New Jezreel Valley railway

Railway line in Israel

Stations5ServiceTypeCommuter RailOperator(s)Israel RailwaysHistoryOpenedOctober 16, 2016TechnicalLine length60 km (37 mi)Track gauge1435 mm

Route map

Legend

					to Tel Aviv
					Haifa Hof HaCarmel
					Haifa Bat Galim
					Haifa Central HaShmona

					HaMifratz Central
					to Nahariya
					Nesher
					Yokneam/Kfar Yehoshua
					Migdal HaEmek/Kfar Baruch
					Afula
				60	Beit She'an

The Jezreel Valley Railway (Hebrew: מסילת העמק) is a railway of Israel Railways (IR), which connects Haifa with Beit She'an in the Jezreel Valley. The railway line was opened to the public on October 16, 2016.^[1]

History

The railway passes almost identically on the old western section of the former Haifa - Dar'ā railway line which was shut down in 1951. Since the 1990s, there have been repeated attempts to re-create the Jezreel Valley railway line. On the one hand, this is one of the most productive agricultural areas of Israel, on the other hand, the traffic in the Greater Haifa area, especially by commuters, is heavily overloaded.

In 2011, the plans for the new railway line were approved. The construction of the line began in 2012, and the railway line was completed in 2016. On August 29, 2016, the route was inaugurated by the Israeli Minister of Transportation Israel Katz. The construction cost was just over $ 1 billion.^[2]

The railway line was opened to the public on October 16, 2016.^[1]

An extension of the railway line to Israel's border with Jordan, and maybe into Jordan, is currently being considered.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b "Israel's fabled Jezreel Valley train revived after 65 years of silence - Business". Haaretz.com. 2016-08-29. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
^ "The Jezreel Valley Railway is coming back to life". Ynetnews.com. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
^ Jones, Orr Hirschauge and Rory (June 22, 2016). "Israel Builds Railway in Hope of Boosting Commerce With Arab Neighbors" – via www.wsj.com.

External links

A video recording of a ride in the new Jezreel Valley railway line

Israel Railways

Main line

Coastal railway	Nahariya Acre Kiryat Motzkin Kiryat Haim Hutzot HaMifratz HaMifratz Central Haifa Center HaShmona Haifa Bat Galim Haifa Hof HaCarmel Atlit Binyamina Caesarea-Pardes Hanna Hadera West Netanya Netanya Sapir Beit Yehoshua Herzliya
Ayalon railway	Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv Savidor Central Tel Aviv HaShalom Tel Aviv HaHagana
Old Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway	Kfar Chabad Lod Ganei Aviv Lod Ramla
South railway	Mazkeret Batya Kiryat Mal'akhi – Yoav Kiryat Gat Lehavim–Rahat Be'er Sheva North Dimona Har Tzin freight terminal

Branch lines

Acre–Karmiel railway	Ahihud Karmiel
Jezreel Valley railway	Yokneam–Kfar Yehoshua Migdal HaEmek–Kfar Baruch Afula Beit She'an
Sharon railway	Ra'anana West Ra'anana South Hod Hasharon Sokolov Kfar Saba–Nordau
Eastern railway	Rosh HaAyin North
Yarkon railway	Bnei Brak–Ramat HaHayal Petah Tikva-Kiryat Aryeh Petah Tikva Segula
Tel Aviv–Bnei Darom railway	Holon Junction Holon–Wolfson Bat Yam–Yoseftal Bat Yam–Komemiyut Rishon LeZion Moshe Dayan Yavne West
New Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway	Ben Gurion Airport Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon
Anava–Modi'in railway	Paatei Modi'in Modi'in Central
Lod–Ashkelon railway	Be'er Ya'akov Rehovot Yavne East Ashdod Ad Halom Ashkelon
Rishon LeZion–Modi'in railway	Rishon LeZion HaRishonim
Ashkelon–Beersheba railway	Sderot Netivot Ofakim
Old Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway	Beit Shemesh ~~Biblical Zoo~~ ~~Jerusalem–Malha~~
South railway	Be'er Sheva Center

Future lines

Eastern railway (under construction)	~~Hadera East~~ ~~Ahituv–Emeq Hefer~~ Tayibe–Qalansuwa Tira–Kochav Ya'ir Kfar Saba North Rosh HaAyin North ~~Rosh HaAyin South~~ El'ad Airport City Lod
Rishon LeZion–Modi'in railway (under construction)	Rishon LeZion Moshe Dayan Rishon LeZion Me'uyan Soreq Rishon LeZion HaRishonim Ramla South Paatei Modi'in
Planned	Karmiel-Kiryat Shmona railway
Proposed	Beersheba–Eilat high-speed railway