Palestine, land of the camel and the donkey, is taking rapidly to its railroads. The administration report of Palestine Railways reveals that Palestine’s 325 miles of track have had the busiest year in their short history.
Net receipts of the system increased almost $500,00 over the previous year’s figure of $725,000, the report showed. Passenger traffic receipts showed an increase of 30 per cent, goods traffic 37 per cent, and miscellaneous traffic receipts, 23 per cent.
In the past year 2,353,365 passengers rode the Palestine railways, including tourists, an increase of 843,487 in this banner year over the previous one. A total of 1,022,288 tons of freight was carried, an increase of 156,366.
Only one of the routes showed a decrease in traffic. The Hijaz Railway suffered as a result of the completion of a pipe-line for carrying the oil which had formerly constituted an important source of business for the road.
The Rafa-Haifa, Jaffa-Jerusalem and the Suez Canal lines as well as two short sections and numerous branch lines had a prosperous
year. Encouraged by the traffic, railway officials approved during the year unprecedented capital expenditures.
All Palestine’s railways are of standard guage except the Hijaz, running in Palestine and Transjordan, which is narrow guage.
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