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The British were the ones who initiated the idea of constructing a railway in the mid-nineteenth century, linking the coast of the Mediterranean with Jerusalem. In 1888, the Ottoman government issued a permission to build the railway, and gave the rights to a French company. The Yafa-Jerusalem line was to become part of a wide network that linked Qantara, in Egypt, to the coastal city of Haifa, and Haifa to the eastern Hijaz Railway that linked Istanbul to Mecca. The Yafa-Jerusalem stretch included five stops in Lydd, Ramleh, Sajd, Deir Aban and Battir. Construction was completed in 1892, facilitating the travels of pilgrims, and most importantly, the export of oranges from Palestine. In the beginning, the train was traveling once a day in each direction, with additional trips added during Easter, and by 1900, two trains were traveling in each direction. As a result of the railway, the village of Battir flourished both economically and socially, but this prosperity did not last long and was interrupted by the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the Jordanian rule over the West Bank. The villagers, who were temporarily evicted from their homes, returned with the help of Hasan Mustafa, who became a local hero and dedicated his life guaranteeing the right of his people to their land. But the glory days of Battir were over when the village was almost completely isolated from Jerusalem, based on the Armistice Agreement between Jordan and Israel. The railway station was closed and became a relic of the lost prosperity of Battir.
