Valley Railway ATM Stamps – Israel 2018
Israel issued a six value set of ATM Stamps on 06 Feb 2018. The stamps feature the Valley railway and Locomotive 265. The ATM issues known are 00001 (Philatelic Bureau), 00714 (Haifa) and 00917.
A FDC with one value ATM stamp (ATM 00001) cancelled at Haifa is listed.
Valley Railway or Jezreel Valley Railway was a historic railroad that existed in Ottoman ,British Palestine and Modern Israel.It runs along Mediterranean coast inland along the Jezreel Valley. The historic line was part of Haifa -Dera’a Line which itself was a branch of Hejaz Railway.
The historic Haifa -Dera’a narrow gauge Line was inaugurated on 15 Oct 1905 and connected the Port of Haifa with the main part of Hejaz Railway the Damascus -Medina line and the services operated till 1948.
Despite several renewal attempts it did not start till construction began on a new line in 2011.The Passenger services on the new standard gauge line from Haifa to Beit She’an along the same route as Valley line commenced on 16 Oct 2016.
