the population of Jaffa. The locomotive was a
Baldwin 2-6-0, one of the first three built for the line, and carried the American and French flags.
The Jaffa–Ramla section was fully opened to the public on May 24, 1891, and a further section to
Dayr Aban
Dayr Aban (also spelled Deir Aban; ar, دير آبان) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Jerusalem Subdistrict, located on the lower slope of a high ridge that formed the western slope of a mountain, to the east of Beit Shemesh. It was fo ...
was opened on December 4 of the same year.
In Jaffa and Jerusalem, the French railway company sought to build the stations as close as possible to the old cities, while the Ottoman authorities prevented them from doing so, resulting the terminuses' relative distance (for the time) from the city centers.
Despite this, the land that the stations were built on was purchased at very high prices by the railway company.
The first train reached Jerusalem on August 21, but the tracks immediately near the station had not yet been completed.
The first passenger trip between the Jaffa and Jerusalem stations took place on August 27.
Building the railway was a very ambitious undertaking under local conditions. Hundreds of tons of rails were brought from Belgium, coal from Britain and rolling stock from France.
Unloading these materials in Jaffa's primitive harbor was an immense challenge. A report in Railway Magazine of 1902 said:
Vale also wrote that the
sleepers
''Sleepers'' is a 1996 American legal crime drama film written, produced, and directed by Barry Levinson, and based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's 1995 book of the same name. The film stars Kevin Bacon, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Dustin H ...
were made of
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
, laid 50 cm apart, and were 22 cm-wide. The rails weighed 20
kilogram
The kilogram (also kilogramme) is the unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), having the unit symbol kg. It is a widely used measure in science, engineering and commerce worldwide, and is often simply called a kilo colloquially ...
s per meter and were fastened to the sleepers with
spikes
The SPIKES protocol is a method used in clinical medicine to break bad news to patients and families. As receiving bad news can cause distress and anxiety, clinicians need to deliver the news carefully. By using the SPIKES method for introducing a ...
.
1892–1914
The line officially opened on September 26, 1892.
The length of the journey was approximately 3.5
–6 hours, about equal to the same trip on a carriage, and contrary to the original plan, which envisioned a 3-hour trip.
Even so, the opening event received media coverage worldwide.
Yosef Navon, who had already been awarded the
French Legion of Honor
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
for his involvement in the railway,
received a Turkish medal, and in 1895 or 1896—the title of
Bey
Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...
.
In 1892, the railway posted a financial deficit, with daily gains being about 20% lower than the daily construction expenditures. Freight income made up for about two thirds of the total.
The investors and companies involved in the project were facing difficulties, especially Frutiger's bank, which caused the elimination of Navon's investments. Tourist traffic was lower than expected, and maintenance problems arose.
The trip time was often extended to 6 hours, which only allowed one train per direction per day. A Jerusalem–Jaffa train left in the morning, and returned to Jerusalem in the afternoon.
In ''A Practical Guide to Jerusalem and its Environs'', a guidebook written around that time, E. A. Reynolds-Ball wrote: "It requires only an ordinary amount of activity to jump out and pick the flowers along the line, and rejoin the train as it laboriously pants up the steep ascent — a feat I myself have occasionally performed."
![Jerusalem station 1890s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Jerusalem_station_1890s.jpg)
In May 1894, in light of all the problems, the Société du Chemin de Fer Ottoman de Jaffa à Jérusalem et Prolongements went through a new financing initiative and attracted numerous investors. The reorganization paved way for increased efficiency on the line and tourism increased, although Ottoman restrictions on Jewish land purchase and immigration had a negative effect on traffic. There was also a
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
outbreak that hurt tourism. Freight traffic increased by about 50% between 1893 and 1894. In 1895, improvements were made to the track and a bridge was built in Jaffa that became known as the Chelouche Bridge, on the other side of which the
Chelouche family helped found
Neve Tzedek
Neve Tzedek ( he, נְוֵה צֶדֶק, נווה צדק, ''lit.'' Abode of Justice) is a neighborhood located in southwestern Tel Aviv, Israel. It was the first Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the old city of the ancient port of Jaffa. O ...
. The railway became profitable by 1897,
however,
Selah Merrill wrote in 1898 that the line was in a state of bankruptcy. Moreover, while the traffic from Jaffa to Jerusalem was high, on the way back there were very few passengers and little freight.
Theodor Herzl
Theodor Herzl; hu, Herzl Tivadar; Hebrew name given at his brit milah: Binyamin Ze'ev (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish lawyer, journalist, playwright, political activist, and writer who was the father of modern p ...
visited Palestine in October 1898 and was not impressed by the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway. He did not consider it important to the Zionist enterprise,
although
Zalman David Levontin, another Zionist leader, did, and created a plan to purchase the railway in March 1901.
Jewish settlement in Palestine benefited the railroad in any case. Baron
Edmond de Rothschild
Baron Abraham Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild (Hebrew: הברון אברהם אדמונד בנימין ג'יימס רוטשילד - ''HaBaron Avraham Edmond Binyamin Ya'akov Rotshield''; 19 August 1845 – 2 November 1934) was a French memb ...
funded several villages along the line, which contributed to its financial development. In Jerusalem,
Boris Schatz
Boris Schatz ( he, בוריס שץ; 23 December 1866 – 23 March 1932) was a Lithuanian Jewish artist and sculptor who settled in Israel. Schatz, who became known as the "father of Israeli art," founded the Bezalel School in Jerusalem. After ...
founded an arts and crafts school in 1906 to cater to the tourists' souvenir needs,
which later became the prestigious
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design ( he, בצלאל, אקדמיה לאמנות ועיצוב) is a public college of design and art located in Jerusalem. Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz, Bezalel is Israel's oldes ...
.
![Rail ticket, Jaffa-Jerusalem Railroad - verso](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Rail_ticket%2C_Jaffa-Jerusalem_Railroad_-_verso.jpg)
The line showed an overall growth trend between 1896 and
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, impeded mainly by the
Sixth cholera pandemic
Sixth is the ordinal form of the number six.
* The Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution
* A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel
* The fraction
Music
* Sixth interval (music)s:
** major sixth, a musical interval
** minor sixth ...
which spread to Palestine in 1902 and again in 1912, and the increasingly nationalistic Ottoman authorities.
By 1903, it became clear that more locomotives were needed for the tourist seasons. The railway company ordered a
0-4-4-0 mallet locomotive
The Mallet locomotive is a type of articulated steam railway locomotive, invented by the Swiss engineer Anatole Mallet (1837–1919).
The front of the locomotive articulated on a bogie. The compound steam system fed steam at boiler pressur ...
from
Borsig Borsig is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* (1867–1897), German entrepreneur
* August Borsig (1804–1854), German businessman
* Conrad von Borsig (1873–1945), German mechanical engineer
* Ernst Borsig
Ernst August Pau ...
of Germany in 1904, which entered service in 1905. Two more came in 1908.
The last such engine, built in 1914, was likely captured by Britain during the war, and never made it to Palestine.
World War I
During the
Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I, the railway was taken over by the Turkish and German armies, which adapted it to serve their needs.
The German engineer
Heinrich August Meissner
Heinrich August Meissner (german: Heinrich August Meißner, January 3, 1862 – January 14, 1940) was a German engineer who was largely responsible for the railway network in the Ottoman Empire, and later helped manage the network in Turkey. He att ...
was put in charge of its operations.
While the Jaffa Railway Station served as a military headquarters during the war, the Ottomans did not want to expose the railway itself to British naval bombardment. In early 1915, most of the heavy machinery and equipment was moved to Jerusalem, and later in the same year the Jaffa–Lydda section was completely dismantled. Its rails and sleepers were used in the construction of the
railway to Beersheba
The Railway to Beersheba ( he, מסילת הרכבת לבאר שבע, ''Mesilat HaRakevet LiV'er Sheva'') is a railroad line that runs from central Israel to the Zin Factories ( Mount Zin) in southern Israel, with a spur to the Be'er Sheva Center R ...
. The Lydda–Jerusalem section was re-laid to gauge, and Lydda was connected to the
Hejaz railway via the
Eastern Railway and the
Tulkarm
Tulkarm, Tulkarem or Tull Keram ( ar, طولكرم, ''Ṭūlkarm'') is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located in the Tulkarm Governorate of the State of Palestine. The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian cities of N ...
branch of the
Jezreel Valley railway
The Jezreel Valley railway, or the Valley Train ( he, רַכֶּבֶת הָעֵמֶק, ''Rakevet HaEmek'' ; ar, خط سكة حديد حيفا – درعا, khaṭṭ sikkat ḥadīd Ḥayfa–Dar‘a) was a railroad that existed in Ottoman and ...
.
When the British advanced northwards in November 1917, the railway was sabotaged by Austrian saboteurs from the retreating
Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
army and most (five) of its bridges were blown up.
The Turks carried away anything that was movable, from railway cars and wooden rails to parts of the stations.
It was however still valuable to the British, as it provided the only viable link from Jerusalem to Egypt, as the roads were in disrepair.
Trestle bridge
A trestle bridge is a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by closely spaced frames. A trestle (sometimes tressel) is a rigid frame used as a support, historically a tripod used to support a stool or a pair of isosceles trian ...
s were installed instead of the destroyed iron ones,
and the first British train reached Jerusalem on December 27, 1917.
In February 1918, a
Decauville
Decauville () was a manufacturing company which was founded by Paul Decauville (1846–1922), a French pioneer in industrial railways. Decauville's major innovation was the use of ready-made sections of light, narrow gauge track fastened to stee ...
gauge railway was built from Jaffa to Lydda, with an extension to the
Auja River
The Yarkon River, also Yarqon River or Jarkon River ( he, נחל הירקון, ''Nahal HaYarkon'', ar, نهر العوجا, ''Nahr al-Auja''), is a river in central Israel. The source of the Yarkon ("Greenish" in Hebrew) is at Antipatris, Tel ...
, the front line at the time.
This extension was furthered to the Arab village
al-Jalil (today the Glilot area), and continued to be used until 1922–23 mainly for transporting construction materials, without locomotives.
Another extension was built from the Jaffa station to the port, which operated until 1928.
A second Decauville line was constructed in Jerusalem, winding around the mountains close to the
Old City, continuing to
al-Bireh
Al-Bireh, al-Birah, or el-Bira ( ar, البيرة; also known historically as Castrum Mahomeria, Magna Mahomeria, Mahomeria Major, Birra, or Beirothah) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank, north of Jerusalem. It is the capital of th ...
in the north. This railway was initiated by
General Allenby
Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was a senior British Army officer and Imperial Governor. He fought in the Second Boer War and also in the First World War, in which he led th ...
after a Turkish counter-attack on the British in Jerusalem, who had recently occupied the city.
Construction began in May 1918 and completed in September of the same year, by which time it was useless because the front had moved northwards. This short line passed in today's
Knesset
The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
and
Biblical Zoo area.
A further narrow gauge extension, at gauge was built by the British from Lydda to
Tira and
Lubban, partly adjacent to the existing Turkish line.
The locomotives used on the railway were converted to gauge by the Turks during the war so that they could be used on the entire network in Palestine. Of them, five survived the battles—two Baldwin 2-6-0s (#3 and #5) and three Borsig 0-4-4-0s (#6–8). Locomotive #3, "Ramleh", was badly damaged, although it was repaired using spare parts of the other broken-down engines. It survived until 1930, although it likely remained unused following the end of the war.
Under the British Mandate
![Herbert Samuel railway inauguration2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Herbert_Samuel_railway_inauguration2.jpg)
Because the line was still narrow-gauge and incompatible with other British lines, proposals were brought forward to deliver locomotives and coaches from either the Sudan or Australia.
However, the Palestine Military Railways, the British operator now managing the railroad system, decided to rebuild the line to the wider , an operation that lasted between January 27 and June 15.
The final section, between Jaffa and Lydda, was completed in September 1920, and inaugurated in a ceremony attended by
Herbert Samuel
Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel, (6 November 1870 – 5 February 1963) was a British Liberal politician who was the party leader from 1931 to 1935.
He was the first nominally-practising Jew to serve as a Cabinet minister and to beco ...
, the British High Commissioner, on October 5.
Between the end of the war and 1920, the railway was used almost exclusively for military purposes. However, food was delivered to Jerusalem by the British authorities shortly after the war ended. In June 1919, a civilian passenger service began operating between
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
and Jerusalem,
and by February 1920, there was an option to travel from Jerusalem to Egypt ''via'' transfer at Lydda.
During this period the Zionist movement had demanded rights to the railway from France, as it was not British property. The British countered by asserting that France was Britain's ally during the war. However all inline civilian operations met with strong French opposition; France disapproved of British civilian control of the Mandate. To the French, Britain's answer was that since the original French line was rebuilt, the line was in fact British property.
Following years of discussion, in April 1920 the civilian
Palestine Railways
{{Infobox rail
, railroad_name = Palestine Railway
, logo_filename =
, logo_size =
, system_map =
, map_caption =
, map_size =
, marks =
, image = AwmB00283.Samakh.jpg
, image_size ...
took over the line. On October 4, 1922, the two sides signed an agreement whereby Britain would compensate the line's original French operators for
£565,000,
reduced from the original French demand of £1.5 million.
The coastal railway now extended from
El Kantara
El Kantara ( ar, القنطرة, al qantara, the bridge) is a town and commune in Biskra Province, Algeria. The 1911 Baedeker travel guide described it as "one of the most important caravan-stations in E. Algeria." The town is well known for the ...
to Haifa, intersecting the Jaffa–Jerusalem line with a junction at
Lydda
Lod ( he, לוד, or fully vocalized ; ar, اللد, al-Lidd or ), also known as Lydda ( grc, Λύδδα), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Sheph ...
.
In 1921 a luxury on-demand service was initiated between Jerusalem and
Qantara Qanater (plural of Qantara, the Arabic word for bridge) may refer to:
Places Algeria
* El Kantara
*El Kantara District
Egypt
* El Qantara, Egypt, a city on both sides of the Suez Canal
Giza Governorate
* Manshiyat al Qanater
Qalyubia Governora ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, but it was not popular. It was superseded by a more successful luxury service between Qantara and Haifa on the
coastal railway.
The Jaffa-Jerusalem line was maintained and operated by the British military until October 1921 and from then on by the internationally sanctioned British Mandate authorities of Palestine. The High Commissioner treated the line as the core artery of Palestine making an especial effort to ensure that it would remain state property, controlled and managed by the state-run Palestine Railways. However the future of the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway was linked with the prospects of its electrification. The exchanges between High Commissioner Samuel and
Pinhas Rutenberg
Pinhas Rutenberg (russian: Пётр Моисеевич Рутенберг, Pyotr Moiseyevich Rutenberg; he, פנחס רוטנברג: 5 February 1879 – 3 January 1942) was a Russian Jewish engineer, businessman, and political activist. He pl ...
– holding the concession for the electrification of Palestine – resulted in perfect agreement: both sought to secure a London-approved government commitment to the line's electrification. Rutenberg declared that electrification of the railways was essential for the successful electrification of the country as a whole. The High Commissioner, writing to the Colonial Office, emphasized that "it is an integral part of the scheme that the Railway between Jaffa and Jerusalem should be electrified and that the electric energy for the line should be supplied by the Concessionaire." Nonetheless, the Colonial Office and the Treasury in London baulked at the prospective investment rejecting the project on grounds of economic feasibility.
On April 1, 1923, ticket costs were significantly reduced, increasing the line's daily usage from tens to hundreds of passengers. However, by the late 1920s the line declined again due to competition from the nearby road which could now be traversed by car or bus.
Tel Aviv – Jerusalem line
![Jaffa-jerusalem railway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Jaffa-jerusalem_railway.png)
During the
1948 Arab–Israeli War
The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...
, the service was stopped. After the war's end, many sections of the line ended up under the Jordanian
Arab Legion
The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of independent Jordan, with a final Arabization of its command taking place in 195 ...
's control. Following the
1949 Armistice Agreements, the entire route was returned to Israel, and officially restarted operations on August 7, 1949, when the first Israeli train, loaded with a symbolic shipment of flour, cement and
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
scrolls, arrived at Jerusalem.
Israel Railways
Israel Railways Ltd. , dba Israel Railways ( he, רַכֶּבֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Rakevet Yisra'el''), is the state-owned principal railway company responsible for all inter-city, commuter, and freight rail transport in Israel. Isra ...
began regular passenger service on March 2, 1950, from
Tel Aviv North Railway Station, via the Eastern Railway and
Rosh HaAyin
Rosh HaAyin ( he, רֹאשׁ הָעַיִן, lit="fountainhead", , ar, روش هاعين) is a city in the Central District of Israel. To the west of Rosh HaAyin is the fortress of Antipatris and the source of the Yarkon River. To the southea ...
, to Jerusalem. Shortly thereafter, regular service using the railway line leading from southern Tel Aviv too was restored.
Even though in the late 1950s Israel Railways began using diesel locomotives, and repaired the line, it did not convert it to a dual-track configuration and travel time was still high. The
Jaffa Railway Station was abandoned, and the final destination on the coast was changed to Tel Aviv's Beit Hadar Station (the original
Tel Aviv South station), which in turn was changed to the newer Tel Aviv South station, marking the complete dismantlement of the line inside Tel Aviv's urban area. The reasons cited were the fact that the line was causing traffic jams in the city, and the high land value of the area for real estate development. Then-transportation minister
Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...
was a prime supporter of the cancellation of the line inside the city and worked to create a new station (Tel Aviv South) in an unused plot of land given to Israel Railways by the government in compensation for the areas inside Tel Aviv it gave up.
The railroad suffered numerous terrorist attacks during the 1960s prior to the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
, especially due to its proximity to the
Green Line and the Arab village
Battir
Battir ( ar, بتير) is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, 6.4 km west of Bethlehem, and southwest of Jerusalem. In 2017, the village had a population of 4,696. In 2014, Battir was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site as a "wo ...
. On October 27, 1966, one person was injured from a bomb that was placed along the route.
After a
modern highway was constructed between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, train use declined. In 1995, service was cut to one train a day in each direction. On July 12, 1998, the CEO of Israel Railways, Amos Uzani, decided on the complete closure of the line.
The last train ran on August 14, 1998.
Re-opening (2003–2005)
![A1 railway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/A1_railway.png)
Uzani petitioned the
Minister of Infrastructure,
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006.
S ...
to allocate funds for a major repair/reconstruction of the line, but instead the Tel Aviv – Beersheba line was upgraded, with a spur to a new
central railway station near the city's
central bus station.
Meanwhile, several alternatives were analyzed for the restoration of a railway connection between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem:
*Plans S and S1 – repair of the old route with S maintaining the same serpentine route in the mountains between Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem, with S1 including a few small tunnels and curve straightening in the mountain portion.
*Plans G and G1 – a massive repair of the old route, straightening all the curves by digging numerous long tunnels along the route.
*Plans B, B1, B2, M and M1 – construction of a new line from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem via
Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut
Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut ( he, מוֹדִיעִין-מַכַּבִּים-רֵעוּת) is an Israeli city located in central Israel, about southeast of Tel Aviv and west of Jerusalem, and is connected to those two cities via Highway 443. In t ...
and along the path of
Route 443.
*Plans A and A1 – construction of a new line roughly paralleling
Highway 1, with a branch to Modi'in (''see also:
High-speed railway to Jerusalem
High Speed or high-speed may refer to:
Films
* ''High Speed'' (1917 film), starring Jack Mulhall and Fritzi Ridgeway
* ''High Speed'' (1920 film), an American drama directed by Charles Miller
* ''High Speed'' (1924 film), featuring Herbert Ra ...
'').
Plans to build a line alongside Route 443 were shelved due to its route through the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
. The Municipality of Jerusalem supported Plan G1, while Israel Railways supported Plan S as a quick deployment plan, followed by
A1. In June 2001,
Transportation Minister Ephraim Sneh
Efraim Sneh ( he, אפרים סנה, born 19 September 1944) is an Israeli politician, physician, and a retired brigadier general in the Israel Defense Forces. He was a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party between 1992 and 2008 and served ...
and Sharon choose to proceed with Israel Railways' proposal.
On September 13, 2003, the Tel Aviv – Beit Shemesh section and
Beit Shemesh Railway Station
Beit Shemesh railway station is an Israel Railways station in Beit Shemesh, Israel, on the Tel Aviv– Lod–Jerusalem line. The station is located near the northern industrial zone of Beit Shemesh.
History
Beit Shemesh Station was built under ...
were re-opened.
In April 2005, the second section was initiated with the opening of the
Malha station, while the remainder of the route to the more centrally-located Khan station was effectively abandoned at the request of the Jerusalem municipality.
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006.
S ...
and
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
were present in the opening ceremony.
The renovated line encountered many problems, particularly in the Beit Shemesh–Jerusalem section, and was not considered economically viable. It also cost
NIS
Nis, Niš, NiS or NIS may refer to:
Places
* Niš, a city in Serbia
* Nis, Iran, a village
* Ness, Lewis ( gd, Nis, links=no), a village in the Outer Hebrides islands
Businesses and organizations
* Naftna Industrija Srbije, Petroleum Industry o ...
540 million to build, instead of the planned NIS 330 mln. The winding nature of the mountainous, 19th-century era route between Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem, while scenic, restricts trains' speed and type, and Malha station's location within Jerusalem is not considered ideal, being situated in the town's southern outskirts. In late 2006, a decision was passed down to split the service on the line into two—Tel Aviv – Beit Shemesh, and Beit Shemesh – Jerusalem (taking effect on December 30).
This improved conditions and timetable reliability in the first section, which a variety of train types could now traverse, but significantly increased the time between Jerusalem and destinations other than Beit Shemesh,
and the line was re-united in the following seasonal schedule. The rebuilding process itself was also criticized, because a number of historic structures were destroyed, including the original Beit Shemesh and Bittir stations, and a stone bridge.
Work has continued to improve the line between Na'an and Beit Shemesh by straightening curves and replacing
level crossings
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term als ...
with bridges. In February 2009 a crossing between the railway and
Highway 3
The following highways are numbered 3, H-3, PRI-3, AH3, E03 and R3. For roads numbered A3, see A3 roads. For roads numbered M3, see M3. For roads numbered N3, see N3. For roads numbered 3A, see 3A.
International
* Asian Highway 3
* Europea ...
, near
moshav Yesodot
Yesodot ( he, יְסוֹדוֹת, ''lit.'' Foundations) is a Haredi moshav shitufi in central Israel. Located in the Shephelah, it falls under the jurisdiction of Nahal Sorek Regional Council. In it had a population of .
History
The village was e ...
and the former Nahal Sorek station was replaced with a long railway bridge and a sharp curve immediately following the intersection was straightened. This project may cut down travel time to Beit Shemesh by up to 10 minutes.
Another level crossing several kilometers north near
Hulda was also replaced by a rail bridge. A separate project to straighten and double-track the line between Lod and Na'an was completed in 2012 as part of the upgrade and reconstruction of the
Lod–Beersheba line. The Tel Aviv–Lod section was completely double-tracked by the 1990s and now constitutes part of the
main line
Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to:
Transportation
Railway
* Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system
* Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...
of Israel Railways. This section is planned to be widened to quadruple-track in the future and besides trains to Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem, it also serves the lines to
Ashkelon
Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border wit ...
(via Lod and
Rehovot
Rehovot ( he, רְחוֹבוֹת ''Rəḥōvōt'', ar, رحوڤوت ''Reḥūfūt'') is a city in the Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of .
Etymology
Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu movement, ...
),
Ben Gurion Airport
Ben Gurion International Airport, ; ar, مطار بن غوريون الدولي , commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Lod, it is the ...
, and
Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
.
The original termini in Jaffa and Jerusalem have been renovated as entertainment centers. The Jaffa station was renovated to such use in 2008,
and the Jerusalem one in 2013. Both stations are disconnected from the rail network and no longer serve as train stations, although a portion of
the first line of Tel Aviv Light Rail passes through railways laid in the same course as a short stretch of the dismantled railway between Jaffa station and Beit Hadar station. Part of the former right of way in Jerusalem has been turned into a
linear park
A linear park is a type of park that is significantly longer than it is wide. These linear parks are strips of public land running along canals, rivers, streams, defensive walls, electrical lines, or highways and shorelines. Examples of linear p ...
in 2012. In 2020 the same was done with part of the former right of way at the other end in Tel Aviv.
Tel Aviv–Jerusalem high-speed railway
In 2019, the rail service to Jerusalem was complemented by the new
Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway
The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway (also higher-speed railway to Jerusalem, Plan A1, and Railway 29) is a railway line connecting the city of Tel Aviv in Israel with Jerusalem. The line serves as the main rail link between Tel Aviv and Jerus ...
which was built along the planned A1 route. This new double-tracked and
electrified
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source.
The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...
railway terminates at a new underground terminal in central Jerusalem known as
Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon railway station
Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon Railway Station ( he, תחנת הרכבת ירושלים – יצחק נבון, ''Tahanat HaRakevet Yerushalaim–Yitzhak Navon''; ar, محطة أورشليم – يتسحاق ناڤون), originally named Jerusalem–H ...
, conveniently located across from the
central bus station and adjacent to the
Jerusalem Light Rail
Jerusalem Light Rail ( he, הרכבת הקלה בירושלים, ''HaRakevet HaKala Birushalayim'', ar, قطار القدس الخفيف, ''Qiṭār Al-Quds Al-Khafīf'') is a light rail system in Jerusalem. Currently, the Red Line is the o ...
. Compared to about 75 minutes between Tel Aviv and southern Jerusalem on the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway, service on the new railway from Tel Aviv to central Jerusalem is much faster, taking approximately half an hour between the two cities, while making an intermediate stop at the
Ben Gurion Airport railway station
Ben Gurion Airport railway station ( he, תחנת הרכבת נמל התעופה בן גוריון, ''Tahanat HaRakevet Nemal HaTe'ufa Ben Gurion'') is an Israel Railways station located in the lower level of Ben Gurion International Airport's Ter ...
.
Future connection to Malha
In 2020 Israel Railways began the process of seeking approval from the governmental planning committees for a plan (National Infrastructure Plan No.108) to connect Yitzhak Navon and Malha stations along an underground route beneath Jerusalem. This involves continuing the new railway from Navon station to the southeast in the direction of the Old City, then curve to the southwest near the original
Jerusalem Railway Station, heading towards Malha station. Two additional passenger stations, both of whom underground, are being considered along this route:
Jerusalem–Central (located near the
Davidka Square), and a station in the vicinity of the original Jerusalem railway station.
Stations
Stations located on the
Israel Railways main line (Nahariya-Haifa-Beersehba-Nahal Tzin) are in Bold.
Original stations
Later stations
Significance and impact
The railway was the largest civil engineering project in the Palestine region at the time, and is considered to be one of the largest such projects completed to this day. It is largely responsible for opening up Jerusalem to modern tourism, and assisted in the growth of the city beyond the
Old City walls.
Selah Merrill, in
Scribner's Magazine
''Scribner's Magazine'' was an American periodical published by the publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons from January 1887 to May 1939. ''Scribner's Magazine'' was the second magazine out of the Scribner's firm, after the publication of ' ...
, notes that the real significance of the railway's construction wasn't the 86.5 km of track laid, but the fact that it was done in the Ottoman Empire, which according to him had been attempting at all costs to keep out Western civilization.
Land value increased dramatically near the route of the railway, even before its completion.
Despite this, the actual area around the Jerusalem Railway Station did not develop quickly, partly because flat and high areas were preferred for construction.
The line did however assist German construction in Jerusalem in the 1890s, allowing them to bring more construction materials more quickly.
By the start of the 20th century, the
German Colony became an attractive spot for those seeking superior transportation.
In addition, it improved public health in Jerusalem considerably, and allowed further expansion, as it allowed the import of large quantities of fresh water into the city from other aquifers.
Paul Cotterell wrote that "The coming of the railway had a profound effect on Jerusalem. In the first decade of the line's existence the population of the city almost doubled, which is all the more amazing when considering that Jerusalem at this period produced hardly enough wine, vegetables or cattle for its own needs."
In Jaffa, it was a contributing factor to its population growth to 40,000 by 1900,
and had a positive cultural effect.
The line also affected local time arrangement, transforming the clock from oriental (where time was counted in hours from sunrise and sunset) to
railway time
Railway time was the standardised time arrangement first applied by the Great Western Railway in England in November 1840, the first recorded occasion when different local mean times were synchronised and a single standard time applied. The key ...
.
The line prompted
Eliezer Ben Yehuda
Eliezer Ben‑Yehuda ( he, אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֵּן־יְהוּדָה}; ; born Eliezer Yitzhak Perlman, 7 January 1858 – 16 December 1922) was a Russian–Jewish linguist, grammarian, and journalist, renowned as the lexicographer of ...
to write a poem about it, and to coin the words ''Rakevet'' (, "train") and ''Katar'' (, "locomotive") for the
Hebrew language
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
, suggested by
Yehiel Michel Pines
Yechiel Michel Pines ( ) (; 18 September 1824 – 15 March 1913) was a Russian-born religious Zionist rabbi, writer, and community leader in the Old Yishuv.
Yechiel Michel Pines was born at Ruzhinoy, near Grodno. He was the son of Noah Pines ...
and
David Yellin
David Yellin (; March 19, 1864 – December 12, 1941) was an educator, a researcher of the Hebrew language and literature, a politician, one of the leaders of the Yishuv, the founder of the first Hebrew College for Teachers, one of the founders ...
, respectively.
Immediately after the railway's construction, plans for similar railway projects all over Palestine were presented. On November 9, 1892, after helping build the main line, the engineer George Franjieh proposed a tramway in Jerusalem, which would connect it to
Ein Kerem and
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
—only six weeks after the line's official opening. Three weeks later, on November 28, he presented plans for a similar tramway in
Jaffa
Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
. The plans were never realized because they were perceived not to be economic.
Another plan by Franjieh that was not carried out called for a new water supply system to Jerusalem, which had an inadequate supply for the increased population.
See also
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Baghdad Railway
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
(built 1903–1940), initially a German-Ottoman project
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Narrow-gauge railway#Similar gauges
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Rail transport in Israel
Rail transport in Israel includes heavy rail (inter-city, commuter, and freight rail) as well as light rail. Excluding light rail, the network consists of of track, and is undergoing constant expansion. All of the lines are standard gauge and as ...
References
Bibliography
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External links
Renovated Jaffa station entertainment centerRenovated Jerusalem station entertainment centerIsrael Railways Official Websiteby
Eliezer Ben Yehuda
Eliezer Ben‑Yehuda ( he, אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֵּן־יְהוּדָה}; ; born Eliezer Yitzhak Perlman, 7 January 1858 – 16 December 1922) was a Russian–Jewish linguist, grammarian, and journalist, renowned as the lexicographer of ...
in
HaTzvi (September 30, 1892)
Report on the railway's openingby
Yisrael Dov Frumkin in
Havatzelet (September 29, 1892)
Rail Ticket from Original Jaffa-Jerusalem LineShapell Manuscript Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffa-Jerusalem Railway
Rail transport in Mandatory Palestine
Transport in Jerusalem
Railway lines opened in 1892
Late modern history of Jerusalem
1050 mm gauge railways in Israel
Metre gauge railways in Israel
Standard gauge railways in Israel
Ottoman railways