Rail transport in Israel
Israel | |||||
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Operation | |||||
National railway | No. stations 69[2] | | |||
Highest elevation | 750 m | ||||
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Rail transport in Israel includes
Some of the rail routes in Israel date back to before the establishment of the state – to the days of the British Mandate for Palestine and earlier. Rail infrastructure was considered less important than road infrastructure during the state's early years, and except for the construction of the coastal railway in the early 1950s, the network saw little investment until the late 1980s. In 1993, a rail connection was opened between the coastal railway from the north and southern lines (the railway to Jerusalem and railway to Beersheba) through Tel Aviv. Previously the only connection between northern railways and southern railways bypassed the Tel Aviv region – Israel's population and commercial center. The linking of the nationwide rail network through the heart of Tel Aviv was a major factor in facilitating further expansion in the overall network during the 1990s and 2000s and as a result of the heavy infrastructure investments passenger traffic rose significantly, from about 2.5 million per year in 1990 to about 67 million in 2018.
Israel is a member of the
In addition to heavy rail, several urban transport rail lines operate or are under construction in Israel. These include a short funicular underground railway in Haifa which opened in 1959 (Carmelit), a light rail line in Jerusalem (opened in 2011) and another light rail line in Tel Aviv, which began operations in 2023.
History
Ottoman Empire
Rail infrastructure in what is now Israel was first envisioned and realized during the
The second line in what is now Israel was the
Mideastern regional rail travel: the British Mandate
The British invaded the Levant, dismantled the Kadesh Barnea line, and built a new line from Beersheba to Gaza, allowing a connection with their own line from Egypt,
Starting in 1917–18, the British converted the Ottoman
Israel
When Israel
In the first years of Israeli independence, rail passenger traffic grew rapidly, reaching about 4.5 million passengers per annum during the early to mid-1960s, at which point traffic began to slacken due to improvements in the road infrastructure, increases in the automobile ownership rate, lack of investment in the rail network, and a continued favoring of public transportation using buses over trains. This trend reached a low point of about 2.5 million passengers in 1990, which on a per-capita basis represented about a 75% decrease from the heyday of the 1960s. Then in the 1990s, a wave of railway infrastructure development began, leading to a resurgence of the railways' importance within the country's transportation system.
Rail infrastructure
Heavy rail
This section needs to be updated.(July 2017) |
As of 2010, the rail network in Israel spans approximately 1,000 km (620 mi), with around 250 km (160 mi) additional expected to be under construction in the early 2010s decade. The majority of the network has been
The rail network includes the coastal railway line spanning from Nahariya in the north to Tel Aviv in the south, through Acre, Haifa (with a spur to eastern Haifa), Netanya and other cities. A small commuter line goes from Kfar Saba in the north to Tel Aviv, and connects to a freight-only line from Rosh HaAyin to Lod, part of the partially defunct Eastern railway. Plans exist to rebuild the eastern railway from Hadera to Rosh HaAyin, with a spur to Afula.
Six lines go south from Tel Aviv, including two lines to
In the early 2000s, the Israeli government embarked on a major project to upgrade the existing rail network and build a number of entirely new lines. This includes rebuilding the railways to Kfar Saba and Beersheba, while converting them to double-track and constructing dozens of grade separations between road and rail. Then in the 2010s decade, rebuilding the
Network expansion
Several major railway projects are expected to be carried out starting in the early 2020s. The first involves relieving the national rail network bottleneck caused by insufficient capacity in the Ayalon section of the Coastal Railway through the addition of a fourth railroad track between Tel Aviv Central and Tel Aviv HaHagana. The overall project also includes adding two additional tracks to the Tel Aviv–Lod railway. Another major project that began construction is the
Longer-term plans plan call for a
Electrification
In the spring of 2010, the government of Israel voted to appropriate the sum of NIS 11.2 billion out of a total NIS 17.2 billion (appx. US $4.5 billion) necessary to implement the first phase of Israel Railways' electrification programme.
As of February 2023[update], there are 4 electrified lines
- Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway.
- Herzliya–Ashkelon
- Jerusalem–Modi'in
- Ashkelon/Rehovot–Netanya/Binyamina
Technical characteristics
The following standards are employed throughout the mainline heavy rail network in Israel:
- Rail gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
- Max speed: 160 km/h (99 mph)
- Rail type: UIC60 or UIC54 (60 kg/m (120 lb/yd) or 54 kg/m (110 lb/yd)), continuously welded
- Loading gauge: UIC GC
- Minimum curve radius: 190 m (620 ft) (main lines)
- Common distance between track centers of multi-tracked railways: 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in)
- Train protection system: PZB/Indusi
- Interlocking: Electronic (Thales LockTrac 6111/ESTW L90)
- National traffic control system: Thales NetTrac 6613 ARAMIS
- Railway coupling: Buffers and chain (locomotive drawn), Scharfenberg (multiple unit trainsets)
- Maximum ‰
- Max rolling stock axle load: 22.5 metric ton per axle
- Minimum number of sleepers per kilometer: 1667 (mostly B70 prestressed concrete monoblock)
- Passenger platform minimum length: 300 m (980 ft) (some older stations use the previous standard of 250 m (820 ft); new and upgraded stations: 350 m (1,150 ft))
- Electrification: Single-phase 25 kV 50 Hz AC OCS
- Train control system: ERTMS (GSM-R/ETCS L2) – will replace Indusi
Sandwich stations
An interesting character of the current Israeli railway network is that many of the new tracks and railway stations are located in the median strip of the Israeli highway system. The first station such located was the Tel Aviv Savidor Central railway station, whose original platforms directly north of the station hall were closed and replaced with new platforms in the median strip of the Ayalon Freeway in 1988; the first station purpose-built in this arrangement was the Tel Aviv HaShalom railway station, a kilometer south of Savidor Central.
Metro/Light rail
The first light rail line in Israel is the
A major
The Tel Aviv Metro, an extensive 3-line subway system, is planned for Tel Aviv and surrounding cities in the Gush Dan area. It will consist of 3 lines with a total length of 150 km (93 mi) and 109 stations. Currently construction is scheduled to start in 2025 and operation of the first sections is scheduled for 2032.
Tenders have been issued for the
The Beersheba Light Rail, which will serve the city of Beersheba and outlying towns, was approved in August 2023. It is expected to be completed in 2033.[11]
An underground funicular rail line, called Carmelit, was opened in Haifa in 1959. It is 1.8 km (1.1 mi) long and has 6 stations.
Passenger traffic
Following the low point of 2.5 million passengers in 1990, the extensive investments in the national heavy rail infrastructure beginning in the early to mid-1990s made train travel more appealing, especially given the ever-increasing road congestion, and consequently passenger rail use began rising rapidly—by a factor of about fivefold over any given ten-year span during the 1990s and 2000s. Consequently, in the 25-year span between 1990 and 2015, heavy rail passenger traffic grew over 20-times. Moreover, with several large-scale railway infrastructure projects still underway and more planned in the future, the growth in passenger numbers is expected to continue.
Statistics
Ridership
The following table includes ridership statistics for heavy rail only.
Year | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Passengers (millions) | 5.1 | 5.6 | 6.4 | 8.8 | 12.7 | |||||
Year | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
Passengers (millions) | 15.1 | 17.5 | 19.8 | 22.9 | 26.8 | 28.4 | 31.8 | 35.13 | 35.93 | 35.87 |
Year | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
Passengers (millions) | 35.93 | 40.37 | 45.1 | 48.5 | 52.8 | 59.5 | 64.6 | 67.7 | 69 | 24.2 |
Year | 2021 | 2022 | ||||||||
Passengers (millions) | 35 | 54.7 | ||||||||
Passenger kilometres
The following table contains the total travelled distances for all passengers per annum.
Year | 1980 | 1985 | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Passenger km (millions) | 264 | 204 | 169 | 267 | 781 | 1616 | 1986 | 2608 | |||||||
Source: The World Bank[citation needed]
|
Passenger stations
Name | Hebrew | City | Lines |
---|---|---|---|
Acre
|
עכו | Acre | Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Modi'in Center – Nahariya |
Afula
|
עפולה | Afula | Atlit – Beit She'an |
Ashdod Ad Halom Ashdod South |
אשדוד עד הלום אשדוד דרום |
Ashdod | Ashkelon – Herzliya Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina |
Ashkelon
|
אשקלון | Ashkelon | Be'er Sheva Center – Ashkelon Ashkelon – Herzliya Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina |
Atlit
|
עתלית | Atlit | Atlit – Beit She'an Modi'in Center – Nahariya |
Bat Yam-Komemiyut
|
בת ים - קוממיות | Bat Yam / Holon | Ashkelon – Herzliya |
Bat Yam-Yoseftal
|
בת-ים יוספטל | Bat Yam / Holon | Ashkelon – Herzliya |
Be'er Sheva Center
|
באר שבע מרכז | Beersheba | Be'er Sheva Center – Ashkelon Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Be'er Sheva Center – Karmiel |
Be'er Sheva North University |
באר שבע צפון אוניברסיטה |
Beersheba | Be'er Sheva Center – Ashkelon Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Be'er Sheva Center – Karmiel Be'er Sheva North – Dimona |
Be'er Ya'akov
|
באר יעקב | Be'er Ya'akov | Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina |
Ben Gurion Airport
|
נמל תעופה בן גוריון | Ben Gurion International Airport
|
Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon – Herzliya Modi'in Center – Nahariya |
Beit She'an
|
בית שאן | Beit She'an | Atlit – Beit She'an |
Beit Shemesh
|
בית שמש | Beit Shemesh | Beit Shemesh – Netanya |
Beit Yehoshua
|
בית יהושע | Beit Yehoshua | Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina Beit Shemesh – Netanya |
Biblical Zoo
|
גן החיות התנ"כי | Jerusalem | Not in service |
Binyamina
|
בנימינה | Binyamina-Giv'at Ada | Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina Modi'in Center – Nahariya |
Bnei Brak
|
בני ברק | Bnei Brak / Ramat Gan | Ashkelon – Herzliya |
Caesarea-Pardes Hanna
|
קיסריה-פרדס חנה | Pardes Hanna-Karkur Caesarea Industrial Zone |
Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina |
Dimona
|
דימונה | Dimona | Be'er Sheva North – Dimona |
Hadera West
|
חדרה מערב | Hadera | Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina Be'er Sheva Center – Karmiel |
Haifa Bat Galim
|
חיפה בת גלים | Haifa | Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Be'er Sheva Center – Karmiel Haifa Hof HaCarmel – Karmiel Modi'in Center – Nahariya Atlit – Beit She'an |
Haifa Hof HaCarmel
|
חיפה חוף הכרמל | Haifa | Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Be'er Sheva Center – Karmiel Haifa Hof HaCarmel – Karmiel Modi'in Center – Nahariya Atlit – Beit She'an |
Haifa Center HaShmona
|
חיפה מרכז השמונה | Haifa | Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Be'er Sheva Center – Karmiel Haifa Hof HaCarmel – Karmiel Modi'in Center – Nahariya Atlit – Beit She'an |
HaMifrats Central
|
מרכזית המפרץ | Haifa | Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Be'er Sheva Center – Karmiel Haifa Hof HaCarmel – Karmiel Modi'in Center – Nahariya Atlit – Beit She'an |
Herzliya
|
הרצליה | Herzliya | Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon – Herzliya Ashkelon – Herzliya Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Be'er Sheva Center – Karmiel Beit Shemesh – Netanya |
Hod HaSharon Sokolov (Kfar Saba) |
הוד השרון סוקולוב כפר סבא |
Hod HaSharon / Kfar Saba | Ashkelon – Herzliya |
Holon-Wolfson
|
חולון-וולפסון | Tel Aviv-Yafo
|
Ashkelon – Herzliya |
Holon Junction
|
צומת חולון | Holon / Tel Aviv | Ashkelon – Herzliya |
Hutzot HaMifratz
|
חוצות המפרץ | Haifa | Haifa Hof HaCarmel – Karmiel Modi'in Center – Nahariya |
Jerusalem Malha
|
ירושלים מלחה | Jerusalem | Not in service |
Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon | ירושלים יצחק נבון | Jerusalem | Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon – Herzliya |
Kfar Chabad
|
כפר חב"ד | Kfar Chabad | Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina |
Kfar Saba – Nordau (Hod HaSharon) |
כפר סבא נורדאו הוד השרון |
Kfar Saba / Hod HaSharon | Ashkelon – Herzliya |
Kiryat Gat
|
קרית גת | Kiryat Gat | Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Be'er Sheva Center – Karmiel |
Kiryat Haim
|
קריית חיים | Haifa (Kiryat Haim) | Haifa Hof HaCarmel – Karmiel Modi'in Center – Nahariya |
Kiryat Motzkin
|
קריית מוצקין | Haifa (Kiryat Shmuel) Kiryat Motzkin |
Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Be'er Sheva Center – Karmiel Haifa Hof HaCarmel – Karmiel Modi'in Center – Nahariya |
Lehavim-Rahat
|
להבים רהט | Lehavim | Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya |
Lod
|
לוד | Lod | Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Be'er Sheva Center – Karmiel Beit Shemesh – Netanya |
Lod Ganei Aviv
|
לוד גני אביב | Lod | Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina Beit Shemesh – Netanya |
Migdal HaEmek – Kfar Baruch
|
מגדל העמק-כפר ברוך | Migdal HaEmek, Kfar Baruch | Atlit – Beit She'an |
Modi'in Central
|
מודיעין מרכז | Modi'in
|
Modi'in Center – Nahariya |
Nahariya
|
נהריה | Nahariya | Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Modi'in Center – Nahariya |
Netanya
|
נתניה | Netanya | Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina Beit Shemesh – Netanya |
Netivot
|
נתיבות | Netivot | Be'er Sheva Center – Ashkelon Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina |
Ofakim
|
אופקים | Ofakim | Be'er Sheva Center – Ashkelon Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina |
Pa'atei Modi'in
|
פאתי מודיעין | Modi'in
|
Modi'in Center – Nahariya |
Petah Tikva Kiryat Aryeh
|
פתח תקווה קרית אריה | Petah Tikva | Ashkelon – Herzliya |
Petah Tikva Segula
|
פתח תקווה סגולה | Petah Tikva | Ashkelon – Herzliya |
Ra'anana South | רעננה דרום | Ra'anana | Ashkelon – Herzliya |
Ra'anana West | רעננה מערב | Ra'anana | Ashkelon – Herzliya |
Ramla
|
רמלה | Ramla | Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Beit Shemesh – Netanya |
Rehovot
|
רחובות | Rehovot | Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina |
Rishon LeZion HaRishonim
|
ראשון לציון הראשונים | Rishon LeZion | Not in service |
Rishon LeZion Moshe Dayan
|
ראשון לציון משה דיין | Rishon LeZion | Ashkelon – Herzliya |
Rosh HaAyin Tzafon
|
ראש העין צפון | Neve Yerek
|
Ashkelon – Herzliya |
Sderot
|
שדרות | Sderot | Be'er Sheva Center – Ashkelon Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina |
Tel Aviv HaHagana
|
תל אביב ההגנה | Tel Aviv | Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon – Herzliya Ashkelon – Herzliya Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Be'er Sheva Center – Karmiel Modi'in Center – Nahariya |
Tel Aviv HaShalom
|
תל אביב השלום | Tel Aviv | Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon – Herzliya Ashkelon – Herzliya Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Be'er Sheva Center – Karmiel Modi'in Center – Nahariya Beit Shemesh – Netanya |
Tel Aviv Central Savidor |
תל אביב מרכז סבידור |
Tel Aviv / Ramat Gan | Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon – Herzliya Ashkelon – Herzliya Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Be'er Sheva Center – Karmiel Modi'in Center – Nahariya Beit Shemesh – Netanya |
Tel Aviv University Convention Center |
תל אביב אוניברסיטה מרכז הירידים |
Tel Aviv | Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon – Herzliya Ashkelon – Herzliya Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina Be'er Sheva Center – Nahariya Be'er Sheva Center – Karmiel Modi'in Center – Nahariya Beit Shemesh – Netanya |
Yavne East
|
יבנה | Yavne | Be'er Sheva Center – Binyamina |
Yavne West
|
יבנה מערב | Yavne | Ashkelon – Herzliya |
Yokneam – Kfar Yehoshua
|
יקנעם-כפר יהושע | Yokneam Illit, Kfar Yehoshua | Atlit – Beit She'an |
Freight
According to official statistics, Israel Railways transported approximately seven million tons of freight in 2010. Minerals and chemicals from the
Rail links to adjacent countries
Originally part of the
For a railway both created and affected by the
Israeli forces bombed the rail bridge to Lebanon,[
Railway links with adjacent countries
Proposed rail lines to the PA
Talks between Israel and the
External links
- Israel Railways
- Jaffa-Jerusalem Rail Ticket Shapell Manuscript Foundation
References
- ^ "Table 19.3 – Railway Services" (PDF). Statistical Abstract of Israel 74. Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. September 13, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "Israel Railways opens Mazkeret Batya station". Globes. Daniel Schmil. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2011-10-27.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b c d e f "Milestones". Israel Railways. Retrieved 2010-05-29.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Famous Engine Saved from the Scrap Yard". ERETZ Magazine. Retrieved 2010-05-29.
- ^ Moti Bassok, Cabinet examining plan for Med-Red railway. Jerusalem could invite China to help build rail link between Eilat and northern Israel. // Haaretz, 30.01.12
- ^ Schmiel, Daniel (26 June 2012). "Israel Railways Argues Against Kat'z Plan to Transfer Control of Electrification Project to the National Roads Company". TheMarker (in Hebrew). Retrieved 5 July 2012.
- ^ Dori, Oren (6 December 2015). "הזוכה במכרז החשמול של רכבת ישראל: SEMI הספרדית" [Spanish Firm SEMI Wins Israel Railways' Electrification Tender] (in Hebrew). TheMarker. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ "Israel plans tram-train line". International Railway Journal. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
- ^ "Tender to be issued for Haifa-Nazareth light rail". Globes. 27 May 2018.
- ^ Be’er Sheva light rail project to proceed
- ^ a b "Statistical Data" (in Hebrew). Israel Railways. Archived from the original on 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
- ^ Shahar, Michael. "Annual Report, 2009" (PDF) (in Hebrew). Israel Railways. p. 17. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ Wiseman, Shahar. "Annual Report, 2017" (PDF) (in Hebrew). Israel Railways. pp. 22–24. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
- ^ Wiseman, Shahar. "Annual Report, 2018" (PDF) (in Hebrew). Israel Railways. p. 18. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
- ^ "Annual Report, 2020" (PDF) (in Hebrew). Israel Railways. p. א-16. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- ^ Wiseman, Shahar (2022). דין וחשבון שנתי 2021 [2021 Annual Report] (PDF) (Report) (in Hebrew). Israel Railways. p. 41. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
- ^ "Error" (PDF).
- ^ "Error" (PDF).
- ^ Forward, The Jewish Daily, article published 4 February 2005