Jezreel Valley Railway - Impact

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 Afula, 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 kibbutzim 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.