Beersheba, the economic center of Israel’s Negev, was linked directly by rail with Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem yesterday when the last section of a 48-mile spur was completed. The first freight train is expected to roll on the new section this week.
The new line, which took three years and 11 million pounds to build, connects up with the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv line at Naan, seven miles south of the Lydda junction The new spur will be used chiefly to bring mineral products out of the Negev which are now being transported in economically expensive trucking operations.
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