Israel - General Information

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Country Name

Israel (officially the State of Israel, Medīnat Yisrā'el: יִשְׂרָאֵל‎,)

National Railway System

Israel Railways (Rakevet Yisra'el: רַכֶּבֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל‎‎ )

Official Website

www.rail.co.il

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

Journey Planner

rail.co.il

Downloadable Timetable

PDF timetable files for the whole country are available here. Although the web page is in Hebrew, the timetable files are in both English and Hebrew.

Printed Timetable

Printed timetable booklets are available for sale for the first few months after a timetable change.

Engineering Information

Changes in rail services, including those due to engineering works can be accessed from the Home Page.

Bus Information

Not known

Maps

Printed Maps

"World Rail Atlas Vol. 8 The Middle East and Caucasus" by Neil Robinson (ISBN-10: 954-12-0128-8; ISBN-13: 978-954-12-0128-2)

Web-based Maps

Thorsten Büker's Map of Israel

Wikipedia Israel Railways. 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

Gauge

Standard.

Electrification

At present there are no electrified lines in Israel. In the spring of 2010, the government agreed the first phase of a programme to electrify 420 km of route at 25 kV 50Hz AC.

Rule of the road

Left.

Other Railways

None.

Tourist Lines

None.

Metro

None.

Trams

Jerusalem (Light Rail). A network is planned for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.

Recent and future changes

The Israel Railways Development Plan comprises a number of significant engineering projects:

  • The Jerusalem High Speed Link Project, connecting Jerusalem to Tel Aviv by means of a new 38 km line branching off the Ben Gurion Airport-Modi‘in Line to an underground terminal in central Jerusalem.
  • Doubling and upgrading Tel Aviv - Kefar Sava, Motzkin – Nahariyya and Lod – Na‘an – Be`er Sheva.
  • Construction of a 19 km double track line from Rishon LeTsiyyon West to Bne Darom Junction, connecting with the Ashdod – Ashkelon Line.
  • Construction of a 18 km double track line from Tel Aviv-HaHagana to Rishon LeTsiyyon West.
  • Construction of a 60 km line, partly double track, from Ashkelon southwards to join the Lod – Na‘an – Be`er Sheva line.
  • Sharon Line (Ra‘anana – Coastal Line): construction of a 12 km double track alignment branching off the coastal line to Kefar Sava.

There are plans to build a line south from the Dimona area to Eilat to enable freight to bypass the Suez Canal. Special Notes

The first section of the Ashkelon – Be`er Sheva line, from Ashkelon to Sderot, is due to open on 24 December 2013. The rest of the line should open a year later.

Special Notes

Distances

Distances are available for some lines

Tel Aviv - Jerusalem

Tel Avivi HaHagana 0
Kfar Habbad 5
Lod 15.3
Ramleh West 17.8
Na'an 26.8
Bet Shemesh 46.3
Bar Giyyora 59.5
Bittir 72.1
Jerusalem Zoo 78.5
Jerusalem Malha 79.5
Jerusalem old Main Station (without traffic) 83.0

Haifa - Lebanese Border

Haifa Mizrah 0
Qishon 5.4
Lev HaMifraz 6.2
Hutzot HaMifraz 7.4
Qiryat Haim 8.0
Qiryat Motzkin 9.0
Akko 20.7
Bustan Ha-Galil 23.0
Shavei Zion 26.5
Nahariyya 29.5
Bezet 34.5 (no traffic)
Lebanese Border about 38.5

Haifa - Tel Aviv

Haifa Mizrah 0
Haifa Merkaz 1.5
Haifa Bat Galim 2.8
Hof ha-Karmel 7.1
Atlit 20.5
Zikhron-Ya'aqov 34.5 (closed)
Binyamina 40.8
Qesaryya Pardes-Hanna 44.7
Hadera Maarav 51.5
Kfar Vitkin 58.0 (closed)
Netanya 65.6
Bet Yehoshu'a 72.5
Herzliyya 83.9
Tel Aviv University 91.9
Tel Aviv Ha-Shalom 94.1
Tel Aviv Yizhak Sadeh 95.0
Tel Aviv Ha-Hagana 96.2

Lod - Gaza Strip Border

Lod 0
Be'er Ya'akov 5.2
Rehovot 9.5
Yavne 16.9
Ashdod Ad-Halom 29.8
Ashqelon 44.4
Ge'a 48 (closed)
Shiqma Junction 53 (to Rutenberg Power Station, 5 Km)
Yad Mordechai 56.7
Border to Gaza about 62.4

Na'an - Har Zin

Na'an 0
Qiryat Gat 43.2
Be'er Sheva Tzafon 73.0
Be'er Sheva Merkaz 75.9 (on branch)
Dimona 109
Oron 138.0 (freight only)
Har Zin 171.6 (freight only)