| Israel Railways | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Locale | Israel |
| Dates of operation | 1948–present |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)(standard gauge) |
| Length | 1001 Km |
| Website | www.rail.co.il/en |
Israel Railways (Hebrew: רַכֶּבֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Rakevet Yisra'el) is Israel's government-owned national railway company and is responsible for all inter-city and suburban railway passenger and freight traffic in the country. All its lines are standard gauge. The network is centered in Israel's densely populated coastal plain from where lines radiate out from in many directions. Unlike road vehicles, Israeli trains run on the left side of the tracks.
Lines
Plans are to divide Israel Railways' passenger routes into eight operational lines:
Terminus (north) Intermediate stations Terminus (south) Major destinations
Nahariya Akko - Kiryat Motzkin - Kiryat Haim - Hutzot HaMifratz - Lev HaMifratz - Haifa Center - Haifa Bat Galim - Haifa Hof HaCarmel - Atlit - Binyamina - Tel Aviv University - Tel Aviv Savidor Central Railway Station - Tel Aviv HaShalom - Tel Aviv HaHagana - Lod - Kiryat Gat - Lehavim - Beersheba North Beersheba Center Nahariya - Akko - HaKrayot - Haifa - Atlit - Binyamina-Giv'at Ada / Or Akiva - Tel Aviv / Ramat Gan - Lod - Kiryat Gat - Lehavim / Rahat - Beersheba
Kiryat Motzkin Kiryat Haim - Hutzot HaMifratz - Lev HaMifratz - Haifa Center - Haifa Bat Galim Haifa Hof HaCarmel HaKrayot - Haifa
Binyamina Caesarea-Pardes Hanna - Hadera Ma'arav - Netanya - Beit Yehoshua - Herzliya - Tel Aviv University - Tel Aviv Savidor Central Railway Station - Tel Aviv HaShalom - Tel Aviv HaHagana - Kfar Habad - Lod - Be'er Ya'akov - Rehovot - Yavne - Ashdod Ashkelon Binyamina / Or Akiva - Caesarea Industrial Zone / Pardes Hanna-Karkur - Hadera - Beit Yehoshua / Even Yehuda - Herzliya - Tel Aviv / Ramat Gan - Kfar Habad - Lod - Be'er Ya'akov - Rehovot / Ness Ziona - Yavne - Ashdod - Ashkelon / Kfar Silver
Hod Hasharon Kfar Saba - Rosh HaAyin Tzafon - Petah Tikva Segula - Kiryat Arye - Bnei Brak - Tel Aviv University - Tel Aviv Savidor Central Railway Station - Tel Aviv HaShalom - Tel Aviv HaHagana - Lod Ganei Aviv - Lod Rishon LeZion HaRishonim Kfar Sava / Hod HaSharon - Rosh HaAyin / Neve Yerek - Petah Tikva - Bnei Brak / Ramat Gan - Tel Aviv - Lod - Rishon LeZion / Ness Ziona
Tel Aviv Savidor Central Railway Station Tel Aviv HaShalom - Tel Aviv HaHagana - Lod - Ramla - Beit Shemesh - Biblical Zoo Jerusalem Malha Tel Aviv / Ramat Gan - Lod - Ramla - Beit Shemesh - Jerusalem
Tel Aviv Savidor Central Railway Station Tel Aviv HaShalom - Tel Aviv HaHagana - Lod - Kiryat Gat - Lehavim Center - Beersheba North Beersheba Center Tel Aviv / Ramat Gan - Lod - Kiryat Gat - Lehavim / Rahat - Beersheba
Beersheba North Dimona Beersheba - Dimona
Tel Aviv Savidor Central Railway Station Ben Gurion Airport - Paatei Modi'in Modi'in Central Tel Aviv - Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut
Track
As of 2010, Israel Railways' network spans approximately 1000km with around 250km additional is or expected to be under construction in the early 2010 decade. The physical railway network includes a railway line extending north from Tel Aviv along the coast, reaching Haifa, the Kerayot, and Nahariya. Another goes south to Beersheba with a new spur from the Be'er Sheva North Station to Dimona, which opened on December 17, 2005. There are future plans to extend the Beersheba-Dimona line to the Red Sea port of Eilat.
Another line goes south to Ashkelon with a spur to Rishon LeZion. This line was extended from Ashdod to Ashkelon in April 2005. Another line goes East to Kfar Sava Nordau station with an extension to Hod HaSharon (Sokolov St) opening on 2 September 2006.
Service on the existing line to Jerusalem, which opened in 1892, was suspended in 1998 due to the poor state of the track. It was reopened in stages starting five years later, after extensive renovations. The section of this line to Beit Shemesh re-opened in September 2003, while the remainder of the upgraded line to Jerusalem opened in April 2005 together with the opening of the new Jerusalem Malha Station in Southern Jerusalem, instead of the original Khan Station. In October 2004, a new line was opened from Tel Aviv to the new Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion International Airport. The line was extended to Modi'in in September 2007. Another branch of this railway currently under construction will continue as a high-speed railway to Jerusalem. This difficult-to-construct line will be electrified and make extensive use of long railway tunnels in order for trains to achieve high speeds as they make their way from the coastal region to the mountainous Jerusalem area. In its first phase this line will terminate at a new underground station under construction underneath the Jerusalem Central Bus Station in central Jerusalem. There are future plans to extend the line from the Jerusalem Central Bus Station so that it will connect with the (now upgraded) historic railroad that already reaches Southern Jerusalem. The ride on the new high-speed line from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem Center will take approximately 30–40 minutes (compared to the current service which reaches the less-centrally located station in Southern Jerusalem in 95–100 minutes). The line is expected to be finished sometime around 2016.
Expansion plans
Initial plan (2003–2011)
Israel Railways' initial plan map
Approved long-term plans, including the follow-up plan
Israel Railways traces its roots to the railway lines built by the Ottoman and British authorities. For many years the system lay under-utilized and in disrepair. However, in recent years Israel Railways has undertaken an ambitious multi-billion shekel expansion program (the sum invested between 2003 and 2011 is equivalent to about USD $6.5 billion). This program calls for large sums to be invested in reviving abandoned railways, refurbishing and upgrading existing lines, and the construction of major brand new lines, as well as planning for the electrification of much of the system and the purchase of new rolling stock.
Besides the aforementioned high-speed Tel Aviv to Modi'in/Jerusalem line, other new lines are currently approved or under construction. One is the revival of the long-defunct Jezreel Valley line from Haifa to Beit She'an (originally a branch of the famed Hejaz railway) with a planned future connection across the Jordan River into Jordan. A new line is being constructed from Tel Aviv to Ashdod via the southern Tel Aviv suburbs of Holon, Bat Yam, Rishon LeZion and Yavne (west) as an extension of the existing Coastal railway line. Another new line is being built to connect Ashkelon with Be'er Sheva via the southern development towns in the western Negev (Netivot, Ofakim and Sderot). Work on a new line from Acre (Akko) to Karmiel, which includes a 5 km railway tunnel, is set to begin in 2011. Also, the existing congested line to Beersheba is currently undergoing upgrades to high-speed, dual-track configuration. Additionally, works currently underway will ensure that by 2013, all portions of the current rail network which serve passenger trains will consist of double track (except for the Na'an—Beit Shemesh—Jerusalem section of the existing line to Jerusalem).
Starting in the early 1990s, a considerable amount of new passenger rolling stock has been purchased with additional equipment on order. Since 2000, this includes the delivery of 6 control and 81 regular Siemens Viaggio Light cars (with a further 31 on order) and 146 new Bombardier Double-deck Coach cars (with 78 additional on order). Also, dozens of new locomotives and diesel multiple unit trainsets were purchased as well.
Follow-up plan
The next expansion plan of Israel Railways, which will take place starting in 2012, calls for several expansions and additions:
A new line from Acre to Kiryat Shmona via Karmiel (was originally planned to be completed in 2008, but met numerous obstacles and was postponed).
A new line from Beersheba to Arad, via Nevatim and Hura. This line is planned to connect to a future line to Eilat and the Dead Sea.
Reconstruction of the old eastern line, from Rosh HaAyin to eastern Hadera
A new line from Rosh HaAyin to Ariel
A new branch from the line to Kfar Sava, which will reach the Petah Tikva Central Bus Station, and connect to the Tel Aviv Light Rail
Electrification
Currently Israel Railways relies solely on diesel locomotives and DMUs. In the spring of 2010, the government of Israel voted to appropriate the sum of NIS11.2 Billion (US$3 billion) to implement the first phase of Israel Railways' electrification programme. This phase includes electrifying 420 km of railways using 25 kV 50Hz AC and the construction of 14 transformer stations, plus the purchase of electric rolling stock. At the time however, some of the statutory permitting process for this effort had yet to be completed and therefore it is uncertain when construction will begin. Currently the maximum speed on the national rail network is limited to 150 km/h (though this is expected to rise to 160 km/h by 2013); as part of the electrification project, portions of the network will be designed to allow operation at speeds of up to 200 km/h.
Proposed rail lines to the PA
Talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in 2004 have raised the possibility of reviving the old line from the Gaza Strip to Tulkarm and/or building a new line from Gaza to Tarkumia (near Hebron) with the aim of securely transporting people and goods between Gaza and the West Bank through Israeli territory as well as for transporting cargo to and from the Israeli port of Ashdod destined to the Palestinian Authority. Another proposed line would involve the revival of the old Hejaz railway branch from Afula to Jenin.
Old railway links to other countries
Originally part of the Palestine Railway, a line linked Al Qantarah El Sharqiyya north of the Suez Canal in Egypt, skirting the Mediterranean northward to the port of Tripoli, Lebanon. In 1912, the French had built an extension of the Baghdad Railway south from Aleppo, Syria, to connect at Tripoli, Lebanon. Expanded during World War II by both Australian and later New Zealand engineers, the effective footprint extended as far as Damascus.
For a railway both created and effected by the logistical need of military engineers supporting a various war efforts, on the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and the outbreak of hostilities during the Israeli War of Independence, those connections were severed and have yet to be restored.
Israeli forces bombed the rail bridge on the way to Lebanon, and the remnants of this line can be seen at Rosh HaNikra grottoes, where a virtual "train ride to peace" movie is shown inside the sealed tunnel that used to go into Lebanon. The tracks used to continue from Rosh HaNikra to Nahariya (the current northern end of the line) making it possible for one to travel from Lebanon all the way to Tel Aviv, Cairo, and beyond. Northerly, there was a route to Syria and connection via Chemins de Fer Syriens to Damascus.
Current railway links with adjacent countries
Lebanon – defunct
Syria – defunct (narrow gauge)
Jordan – proposed
Egypt – defunct
Passenger traffic
Tel Aviv HaShalom, one of the most recognizable railway stations in Israel
In the first years after the state's establishment in 1948, 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. The heavy investments in the rail infrastructure beginning in the early-to-mid 90s made train travel more appealing, especially given the ever-increasing road congestion, and consequently passenger use began rising rapidly—by a factor of about fivefold over any given ten year span, beginning in 1990, a trend which has been continuing to the present day. 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
Year Passengers (millions) Major events
1996 5.1
Opening of Tel Aviv HaShalom
1997 5.6
1998 6.4
Opening of Kfar Habad
Closing of the line from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem (via Beit Shemesh)
Opening of Be'er Ya'akov
1999 8.8
Opening of Haifa Hof HaCarmel
Completion of the Azrieli Center next to Tel Aviv HaShalom
2000 12.7
Opening of Be'er Sheva Center
Opening of Tel Aviv University, Bnei Brak, Petah Tikva Segula and Rosh HaAyin South
2001 15.1[2]
Opening of Caesarea-Pardes Hanna
Opening of Lev HaMifratz and Hutzot HaMifratz
2002 17.5
Re-opening of Acre
Opening of Tel Aviv HaHagana
2003 19.8
Re-opening of Beit Shemesh
Opening of Ramla
Opening of Rishon LeZion HaRishonim
Opening of the Kfar Sava line (Kfar Sava, Hod HaSharon, Rosh HaAyin North)
Opening of Ashdod Ad Halom
2004 22.9
Opening of Ben Gurion Airport
Opening of Herzliya
2005 26.8
Opening of Ashkelon
Re-opening of the Jerusalem line (Biblical Zoo and Jerusalem Malha)
2006 28.4
2007 31.8
Opening of Paatei Modi'in
2008 35.1
Opening of Modi'in Central, Lod Ganei Aviv and Kiryat Aryeh
2009 35.9
Israel Railways passenger stations
Name Hebrew City Lines
Acre עכו Acre Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Nahariya - Modi'in
Ashdod Ad Halom
Ashdod South אשדוד עד הלום
אשדוד דרום Ashdod Binyamina - Ashkelon
Ashkelon אשקלון Ashkelon Binyamina - Ashkelon
Atlit עתלית Atlit Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Nahariya - Modi'in
Be'er Sheva Center באר שבע מרכז Beersheba Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Tel Aviv Central - Be'er Sheva Center
Be'er Sheva North
University באר שבע צפון
אוניברסיטה Beersheba Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Tel Aviv Central - Be'er Sheva Center
Be'er Sheva North - Dimona
Be'er Ya'akov באר יעקב Be'er Ya'akov Binyamina - Ashkelon
Ben Gurion Airport נמל תעופה בן גוריון Ben Gurion International Airport Nahariya - Modi'in
Beit Shemesh בית שמש Beit Shemesh Tel Aviv Central - Jerusalem Malha
Beit Yehoshua בית יהושע Beit Yehoshua Binyamina - Ashkelon
Biblical Zoo גן החיות התנ"כי Jerusalem Tel Aviv Central - Jerusalem Malha
Binyamina בנימינה Binyamina-Giv'at Ada Binyamina - Ashkelon
Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Nahariya - Modi'in
Bnei Brak בני ברק Bnei Brak / Ramat Gan Hod Hasharon Sokolov - HaRishonim
Caesarea-Pardes Hanna קיסריה-פרדס חנה Pardes Hanna-Karkur
Caesarea Industrial Zone Binyamina - Ashkelon
Dimona דימונה Dimona Be'er Sheva North - Dimona
Hadera West חדרה מערב Hadera Binyamina - Ashkelon
Haifa Bat Galim חיפה בת גלים Haifa Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Nahariya - Modi'in
Haifa Hof HaCarmel - Kiryat Motzkin
Haifa Hof HaCarmel חיפה חוף הכרמל Haifa Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Nahariya - Modi'in
Haifa Hof HaCarmel - Kiryat Motzkin
Haifa Central חיפה מרכז Haifa Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Nahariya - Modi'in
Haifa Hof HaCarmel - Kiryat Motzkin
Herzliya הרצליה Herzliya Binyamina - Ashkelon
Hod HaSharon Sokolov
(Kfar Sava) הוד השרון סוקולוב
כפר סבא Hod HaSharon / Kfar Saba Hod Hasharon Sokolov - HaRishonim
Hutzot HaMifratz חוצות המפרץ Haifa Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Nahariya - Modi'in
Haifa Hof HaCarmel - Kiryat Motzkin
Jerusalem Malha ירושלים מלחה Jerusalem Tel Aviv Central - Jerusalem Malha
Kfar Habad כפר חב"ד Kfar Habad Binyamina - Ashkelon
Kfar Saba – Nordau
(Hod HaSharon) כפר סבא נורדאו
הוד השרון Kfar Saba / Hod HaSharon Hod Hasharon Sokolov - HaRishonim
Kiryat Gat קרית גת Kiryat Gat Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Tel Aviv Central - Be'er Sheva Center
Kiryat Haim קריית חיים Haifa (Kiryat Haim) Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Nahariya - Modi'in
Haifa Hof HaCarmel - Kiryat Motzkin
Kiryat Motzkin קריית מוצקין Haifa (Kiryat Shmuel)
Kiryat Motzkin Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Nahariya - Modi'in
Haifa Hof HaCarmel - Kiryat Motzkin
Lehavim Rahat להבים רהט Lehavim Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Tel Aviv Central - Be'er Sheva Center
Lev HaMifratz לב המפרץ Haifa Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Nahariya - Modi'in
Haifa Hof HaCarmel - Kiryat Motzkin
Lod לוד Lod Binyamina - Ashkelon
Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Tel Aviv Central - Be'er Sheva Center
Hod Hasharon Sokolov - HaRishonim
Lod Ganei Aviv לוד גני אביב Lod Hod Hasharon Sokolov - HaRishonim
Modi'in Central מודיעין מרכז Modi'in Nahariya - Modi'in
Nahariya נהריה Nahariya Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Nahariya - Modi'in
Netanya נתניה Netanya Binyamina - Ashkelon
Paatei Modi'in פאתי מודיעין Modi'in Nahariya - Modi'in
Petah Tikva Kiryat Arye פתח תקווה קרית אריה Petah Tikva Hod Hasharon Sokolov - HaRishonim
Petah Tikva Segula פתח תקווה סגולה Petah Tikva Hod Hasharon Sokolov - HaRishonim
Ramla רמלה Ramla Tel Aviv Central - Jerusalem Malha
Rehovot רחובות Rehovot Binyamina - Ashkelon
Rishon LeZion HaRishonim ראשון לציון הראשונים Rishon LeZion Hod Hasharon Sokolov - HaRishonim
Rosh HaAyin Tzafon ראש העין צפון Rosh HaAyin / Neve Yerek Hod Hasharon Sokolov - HaRishonim
Tel Aviv HaHagana תל אביב ההגנה Tel Aviv Binyamina - Ashkelon
Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Tel Aviv Central - Be'er Sheva Center
Nahariya - Modi'in
Hod Hasharon Sokolov - HaRishonim
Tel Aviv HaShalom תל אביב השלום Tel Aviv Binyamina - Ashkelon
Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Nahariya - Modi'in
Tel Aviv Central - Be'er Sheva Center
Hod Hasharon Sokolov - HaRishonim
Tel Aviv Central
Savidor תל אביב מרכז
סבידור Tel Aviv / Ramat Gan Binyamina - Ashkelon
Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Nahariya - Modi'in
Tel Aviv Central - Be'er Sheva Center
Hod Hasharon Sokolov - HaRishonim
Tel Aviv University
Convention Center תל אביב אוניברסיטה
מרכז הירידים Tel Aviv Binyamina - Ashkelon
Nahariya - Be'er Sheva Center
Nahariya - Modi'in
Hod Hasharon Sokolov - HaRishonim
Yavne יבנה Yavne Binyamina - Ashkelon
Rolling stock
Bombardier double-deck coach
Israel Railways employs the following passenger trains and locomotives (partial list):
Various G-series (G12, G16, G26) GM-EMD export locomotives (since 1955)
Boris Kidrič/Metalka "Yugo" (since 1964-72)
ABB Scandia IC3 (since 1992)
Alstom Prima diesel locomotives (JT42BW and JT42CW, GM-EMD powered) (since 1996)
Bombardier Double-deck Coach since 2001; a further coaches were ordered from Bombardier in 2010.
Siemens Viaggio Light (configured as "ISR SDPP train") passenger coaches (since 2009)
Railway disasters
In 1972, a train crashed into a military truck, killing 18 soldiers.
On June 11, 1985, a train crashed into a bus carrying school children, killing 19 children and 3 adults, near moshav HaBonim.
On June 21, 2005, a train crashed into a freight truck near kibbutz Revadim, killing 8 and injuring 198.
On June 12, 2006, a train crashed into a truck near Beit Yehoshua, killing 5 and injuring from 77 to over 80.
On December 27, 2009 a train crashed into a car near Kiryat Gat. The driver proceeded without regard to the train checkpoint on the road. The train struck his car and he was killed.
On August 5, 2010 a train crashed into a minibus near Kiryat Gat, killing 7 and injuring 6. The minibus was hit at 19:05 GMT+3 on Route 353, apparently as it tried to pass over a level crossing.
On December 28, 2010 a fire started in a train near kibbutz Yakum probably because a short circuit, wounding 116.
(source:wikipedia)
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