31–40 of 130 posts
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I visited the Israel/Lebanon border a few years back and stood at the spot where Israeli guerillas destroyed the British tracks after World War 2. Regardless of whether you champion or despise their politics, it's something that actually happened, and the folks who did it aren't ashamed to post infographics about it on-site.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Israel's territory is probably 1/100 of the territory on the map in the article. So unlikely.
Rail is a network. Losing a well-connected node can be fatal to the network.
None of the infrastructure nor even the routes would be viable for a modern railroad infrastructure, blaming Israel for the utter lack of investment in infrastructure across the Middle East is laughable.
We really need to eliminate car dependence in our cities.
This article made me think about how the presence of trains indicate peace. Trains are so vulnerable to attack. Their existence depends on everyone with access to the tracks to trust and agree with their purpose. I suspect if we're mourning these trains, we also mourn the loss of peace and stability in the region. As an aside, TIL that there are actually two Tripolis, one in Libya and the other in Lebanon. I have hea…
(FYI, there are many more Tripolis. It's not a very distinctive name.)
For example, the Polish "Trojmiasto" (Gdynia, Gdańsk, Sopot) could be translated as Tripolis into Greek.
Given how urban the ancient Mediterranean civilization was, such clusters could well develop.
At least in Israel, many of the old lines, even if they still operated today, would have been long obsolete. A daily train leaving Haifa at 8:30 and reaching Jaffa by lunch? Three, four hours? The same line today makes the journey in an hour, and there are plans on the table to build additional tracks to cut that down to a half hour. People commute from Haifa to Tel Aviv, with three (soon four) tracks passing through…
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Isn't there a vague plan to reconnect at least Jordan and Israel by rail?
At least in Israel, many of the old lines, even if they still operated today, would have been long obsolete. A daily train leaving Haifa at 8:30 and reaching Jaffa by lunch? Three, four hours? The same line today makes the journey in an hour, and there are plans on the table to build additional tracks to cut that down to a half hour. People commute from Haifa to Tel Aviv, with three (soon four) tracks passing through…
Leaving the most pictoresque one in operation as a tourist magnet (not for daily commute) would definitely work, though. It works in many European countries, especially where the landscape is beautiful, and the Levant has no shortage of stunning landscapes.
Just finished reading Murder on the Orient Express yesterday and made a (naive) mental note to travel the route sometime. This shattered that dream for sure. The book was somewhat uplifting, portraying the age where the entire world was accessible and you could go anywhere and folks would bow their heads before you everywhere.
The imperialist approach you have may be better suited for a different century.
We really need to eliminate car dependence in our cities.
Speak for yourself. The last thing I want during covid is to be stuck in a metal box with 100 strangers uncomfortably wearing masks instead of in my own car blasting music with the window down.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Leaving the most pictoresque one in operation as a tourist magnet (not for daily commute) would definitely work, though. It works in many European countries, especially where the landscape is beautiful, and the Levant has no shortage of stunning landscapes.
They did, at least in Israel. The Jerusalem-Beit Shemesh route was restored and it is a beautiful commute.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_urfQTLk_g
The author says that the line closed in March 2020, but maybe it has since been reopened?