Israel Railway developments

[jis]

From the Railway Gazette:

A US$3·2bn programme to electrify 420 km of existing and planned railway was approved by the Committee for National Infrastructure on August 12.The first lines to be electrified at 25 kV 50 Hz would be the future 23 km 'Akko - Karmi'el route and Tel Aviv - Jerusalem fast line, including the branch to Modi'in. Tenders are to be called in the first quarter of 2014.

You can read the whole article here.

This should also speed up the travel from Ben Gurion Airport to Tel Aviv stations (Ha Shalom, Ha Hagana, etc.). It is part of the Jerusalem/Modi'in Line.

 

[Barciur]

Imagine living in a country with just 420 km of railways.. that's sad and depressing!

 

[railiner]

Somewhat surprised they even have a railway.....seems with their problems, railways would be more susceptible to sabotage by terrorists than buses would be.....

 

[jis]

And yet it is mostly buses that keep getting blown up in Israel.

Israel is aggressively building it's railways. The big new project is connecting Eilat on the Gulf of Aqaba with Tel Aviv and Jerusalem by constructing a line from Dimona to Eilat.

Considering how small the country is and little working railway was left there in the late 40s 460km is really quite a lot.

 

[railiner]

That's what makes it surprising....buses are usually blown up by suicide bombers, while railways could be sabotaged in some rural area, and the terrorists could get away....

 

[jis]

Clearly you have not been to Israel the level of security that they manage to exercise in Israel proper has to be seen to be believed. It is easier to protect static infrastructure than to protect something that carries people in it.

(null)

 

[railiner]

I guess I'll have to take your word for it, as that entire part of the world is one I have no desire to go anywhere near.....

 

[George Harris]

Imagine living in a country with just 420 km of railways.. that's sad and depressing!

Maybe a little understanding of the size of the country would help. Is it really 420 km? Wikipedia says 949 km = 589 miles.

Either way, the total land area under Israeli control is 8,500 square miles. The distance from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv is only 71 km = 44 miles. North south, the distance between the northern tip at Dan and the furthest south city of significance, Be'er Sheva is 278 km = 173 miles, and if you go all the way to Eilat at the tip of the Gulf of Aqaba, that is only 503 km = 312 miles. When you look at that, the proportion of railroad mileage to country size is not bad.

And yes, to go to Israel is on my bucket list.

 

[MrFSS]

Imagine living in a country with just 420 km of railways.. that's sad and depressing!

Maybe a little understanding of the size of the country would help. Is it really 420 km? Wikipedia says 949 km = 589 miles.

Either way, the total land area under Israeli control is 8,500 square miles. The distance from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv is only 71 km = 44 miles. North south, the distance between the northern tip at Dan and the furthest south city of significance, Be'er Sheva is 278 km = 173 miles, and if you go all the way to Eilat at the tip of the Gulf of Aqaba, that is only 503 km = 312 miles. When you look at that, the proportion of railroad mileage to country size is not bad.

And yes, to go to Israel is on my bucket list.

I have been there - the Falafels are magnificent!

 

[jis]

As a matter of full disclosure, I do go to Israel three to four times each year for a week each time, on work. I lead a software architecture and modeling team, a third of which is in Israel. I have come to like that part of the world a lot over the last 5 years.

Yes, the Felafels and Hummus specially at any impromptu food place in any remote Kibbutz - eating while sitting under an Olive tree, with home made lemonade. That is an amazing experience.

 

[cirdan]

Somewhat surprised they even have a railway.....seems with their problems, railways would be more susceptible to sabotage by terrorists than buses would be.....

Not if you look at history. The origins of the railroads there go back to colonial times and the Ottomans. Israel also has a fair bit of mining and many of the railroads were built foremost to bring minerals to the ports. On the passenger side, Israel Railways were pretty much the underdog for many decades, with buses and cars being the transportation of choice and railroads being extremely marginal, but since the 1990s that has turned around with a massive revival of passenger trains, fuelled largely by highway congestion and concerns over pollution. Of course there is a risk that as their significance grows, that they are also coming onto the radar screens of terrorists. But I think that we often overlook that that is a central part of life in Israel anyway, with everybody living in an enhanced state of alertness all the time.

 

[jis]

Well put Cirdan. Agree 100% as a typical Israeli would say. They seem to say 100% a lot.

BTW, the most definitive history of the Railways of Palestine in my opinion is Paul Cotterell's The Railways of Palestine and Israel,

During the Second World War it was theoretiucally possible to take a train all the way from London to Cairo, with two ferry crossing - the English Channel and the Bosphorus.

You can see remnants of that line at Rosh Hanikra on the Israel - Lebanon border. The road from Nahariyya to Rosh Hanikra pretty much follows the old RoW of this line - the Beirut - Haifa Railway. One of the tunnels through the cliffs of Rosh Hanikra is sealed off at the Lebanon border which falls inside the tunnel. The Israeli half has an interesting museum about the building of the BHR by the Australian and New Zeeland Engineering Corps during the war. The line was destroyed by the Hagana during the Israeli struggle for independence to prevent the British from bringing in supplies over the railway.

The Rafaa Crossing from Gaza to Egypt (Sinai) is essentially on what used to be the right of way of the line from Palestine to the Suez Canal, which it then crossed on a swing bridge to connect with the line to Cairo. Most of all that is of course gone, but not forgotten.

Yes, I have been to Rosh Hanikra, twice as a matter of fact. And no, I have not been to Rafaa Crossing and would not dare go anywhere near there.

 

[jis]

Here is a picture of the old RoW at Rosh Hanikra which is now re-purposed as a tourist spot, facing the tunnel that would lead into Lebanon if it were not sealed off in the middle.

 

[cirdan]

Well put Cirdan. Agree 100% as a typical Israeli would say. They seem to say 100% a lot.
BTW, the most definitive history of the Railways of Palestine in my opinion is Paul Cotterell's The Railways of Palestine and Israel,

During the Second World War it was theoretiucally possible to take a train all the way from London to Cairo, with two ferry crossing - the English Channel and the Bosphorus.

You can see remnants of that line at Rosh Hanikra on the Israel - Lebanon border. The road from Nahariyya to Rosh Hanikra pretty much follows the old RoW of this line - the Beirut - Haifa Railway. One of the tunnels through the cliffs of Rosh Hanikra is sealed off at the Lebanon border which falls inside the tunnel. The Israeli half has an interesting museum about the building of the BHR by the Australian and New Zeeland Engineering Corps during the war. The line was destroyed by the Hagana during the Israeli struggle for independence to prevent the British from bringing in supplies over the railway.

The Rafaa Crossing from Gaza to Egypt (Sinai) is essentially on what used to be the right of way of the line from Palestine to the Suez Canal, which it then crossed on a swing bridge to connect with the line to Cairo. Most of all that is of course gone, but not forgotten.

Yes, I have been to Rosh Hanikra, twice as a matter of fact. And no, I have not been to Rafaa Crossing and would not dare go anywhere near there.

I hope that peace will return within our lifetimes so that we can visit all these places without fear, and maybe even see trains return to those lines for which a business case may still exist.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Imagine living in a country with just 420 km of railways.. that's sad and depressing!

Maybe a little understanding of the size of the country would help. Is it really 420 km? Wikipedia says 949 km = 589 miles.

Either way, the total land area under Israeli control is 8,500 square miles. The distance from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv is only 71 km = 44 miles. North south, the distance between the northern tip at Dan and the furthest south city of significance, Be'er Sheva is 278 km = 173 miles, and if you go all the way to Eilat at the tip of the Gulf of Aqaba, that is only 503 km = 312 miles. When you look at that, the proportion of railroad mileage to country size is not bad.

It's certainly very respectable given the size of the country and the tendency of terrorist activity to dissuade people from public transport. Look for a similar story in Northern Ireland - until the gradual cessation of violence in late nineties, NIR struggled to appeal to many passengers. Today, with a revitalised network and new rolling stock its making great gains.

In terms of passenger service, Israel is in great shape. Compare neighbouring Jordan, which has no surviving passenger service at all, despite the existence of a rail line paralleling the main north-south highway from Amman down to Aqaba, and the proximity of the railway to Wadi Rum, which is one of the country's most important tourist destinations. Sadly the prolonged violence in Syria has also seen the indefinite suspension of the International train between Amman and Damascus.

 

[Sean Banks]

Can somebody help me as I am a senior linesman and would like to work in Israel building the electrification on the railway. My partners sister lives near tel aviv and she would love to spend time with her and her children, as I would like to work there. I am Australian. My email is seanbanks_72 at hotmail.com

 

[Ryan]

I seriously doubt anyone here is in a position to helpful.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

I can help. I doubt you'll be able to work on a government funded project in Israel. Unless you're MOT.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I can help. I doubt you'll be able to work on a government funded project in Israel. Unless you're MOT.

Beat me to it! My Graduate School Advisor was a Consultant to the Israeli DOD but he was a MOT!!!

 

[jis]

After stumbling upon this old thread I decided to check the situation in Israel about its railways, which has fascinated me ever since I visited Israel a dozen times ending about 8years back.

They have indeed been very busy building new lines and electrifying lines too. Supposedly they are 60% electrified today.

For reference the full system service map diagrammatically looks like this:

I was surprised to see that the line to Bet She'an has been completed and placed in service. Also surprised about the service to Karmi'el.The line from Ashkelon to Tel Aviv and the Rosh HaAyin Loop is fully electrified as is the line from Lod to Netanya, Electrification is proceeding fast North of Netanya towards Haifa. The Ashdod - Lod line is also undergoing electrification. Eventually I suppose electrification will reach Be'er Sheva along both routes.

And of course the standard gauge line from Tel Aviv to both Jerusalem and Modi'in are electrified.

The big new project is the so called Eastern Railway, which basically replaces the original north - south line through Palestine built by the Ottomans in Narrow gauge, converted to Standard Gauge by the british and then dismantled by the Israelis because it was too close to Jordan/Palestine Territories border. It is being rebuilt from Caesarea/Hadera south to Lod, connecting with all the east - west lines on the way. At present it is not being built north of Hadera East north to the Bet She'an Line as the original one was.

The Railways of Palestine and now Israel have a fascinating history as mentioned above in this thread. It is hard to believe that the Coastal Line which is highly congested now, did not really exist south of Haifa. Until it was built by Israel, while the original line was dismantled and is now being reconstructed albeit on a different alignment further from the Palestine Territory borders.

 

[Tlcooper44]

The trains in Israel are very effective. I had to travel from Tel Aviv to Haifa, then onto a place called Keshet Eilon. One of the most pleasant transit journey's I've ever taken. No doubt electrification will be a big bonus to such a small country where railways can thrive.

That said, Im not sure whether the line I took, at that point, was electrified.

 

[jis]

The trains in Israel are very effective. I had to travel from Tel Aviv to Haifa, then onto a place called Keshet Eilon. One of the most pleasant transit journey's I've ever taken. No doubt electrification will be a big bonus to such a small country where railways can thrive.

That said, Im not sure whether the line I took, at that point, was electrified.

Electrification has reached only upto Netanya from Tel Aviv on the coast line north. Electrification work is in progress north of Netanya, likely to reach Binyamnina in the near future and eventually reach all the way to Nahariya (the northern terminus), and as well on the lines to Beit She'an and Karmi'el. All of that is currently funded.

Israel incidentally is the land of push-pull trains. The entire diesel service and quite a bit of the electric service is push pull and the intention is to continue with it as new electric engines have been ordered to replace the diesels as

 

[SubwayNut]

Something no one is metioned is that at all train station's in Isreal you have to pass through airline-style security, before you reach the ticket gates if I remember correctly, with a baggage X-ray and metal detector, buses don't have this.

 

[Tlcooper44]

Something no one is metioned is that at all train station's in Isreal you have to pass through airline-style security, before you reach the ticket gates if I remember correctly, with a baggage X-ray and metal detector, buses don't have this.

Is this new? This was not my experience in 2016.

 

[jis]

Is this new? This was not my experience in 2016.

I have not experienced this either. There may have been periods of extra security when this was the case at least in some more vulnerable areas though.

In India this was the case at heightened security times.