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Trans-desert Railroad Asked for Near East

April 18, 1934
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The problem of whether to build a highway or a trans-desert railroad to Baghdad is engaging the attention of British authorities, it is learned here.

Colonel Robertson, famous British railroad planner, drew up a detailed report on the proposed route some time ago at the behest of the colonial office in London.

A highway, it is pointed out, can be built alongside of the pipeline from Mosul, in Iraq, to Haifa, a distance of 1,200 miles. Such a road would cost approximately ten million dollars. A railroad would cost forty million dollars.

On the other hand, a railroad could transport heavy traffic at a cheaper rate than road transport. One solution is for both a highway and a railroad, which the vast natural resources of this great hinterland could adequately support if sufficiently exploited.

One newspaper here reports that this is one of the topics of discussion between King Ghazi of Iraq and High Commissioner Wauchope of Palestine who has been visiting there.

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