Palestine]
(v) Adequacy to Economic Needs; Possibilities of Expansion
Syria is now comparatively well provided with railways, though the use of two gauges is unfortunate. A line traverses the interior of the country from north to south, forking at Deraa into two branches, one running east of the Jordan, while the other, with its feeders, serves the region west of that river. The chief ports, Beirut, Alexandretta, Haifa, Jaffa, Tripoli, are linked with the internal railway, and the main inland centres of commerce and industry have been given communication by rail with the sea. Some projected extensions would further improve the system.
On the Baghdad Railway branches are designed to Aintab and Birejik; a branch via Killis to Aintab, which is a flourishing industrial town, is especially desirable.
A proposal put forward in 1909 by the Ministry of Public Works included a line from Rayak to El-Arish via Afule. A line has now been built from Afule southwards, but the extension north to Rayak remains to be constructed; it would traverse a fertile region, and serve the considerable town of Safed.
In 1908 the administration of the Hejaz Railway was authorised to build a line from Afule to Jerusalem. There is continuous railway communication between these places, and though the route might be greatly shortened by building a line from Nablus to Jerusalem, it is doubtful whether such an undertaking is sufficiently needed to justify the labour and expense. Connected with this plan is one for a branch from Jerusalem to Ma'an by Jericho and Es-Salt, which would give access to a somewhat isolated district, and in particular facilitate the exploitation of the large phosphate area about Es-Salt (cf. p. 111). It has also been proposed to extend the Deraa—Bosra branch to Salchat and then carry it northwards through the Druse country to join the main line again at El-Mismije. The line of the Tramways Libanais (Beirut—Mameltein—Jebeil) was planned to connect Tripoli and Saida.
