Israel - General Information: Difference between revisions
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==Metro== | ==Metro== | ||
A metro system is planned for Tel Aviv. | |||
==Trams== | ==Trams== | ||
Revision as of 19:29, 13 April 2022
Country Name
Israel (officially the State of Israel, Medīnat Yisrā'el: יִשְׂרָאֵל,)
National Railway System
Israel Railways (Rakevet Yisra'el: רַכֶּבֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל )
Language
Israel has two official languages, Hebrew and Arabic. Hebrew is the primary language of the state and is spoken by the majority of the population.
Currency
New shekel (₪); symbol ILS.
UIC code
Numeric 95; alpha IL.
Timetable
The journey planners and related software tools can be switched between Hebrew, Arabic and English.
Journey Planner
- PC/laptop: rail.co.il/en
- Smartphone: Israel Railways
Actual Train Times
Not known, except that train delays are shown in the journey planner.
Downloadable Timetable
Not known.
Printed Timetable
Not known.
Engineering Information
https://www.rail.co.il/en/pages/updates.aspx, though updates to the English language page can be somewhat delayed compared to the Hebrew page.
Bus Information
Not known
Maps
Printed Maps
- World Rail Atlas - The Middle East and Caucasus by Neil Robinson.
Web-based Maps
- Thorsten Büker's Map of Israel. Not updated since 2009.
- Wikipedia Israel Railways. Not updated since 2008. Existing lines are shown in black; lines under construction or advanced planning in red; lines approved in purple. The purple line from Lod to Rosh HaAyin is an existing freight line, with a connecting curve to allow trains from Lod to access Ben Gurion Airport. The line shown in grey is an extension to Jordan.
Ticketing
See the Israel Railways website. For most travellers the smart "Rav Kav Card" is the easiest way to purchase tickets; the card can be obtained from ticket offices and other locations and can be personalised (with photo) or anonymous (with no photo). The Card can then be topped up at ticket machines or using the Smartphone App. Local, zonal or full network tickets can be loaded, and these can include most public transport such as trams and buses, as well as trains.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure Authority
Israeli Railways Infrastructures Division
Network Statement
None known
Gauge
Standard.
Electrification
25 kV 50 Hz ac.
In the spring of 2010, the government agreed the first phase of a programme to electrify 420 km of the system. By April 2022, the following routes were being worked by electric trains:
- Hertsliya - Tel Aviv - Ben Gurion Airport - Jerusalem-Yitzhak Navon
- Hertsliya - Rosh Ha'Ayin-North - Tel Aviv - Ashkelon
- Modi'in-Center - Jerusalem-Yitzhak Navon
Rule of the road
Left.
Distances
Distances are available, in kilometres, for some lines as listed below.
Tel Aviv - Jerusalem old main line
| Tel Aviv Ha Hagana | 3.1 |
| Kfar Habbad | 12.7 |
| Lod | 19.7 |
| Ramleh | 21.6 |
| Na'an | 28.9 |
| Bet Shemesh | 50.2 |
| Bar Giyyora | 63.2 |
| Bittir | 75.7 |
| Jerusalem Zoo | 80.2 |
| Jerusalem Malha | 81.3 |
| Jerusalem old Main Station (closed) | 86.6 |
Haifa - Lebanese Border
| Haifa Mizrah | 0 |
| Zomet Zvulun | 2.1 |
| Lev HaMifraz | 3.8 |
| Hutzot HaMifraz | 6.3 |
| Qiryat Haim | 8.2 |
| Qiryat Motzkin | 9.2 |
| Akko | 20.7 |
| Nahariyya | 29.5 |
| Bezet (no traffic) | 36.5 |
| Lebanese Border | about 38.5 |
Haifa - Tel Aviv
| Haifa Mizrah | 0 |
| Haifa Merkaz | 1.4 |
| Haifa Bat Galim | 3.2 |
| Hof ha-Karmel | 9.3 |
| Atlit | 20.5 |
| Zikhron-Ya'aqov | 34.6 |
| Binyamina | 41.1 |
| Qesaryya Pardes-Hanna | 44.3 |
| Hadera Maarav | 52.1 |
| Kfar Vitkin | 58.4 |
| Netanya | 65.9 |
| Bet Yehoshu'a | 72.3 |
| Herzliyya | 84.0 |
| Tel Aviv University | 90.9 |
| Tel Aviv Savidor Merkaz | 93.2 |
| Tel Aviv Ha-Shalom | 94.6 |
| Tel Aviv Ha-Hagana | 96.9 |
Lod - Gaza Strip Border
| Lod | 111.0 |
| Be'er Ya'akov | 115.9 |
| Rehovot | 119.8 |
| Yavne Mizrach | 128.0 |
| Ashdod Ad-Halom | 140.3 |
| Ashqelon | 152.9 |
| Shiqma Junction | 159.3 |
| (to Rutenberg Power Station, 5 Km) | |
| Yad Mordechai | 56.7 |
| Border with Gaza | about 62.4 |
Na'an - Har Zin
| Na'an | 0 |
| Qiryat Gat | 31.9 |
| Be'er Sheva Tzafon | 71.5 |
| Be'er Sheva Merkaz (on branch) | 76.2 |
| Dimona | 108.9 |
| Oron (freight only) | 139.5 |
| Har Zin (freight only) | 169.6 |
Other Railways
None.
Tourist Lines
None.
Metro
A metro system is planned for Tel Aviv.
Trams
Jerusalem (Light Rail). A network is under construction in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
Recent and future changes
On 17 Feb 2020 the Israeli transport ministry announced that a new route had been approved for a 3km extension in tunnel of the Jerusalem high-speed line. This will run from the present station to one underneath the heart of the Old City, near the Western Wall. This is controversial. It has been criticised by Jordan, which has special responsibility for overseeing the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem. Israel regards Jerusalem as its eternal and undivided capital, whilst the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem - occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war - as the capital of a future state.
Services on the A1 Jerusalem High Speed Line were extended to Tel Aviv HaHagana on 21 December 2019, following completion of the electrification between the airport and Tel Aviv. The line, which opened on 25 September 2018, connects Jerusalem to Tel Aviv (57 km) by means of a new line branching off the Ben Gurion Airport-Modi‘in line to an underground terminal in central Jerusalem. As at September 2018 only one of the two tracks was in use and electrified: a shuttle service operated to the airport, with passengers required to change to or from diesel services there. The existing line to Jerusalem has not closed but retains a local service. It may at some point be converted to a tram-train at the Jerusalem end, linking into the existing Light Rail system.
The 23km Akko (Acre) to Karmi’el line opened on 20 September 2017. Design work is underway on the next phase from Karmiel to Kiryat Shmona in the far north of the country.
The 60 km Valley Line from Haifa to Beit Shee'an (close to the Jordanian border), on the course of a Hedjaz railway branch closed in 1951, opened on 4 November 2016. It might one day be extended across the River Jordan to connect to a possible new line from Irbil.
The first section of the 60 km long Ashkelon – Goral Jn (– Be`er Sheva) line, from Ashkelon to Sderot, was opened on 25 December 2013. Shderot to Netivot opened in February 2015, with the final stretch via Ofakim to Goral opened on 19 September 2015, with a grade-separated junction to the main line. Ofakim station opened on 2 January 2016. The link provides a second route from Be'er Sheva to Tel Aviv for both passenger and freight trains.
A 19 km double track line from Rishon LeTsiyyon West to Bne Darom Junction, connecting with the Ashdod – Ashkelon Line, was opened in two stages: to Yavne West on 25 February 2012 and on to Bne Darom Junction on 4 August 2013. The doubling of Motzkin – Nahariyya was completed in 2013, and of Tel Aviv - Kefar Sava and Lod – Na‘an – Be`er Sheva in 2012. The new Tel Aviv-HaHagana - Rishon LeTsiyyon West line opened on 25 September 2011.
In May 2012 the cabinet approved construction of a line from Tel Aviv to Eilat to enable freight to bypass the Suez Canal. The 350km line will be for passengers and freight and is due to shorten travel time to two hours. The route is close to being finalized, will take five years to build and be funded by the Chinese. A new port will be built near Eilat, with a double track line to Ashdod on the Mediterranean coast. The main drive for this comes from increased fears of instability in Egypt.
Special Notes
None
