Israel - General Information
Country Name
Israel (officially the State of Israel, Medīnat Yisrā'el: יִשְׂרָאֵל,)
National Railway System
Israel Railways (Rakevet Yisra'el: רַכֶּבֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל )
Official Website
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
Downloadable Timetable
PDF timetable file. This URL may change in the future but the file can be accessed from the link next to the PDF symbol 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. A new smart card ticket "Rav Kav Card" has been introduced; a passport must be shown to purchase this card. If buying a weekly ticket it must be loaded on one of these. A photo ID is embedded onto the rear of the card, which can then be loaded at either a booking office or on a ticket machine. There is no need to take a photo; it is taken by a small camera at the ticket window and put directly on the card.
On 1 January 2016, the National Public Transport Authority launched the Public Transport Tariff Reform in four metropolitan areas of Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem and Be’er Sheva, giving improved ticketing options.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure Authority
Israeli Railways Infrastructures Division
Network Statement
None known
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. The first line to be electrified is the 'A1' Jerusalem High Speed Link. The first test run with an electric locomotive took place on the first 12km electrified section of the A1 between Anava junction and Latrun Monastery in December 2017.
Rule of the road
Left.
Distances
Distances are available for some lines
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
None.
Trams
Jerusalem (Light Rail). A network is under construction in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
Recent and future changes
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. 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.
The most significant new project is the Jerusalem High Speed Link Project, connecting 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. This is due to open in April 2018 and will reduce the journey time from 1 h 23 min to 28 min. The first test run with an electric locomotive took place on the first 12km electrified section of the A1 between Anava junction and Latrun Monastery in December 2017. The existing line to Jerusalem will not close but will retain 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.
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