Until the Mandate period, Lod was connected to the narrow-gauge railway (105 cm wide).  This railway connected Jaffa and Jerusalem. The Ottoman railway station was small in size. As the British advanced from Qantara (Egypt) to Gaza and from Gaza to Lod, they replaced the narrow-gauge railway with a standard-gauge railway (143.5 cm wide). Between 1920 and 1938, when the railways were developed in the Land of Israel, Lod was designated as the main railway junction for the entire country.

From: Vakar, Ora, 1977, Lod - Historical Geography, published by Goma and the Municipality of Lod - Cherikover.

The Haifa-Lod-Rafah-Qantara-Cairo lines intersected at the Lod railway station. A second line connected Jaffa and Jerusalem, and a third line connected Jaffa and Tulkarm. The station served as a hub for passengers and a loading station for goods. This prolonged the journey time (it was necessary to wait 6-12 hours for trains arriving from different directions in order to distribute cargo and passengers). As a result, the direct and indirect costs of transporting general cargo increased. Due to this shortcoming, the station was nicknamed “bottleneck.” In a report written to the Mandate government, POLE proposed discontinuing freight loading operations in Lod, despite its central location and the extensive area available to the station management.

From: Vakrat, Ora, 1977, Lod - Historical Geography, published by Goma and the Lod Municipality - Cherikover.

Over the years, a small hotel and shopping center were built near the train station. The shopping center disappointed its founders. They thought that since the place was a railway junction, it would attract a lot of shoppers. Their hopes were dashed, as mentioned above. A residential neighborhood developed next to the new station, providing employment for many local construction workers.

From: Vakar, Ora, 1977, Lod - Historical Geography, published by Goma and the Lod Municipality - Cherikover.