Israel Railways

Israel Railways Ltd. (, Rakevet Yisra'el) is the state-owned principal railway company responsible for all inter-city, commuter, and freight rail transport in Israel. Israel Railways network consists of of track. All its lines are standard gauge but some were originally built to other gauges and later regauged. Electrification began in 2018 with the new line to Jerusalem and there are plans to electrify the entire network at 25 kV 50 Hz supplied via overhead line. The network is centered in Israel's densely populated coastal plain, from which lines radiate out in many directions. In 2018, Israel Railways carried 68 million passengers.

Unlike road vehicles and city trams, Israeli heavy rail trains run on the left hand tracks, matching neighboring Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries, whose formerly connected rail networks were constructed by British engineers. Those lines that formerly crossed Israel's borders were severed during the 1948 Palestine war and there are no international train lines or services to or from Israel.

Until 1980, the company's head office was located at Haifa Center HaShmona railway station. Tzvi Tzafriri, the general manager of Israel Railways, decided to move the head office to Tel Aviv–Savidor Center railway station. In 2017, the company's head office was moved to a new campus built on the grounds of the Lod railway station.

Stations

There are 66 stations on the Israel Railways network, with almost all of the stations being accessible to disabled persons, with public announcement and passenger information systems, vending machines and parking.

none|thumb|Dimona train station, 1970

Bicycle policy

Bicycles are permitted on trains in designated coaches.

Israel Railways encourages people to use bicycles by building a double-deck parking for bicycles in every railway station and by allowing people to take bicycles with them on trains to minimise the need for private cars.

Smoking

In Israel, smoking is prohibited in public enclosed places and in commercial areas. Although smoking in railway stations is allowed in designated areas, the sale of tobacco from automated vending machines is prohibited.

List of stations

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!rowspan="2"| Station !! colspan="6" | Passengers !!rowspan="2"| City !!rowspan="2"| District

! 2019

! 2020

! 2021

! 2022

!2023 These can be broadly subdivided into inter-city lines, which connect two or more of Israel's major metropolitan centres (Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, and Beersheba), usually skipping some of the intermediate stations, and commuter lines, centered on one metropolitan area and serving all stations on the line. However, Israel Railways no longer officially uses this classification.

Some services were partially or fully suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and electrification works.

Inter-city lines

{| class="wikitable"

!Corridor!!Service!!Terminus (start)!!Intermediate stops!!Terminus (end)!!Infrastructure

| rowspan="2" | Haifa– Tel Aviv– Beersheba

| Nahariya–Beersheba (partially commuter) ‡

| Nahariya

| rowspan="2" | Be'er Sheva–Center

| Coastal railway Ayalon railway Jaffa–Jerusalem railway South railway

| Karmiel–Beersheba ‡

| Karmiel

| Karmiel–Acre railway Coastal railway Ayalon railway Jaffa–Jerusalem railway South railway

| rowspan="2" | Haifa– Tel Aviv

| Nahariya–Modi'in (partially commuter) ‡

| Coastal railway Ayalon railway Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway Anava–Modi'in railway

| style="background: black; color: white" | Nahariya–Ben Gurion Airport (night train)

| Nahariya

| Coastal railway Ayalon railway Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway

| Tel Aviv– Jerusalem

| Herzliya–Jerusalem †

| Herzliya

| Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon

| Coastal railway Ayalon railway Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway

| Tel Aviv– Jerusalem

| style="background: black; color: white" | Tel Aviv–Jerusalem (night train) †

| Tel Aviv–Savidor Center

| Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon (closed Wednesdays for maintenance)

| Ayalon railway Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway

| Tel Aviv– Beersheba

| style="background: black; color: white" | <s>Tel Aviv–Beersheba</s> (night train, suspended) ‡

| Tel Aviv–Savidor Center

| Be'er Sheva–Center

| Ayalon railway Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway Jaffa–Jerusalem railway South railway

Commuter lines

{| class="wikitable"

!Metropolitan core!!Service!!Terminus (start)!!Intermediate stops!!Terminus (end)!!Infrastructure

| rowspan="3" | Haifa

| Nahariya–Binyamina (inter-city connection)

| Nahariya

|Binyamina inter-city to Modi'in →

| Coastal railway

| Karmiel–Haifa

| Karmiel

| Haifa–Hof HaCarmel

| Karmiel–Acre railway Coastal railway

| Beit She'an–Atlit

| Beit She'an

| Atlit

| Jezreel Valley railway Coastal railway

| rowspan="5" | Tel Aviv

| Binyamina–Ashkelon (commuter connection) †

| Binyamina

| Ashkelon commuter to Beersheba →

| Coastal railway Ayalon railway Jaffa–Jerusalem railway Lod–Ashkelon railway

| Herzliya–Ashkelon †

| Herzliya

| Ashkelon

| Sharon railway Eastern railway Yarkon railway Ayalon railway Tel Aviv–Bnei Darom railway Lod–Ashkelon railway

| Netanya–Beit Shemesh ‡

| Netanya

| Beit Shemesh

| Coastal railway Ayalon railway Jaffa–Jerusalem railway

| Netanya–Rehovot †

| Netanya

| Rehovot

| Coastal railway Ayalon railway Jaffa–Jerusalem railway

| Tel Aviv–Modi'in (inter-city connection)

| Tel Aviv–University ← inter-city to Nahariya

| Modi'in–Center

| Ayalon railway Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway Anava–Modi'in railway

| Lod–Rishon LeZion

| Lod

|–

| Rishon LeZion–HaRishonim

| Lod–Ashkelon railway

| rowspan="2" | Jerusalem

| <s>Beit Shemesh–Jerusalem</s> (suspended)

| Beit Shemesh

| Biblical Zoo

| Jerusalem–Malha

| Jaffa–Jerusalem railway

| Modi'in–Jerusalem †

| Modi'in–Center

| Paatei Modi'in

| Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon

| Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway Anava–Modi'in railway

| rowspan="4" | Beersheba

| Lod–Beersheba (inter-city connection) ‡

| Lod ← inter-city to Nahariya

| rowspan="3" | Be'er Sheva–Center

| Jaffa–Jerusalem railway South railway

| Ashkelon–Beersheba (commuter connection) ‡

| Ashkelon ← commuter to Binyamina

| Ashkelon–Beersheba railway

| Ashkelon–Beersheba ‡

| Ashkelon

| Ashkelon–Beersheba railway

| Beersheba–Dimona

| Be'er Sheva–North

|–

| Dimona

| Beersheba–Dimona railway

† Fully electrified line

‡ Line electrification in progress

Future

Electrification

Since the opening of the fully-electrified Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion Airport–Jerusalem railway line in 2018, work has been underway to electrify the passenger rail network with overhead 25 kV 50 Hz AC electrification. In 2024, Israel Railways estimated that work was 70% complete, with full electrification officially scheduled for 2027.

Network expansion

Due to increasing demand, Israel Railways is pursuing expansion to its infrastructure network.

The long Eastern Railway, which will connect Hadera to Kfar Saba in parallel to the Coastal Railway, began construction in 2019 and is scheduled to open in 2027. This line follows the disused route of the Ottoman-period Tulkarm–Lydda railroad, which was abandoned in 1968, and will allow freight and passenger trains to bypass the congested Hadera–Herzliya corridor. This line will create an east-west link south of Tel Aviv, crossing the Tel Aviv–Ashkelon, Tel Aviv–Beersheba and Tel Aviv–Jerusalem rail corridors.

Since 2019, work is underway to quadruple the section of the Ayalon Railway from Tel Aviv Center to Tel Aviv HaHagana, which forms a critical bottleneck for the entire rail network. Upon completion, this project will nearly double the capacity of the corridor, allowing a significant increase in train frequency across the network. Completion is scheduled for 2028.

Plans and proposals

A line from the city of Acre, on the Mediterranean coast, to Karmiel was completed in March 2017. However, this tract bypasses Acre and does not make a stop there; it is planned to be extended north to the north-eastern town of Qiryat Shemona, with future stations also planned for Jadeidi-Makr and Majd al-Krum, though there is no timetable for construction. This line will be fully electrified.

There were plans to build a high-speed railway to Eilat but in 2019 the project was frozen indefinitely.

In 2011 the reconstruction and expansion of the long, formerly abandoned Jezreel Valley railway line connecting Haifa and Beit Shean (near the Jordanian border) started. This was completed in 2016. There has been talk of further extending the line to Irbid, in Jordan (to allow a direct freight connection from Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea); however, no decision has yet been made on this matter. Another proposed extension under discussion would connect the reconstructed Jezreel Valley railway at Afula to Tiberias.

In May 2017, an extension of the railway from Arad via Kuseife was approved. The line would connect to the existing Beersheba–Dimona rail line at the proposed new station at Nevatim.

Rolling stock

Israel Railways currently owns a total of 193 locomotives, 717 passenger cars, and 110 MU trainsets.

Current

Locomotives

{| class="wikitable"

|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"

! rowspan="2" |Class

! rowspan="2" |Image

! rowspan="2" |Type

! colspan="2" |Top speed

! rowspan="2" |Number

! rowspan="2" |Remarks

! rowspan="2" |Built

! rowspan="2" |Entered service

|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"

!mph

!km/h

|EMD G12

|100px

| rowspan="7" |Diesel-Electric locomotive

|10

|Bo-Bo. Israel imported 23 from EMD 1954–62 and captured four more from Egyptian National Railways in the 1967 Six-Day War. Some have been withdrawn and one (No. 107) is now in the Israel Railway Museum in Haifa. No. 106 was withdrawn after sabotage. Nos. 119 & 123 withdrawn after incidents. No. 130 never in service due to Six-Day War.

|1954–62

|1961

|EMD G26

|100px

|14

|1971–82

|1971

|EMD GT26CW-2

|100px

|13

|Number 701 is an original EMD unit delivered in 1989. In the mid-2010s Israel Railways purchased thirteen units from NRE which were completely rebuilt by TŽV Gredelj from 11 Croatian Railways HŽ series 2063 GT26 units plus 2 new frames and designated as NGT26CW-3 variants. They were delivered to Israel Railways between August 2015 and December 2017 and numbered 710–722.

|1989, 2015–17

|2015

|Alstom Prima JT 42CW

|100px

|68

|110

|Series 702–709. EMD prime mover.

|1996

|1997

|Alstom Prima JT 42BW

|100px

|87

|140

|48

|Series 731–778. EMD prime mover.

|1996–2006

|1997

|Vossloh Euro 3200

|100px

|100

|160

|24

|Series 1301–1324. With modifications capable of 200 km/h. EMD prime mover.

|2011–13

|2015

|Vossloh Euro 4000

|100px

|80

|130

|14

|Series 1401–1414. EMD prime mover.

|2011

|2014

|Bombardier TRAXX P160 AC3

|100px

|Electric locomotive

|100

|160

|63 (32 options) Tender called for two basic double-deck sets: 15 short (composed of 4 cars) and 45 long (6 cars). First delivery, consisting of three sets, took place in November 2020.

|2019

Carriages

Israel Railways owns a total of 717 passenger cars.

{| class="wikitable"

|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"

! rowspan="2" |Class

! rowspan="2" |Image

! rowspan="2" |Type

! colspan="2" |Top speed

! rowspan="2" |Number

! rowspan="2" |Remarks

! rowspan="2" |Built

|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"

!mph

!km/h

| rowspan="5" | Bombardier Double-deck Coach

| rowspan="5" | 100px

| rowspan="5" | double deck push-pull (DDPP)

| rowspan="12" |100

| rowspan="12" |160

|24

|Driving- and generator trailer (PC-103) series 401–424. Two trailers out of operation

|2001–04

|68

|Coaches (TC-101) series 425–490. Four trailers out of operation

|87

| rowspan="2" | Three types: standard coach (901-953), standard coach with wheelchair accessible toilets (825-849 First stock in service on 8 March 2009

|2008

|single deck push-pull

|31

|2011

| rowspan="5" |Bombardier Double-deck Coach

| rowspan="5" |100px

| rowspan="5" |double deck push-pull

|78

|Further coaches were ordered from Bombardier in 2010.

|2011

|72

|Ordered in 2012 and delivered from the end of March 2014. Similar in overall appearance to previous DDPP sets but capable of higher speeds and advanced safety measures (although previous Bombardier DDPP sets were later upgraded to these standards). First rolling stock capable of operating on Israel Railways' 25 kV 50 Hz electrified lines.

|2014

|93

|Twindexx. Similar in overall appearance to previous DDPP sets. Sixty Ordered in 2016 and a further 33 in mid-2017.

|2018

|48

|Twindexx. Similar in overall appearance to previous DDPP sets. Electric operation only (no diesel generator installed in control car). Ordered in late 2017.

|2019

|74

|Twindexx. Similar in overall appearance to previous DDPP sets. Ordered in May 2019.

|2020

Retired

Locomotives

Steam Locomotives

{| class="wikitable"

|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"

! rowspan="2" |Class

! rowspan="2" |Image

! colspan="2" |Top speed

! rowspan="2" |Number

! rowspan="2" |Remarks

! rowspan="2" |Built

|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"

!mph

!km/h

|Baldwin H class

|100px

| 6

| Series 7-12 (H2), 13-17 (H3), 33 of series 871–920. Taken over from Palestine Railways. Last went out of service in 1959 and scrapped in '60.

|1918

|NBL/Borsig Egyptian 545 class

| 4

| 5 captured during 1956 Israeli invasion of Sinai on the former Palestine Railways main line between El Kantara East and Gaza: numbers 546, 550 and 557 (NBL) and numbers 607 and 613 (Borsig). 4 taken into stock and used them around Lod in central Israel for 1–2 years. Withdrawn and scrapped in 1959.

|1928, 1931

|NBL P class 4-6-0

|100px

| 6

| Series 60–65. Taken over from Palestine Railways. Last went out of service in 1959 and scrapped in '60. Tender of 62 preserved at Israel Railway Museum.

|1935

|LMS Stanier Class 8F

|100px

| 23

| Series around 70513. Taken over from Palestine Railways. Last went out of service in 1958. One (the 24th) stranded 8F, 70372 (NBL works no. 24680), on a small section of the main line near Tulkarm on the West Bank side of the 1949 Armistice line.It remained there, increasingly derelict, until after the 1967 Israeli 6 day war. The Israelis finally removed and scrapped it in about 1973. A similar 8F (a Turkish TCDD 45151 Class locomotive) preserved at Be'er Sheva Turkish railway station and numbered 70414.

|1935–46

|USATC S100 Class

|100px

| 2

| Number 21 &22 (class 957?). Transported from Europe to Suez in September 1942. To Palestine Railways, later Army. Later to Israel Railways. 1

|1942

Diesel Locomotives

{| class="wikitable"

|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"

! rowspan="2" |Class

! rowspan="2" |Image

! colspan="2" |Top speed

! rowspan="2" |Number

! rowspan="2" |Remarks

! rowspan="2" |Built

|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"

!mph

!km/h

|SAFB (GM-EMD)

| 100px

| 68

| 110

| 3

| BoBo locomotives series 101-103, fitted with EMD 3RSW engines. In service until 1998. First diesel locomotive in IR's service. 102 locomotive is preserved.

|1952

| |Esslingen

|100px

|18

|Series 211–228. Similar to DB Class V 60. In the mid-1960s, the Esslingen factory was closed. As a result, some almost-new locomotives were cannibalised for parts. One example preserved at the Railway Museum and another at the Jezreel Valley railway heritage site in Elro'i.

|1955–56

| |Deutz

|100px

|Series 201-203 shunting locomotives. 203 is preserved under the 201 number

|1958

|EMD G16

|100px

|Co-Co. During the Six-Day War Israel captured Egyptian Railways 3304, 3329 and 3361 which were appropriated into Israel Railways stock as numbers 301–303, later 161–163. All have now been withdrawn from service but 163 (formerly ER 3361) is preserved at the Israel Railway Museum.

|1960–61

|GA DE900

|100px

|50

|80

|Series 261–263. Primarily used for shunting. Withdrawn from service in the early 2020s. One placed on static display near the historic Petah Tikva railway station.

|1997

Multiple Units

{| class="wikitable"

|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"

! rowspan="2" |Class

! rowspan="2" |Image

! rowspan="2" |Type

! colspan="2" |Top speed

! rowspan="2" |Number

! rowspan="2" |Remarks

! rowspan="2" |Built

|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"

!mph

!km/h

||Esslingen

|100px

|DMU

| 12

| Similar to German VT08. 3-car sets (powered coaches 1-12, intermediate coaches 1-12, driving coaches 1-12), some later extended to 4-unit sets (with intermediate coaches 13-22). In the early sixties converted to non-powered coaches in push-pull service because of high maintenance costs. Withdrawn in 1979. Some carriages continued in regular services from 1992 until nineties as 111–117. where they entered service in 1975.

| rowspan="3" | ABB Scandia IC3

| 100px

| rowspan="3" | DMU

|112

|180

|9 sets (42-50)

| rowspan="3" |The introduction of IC3-trains in the early 1990s marked the beginning of a political recommitment to major improvements in the services of Israel Railways.

Each IC3 set is composed of 3 cars and multiple sets may be joined together. Sets 42-50 purchased from SJ in 2005. 31 was scrapped after an incident near Revadim on 10 August 2006. 19, 21, 25 possibly out of service. 01 is now in the Israel Railway Museum.

|1990

| rowspan="2" |100px

| rowspan="2" |100

| rowspan="2" |160

|10 sets (01-10)

|1992

|31 sets (11-41)

|1994–96

Carriages

{| class="wikitable"

|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"

! Class

! Image

! Number

! Remarks

! Built

|O&K

|3rd class coaches similar to German Eilzugwagen series 51-58. Seating however different with 2+3 seat arrangement and 96 seats.

|1955

| CarF

|100px

|14

|Picture: first carriage. Series 71-84

|1961

|Boris Kidrič/Metalka "Yugo"

| 100px

|43

|Series 601–643, delivered in several batches between 1964 and 1972. 601-615 in 1964, series 616-625 in 1965, 626-633 in 1966, 634-637 in 1971 and 638-643 in 1972. Coaches 631, 632 and 633 were fitted with buffets. 610 converted to half passenger carriage, half generator car. Some other were converted to full generator carriages. 621 in 2009 used as office in red colors in Bnei Brak.

|1964–72

|DEV-Inox Carel et Fouché

|100px

100px

|Bought from SNCF in 1994 (Series 91-98) to create superfuous coaches for refurbishment by HaArgaz. Original 1st class A9TJ-mainline carriage U64. Declassified to B10 1/2TJ in eighties. Scrapped in 2006. 1 preserved in Railway Museum.

|1965

|British Railways Mark 2c TSO

| 100px 100px

|8 (13)

|Bought from British Rail in 1977 (Series 681-688 (ex BR 5567, 5570, 5575, 5580, 5588, 5593, 5606, 5612) and retro-fitted with air conditioning equipment at Wolverton Works. 1 preserved at Railway Museum. Driving Coach 302 is preserved on display at Railway Museum.

|1996-1997

Organizational structure

The company is headed by a chief executive officer. It has two subsidiaries: a real estate development company, and a freight rail company. The main organization has five operational departments: freight, infrastructure, rolling stock, passengers and development.

In 2017, Israel Railways founded a Tunnels Unit that is responsible for the daily operation of railway tunnels, including lighting, air circulation, etc. and managing emergencies.

Performance

The passenger number history (in millions) is as follows:

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|+Ridership of Israel Railways

! scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Ridership (millions)

! scope="row" | 1950

| 1.6

! scope="row" | 1960

| 4.4

! scope="row" | 1970

| 4.1

! scope="row" | 1980

| 3.3

! scope="row" | 1990

| 2.5

! scope="row" | 1991

| 2.9

! scope="row" | 1995

| 4.8

! scope="row" | 1996

| 5.1

! scope="row" | 1997

| 5.6

! scope="row" | 1998

| 6.4

! scope="row" | 1999

| 8.8

! scope="row" | 2000

| 12.7

! scope="row" | 2001

| 15.1

! scope="row" | 2002

| 17.5

! scope="row" | 2003

| 19.8

! scope="row" | 2004

| 22.9

! scope="row" | 2005

| 26.8

! scope="row" | 2006

| 28.4

! scope="row" | 2007

| 31.8

! scope="row" | 2008

| 35.1

! scope="row" | 2009

| 35.9

! scope="row" | 2010

| 35.9

! scope="row" | 2011

| 35.9

! scope="row" | 2012

| 40.4

! scope="row" | 2013

| 45

! scope="row" | 2014

| 48.5

! scope="row" | 2015

| 53

! scope="row" | 2016

| 59.5

! scope="row" | 2017

| 64.6

! scope="row" | 2018

| 67.7

! scope="row" | 2019

| 69

! scope="row" | 2020

|24.2

! scope="row" | 2021

|35.0

! scope="row" | 2022

|54.7

! scope="row" | 2023

|62.5

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Additional statistics The northbound train had passed a red signal and its locomotive rode over and crushed the locomotive of the southbound train. None of the coaches was derailed but a coupler broke in the northbound train detaching the rear three coaches. The continuous train brake should have then automatically stopped the detached coaches but it had not been connected properly so they started to roll back southwards.

On 21 June 2005 an IC3 train crashed into a freight truck near kibbutz Revadim, killing 8 and injuring 198.
8 July 2005, a train collided with a truck between Kiryat Gat and Ahuzam, resulting in the death of the train driver and 38 injuries. In February 2012 a plea bargain had been set for the Revadim crash.
On 12 June 2006 a train crashed into a truck near Beit Yehoshua, killing 5 and injuring from 77 to over 80.
On 27 December 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 5 August 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 28 December 2010 a fire started in a train near kibbutz Yakum, probably because of a short circuit, injuring 116.
On 7 April 2011 two trains collided frontally near Netanya, injuring 59.
On 4 October 2013, two men walking along railroad tracks in the Emek Hefer valley industrial zone were killed by a train.
On 18 December 2013, a Beersheba-bound train collided with a group of camels walking along railroad tracks at the Segev Shalom Junction in the Negev, killing 14 camels. The incident caused massive delays in train traffic.
On 29 December 2013, an Israel Railways worker was run down and killed by a train near Lod.
On 15 March 2016, an Israel Railways locomotive crashed into freight wagons, injuring 6.

Israel Railways

Stations

Bicycle policy

Smoking

List of stations

Inter-city lines

Commuter lines

Future

Electrification

Network expansion

Plans and proposals

Rolling stock

Current

Locomotives

Carriages

Retired

Locomotives

Steam Locomotives

Diesel Locomotives

Multiple Units

Carriages

Organizational structure

Performance

See also

References

Bibliography

External links