Israeli Railways

Passenger lines

1. Nahariya - Haifa - Tel Aviv - Airport Ben Gurion - Modiin Merkaz
2. Nahariya - Haifa - Tel Aviv - Lod - Kiryat Gat - Be'er Sheva -Merkaz
3. Karmiel - Haifa - Tel Aviv - Lod - Kiryat Gat - Be'er Sheva -Merkaz
4. Ben Gurion Airport - Jerusalem - Yitzhak Navon
5. Atlit - Haifa - Beit Shean
6. Netanya - Tel Aviv - Lod - Beit Shemesh
7. Beit Shemesh - Jerusalem Malch
8. Haifa - Karmiel
9. Binyamina - Netanya - Tel Aviv - Lod - Rehovot - Ashdod - Ashkelon
10. Lod - HaRishonim ( Rishon Lezion )
11. Raanana- Maarav - Rosh ha-Ain- Zafon - Bnei Brak - Tel Aviv - Rishon Lezion- Moshe Dayan - Ashdod - Ashkelon - Sderot - Netivot - Ofakim - Beersheba- Merkaz
12. Be'er Sheva - Zafon - Dimona

Freight transportation

Freight trains are one of the important means of transporting bulk goods - minerals in the Negev desert and along the Dead Sea . Container shipping also exists.

Shipping Statistics

About 448 trains per day pass through passenger routes, carrying about 4 million passengers per month ^[4] .

In the last 10 years ^{[ when? ]} passenger and freight traffic increased 6 times over the last year ^{[ when? ]} transportation increased by 7%. The busiest destinations in 2010 were Haifa - Tel Aviv and Ashkelon - Tel Aviv.

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  The first train at the train station in Jerusalem in 1892

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  Station in Jaffa in 1891

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  Station in Modiine

The beginning of railways in Israel was laid by British and Turkish authorities during the periods of territorial administration. Branches from Jaffa to Haifa and Jerusalem were laid.

• 1892 - Line opened to Jerusalem
• 1915 - Opening of the Turkish military railway line from Afula to Be'er Sheva and the Sinai desert .
• 1948 - War of Independence. Termination of international railway connections with Egypt, Lebanon and Syria.
• 1950 - Inauguration of regular passenger services between Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem after the War of Independence . (The journey takes 4 hours)
• 1954 - Opening of the Tel Aviv Merkaz station
• 1965 - Opening of the Beersheba - Dimona line for freight trains.
• 1991 - A line is opened to Rehovot. New diesel locomotives ordered.
• 1992 - Lineups IC3 - Diesel enter the line.
• 1996 - The stopping point Tel Aviv Hashalom is opened.
• 1997 - 37 passenger cars were purchased in Spain.
• 1998 - Closed for reconstruction branch to Jerusalem . Arrived 21 new diesel locomotive from Spain .
• September 2003 - after reconstruction the section to Beit Shemesh was opened.
• October 2004 - Tel Aviv - Ben Gurion Airport section opened
• April 2005 - Beit Shemesh - Jerusalem Malha and Ashdod ad Halom - Ashkelon sections opened
• December 17, 2005 - the Be'er Sheva Zafon - Dimona section was opened
• September 2, 2006 - the site to Kfar Saba is open
• July 9, 2007 - The Haifa Merkaz Railway Station (Haifa Central) was renamed Haifa Merkaz Hashmona (Haifa, Center of Eight) in memory of the eight depot workers who died during the Lebanese bombardment of Haifa in 2006 year .
• September 2007 - Tel Aviv - Paatei Modiin section opened
• April 1, 2008 - Paatei Modiin - Modiin Merkaz site opened
• September 25, 2011 - a section of the Tel Aviv Haganah- Rishon Lezion Moshe Dayan line was opened
• February 25, 2012 - open until the continuation to the adjoining opens. A dead end stop Yavne Maarav ("Zapadnaya") flashes on the line connecting Od Hasharon with Tel Aviv, Bat Yam , Holon and Rishon Lezion .
• December 24, 2013 - the stopping point and technical station Sderot were opened
• February 15, 2015 - Netivot station opened
• September 19, 2015 - Netivot - Be'er Sheva line opened
• January 1, 2016 - Ofakim station opened
• January 12, 2016 - a pedestrian bridge was opened connecting the Be'er Sheva North University station with the high-tech center “Gav Yam” (“The reverse side of the sea”).
• October 16, 2016 - Haifa - Beit Shean line opened
• September 20, 2017 - Haifa - Karmiel line opened

The high-speed and first fully electrified Tel Aviv - Jerusalem line has been under construction for more than 10 years. The construction began in 2005, construction was completed in 2017, and a new highway was tested in 2018. This is a state project, which includes a 56-kilometer double-track line passing through the airport. Ben Gurion and ending in the west of Jerusalem. The ground lobby of the new Yitzhak Navon underground station is built across from the central bus station. The track has 6.5 km of bridges and 39.2 km of tunnels, including the longest bridge in Israel (1.2 km) over the Ayalon Valley. Station in Jerusalem is located at a depth of 80 meters underground. The launch of the new line was scheduled for April 2018, but was postponed for an indefinite period until the completion of the electrification of the specified line, the train will cover the distance of 56 km between the two main cities of Israel in 28 minutes with a single stop at Ben Airport -Gurion , developing a speed of up to 200 km / h ^{[5] [6]} . In September 2018, passenger traffic on electric traction was launched on the Airport-Ben-Gurion-Jerusalem section.

In recent years, Rakevet Israel has been developing intensively. In 2007, 300 million shekels ($ 71.5 million) were allocated for the construction of a line in Eilat. Currently, a 200 km section is unfinished at a cost of approximately $ 1 million per kilometer.

Work is underway to electrify the existing section of Tel Aviv-ha-Hagan - Airport-Ben-Gurion. In the future, the extension of the indicated electrified section from Tel Aviv-ha-Hagana to the north to Herzliya and the electrification of the sections of Herzliya-Rosh ha-Ain-Zafon - Bnei Brak - Tel Aviv - Rishon-le-Zion-Moshe Dayan - Ashkelon are considered then Herzliya - Binyamina and the adjoining Mesubim - Lod - Rehovot - adjoining Pleshet, then Binyamina - Haifa - Nahariya with a branch to Karmiel and Lod - Kiryat Gat - Be'er Sheva. Electrification is carried out on alternating current 25000 V 50 Hz. As an electric traction rolling stock, the TRAXX P160AC3 electric locomotives manufactured by Bombardier were already purchased on the first electrified route Tel Aviv ha Hagan - Jerusalem-Yitzhak Navon, and it is also planned to purchase four- and six-car (partially) two-story electric trains of the Desiro HC series manufactured by Siemens ^[7] - Based on the fact that it is planned to build a repair depot for them at Ashkelon station, it can be concluded that electric trains are primarily intended for the electrified Ashkelon - Rishon-le-Zion-Moshe Dayan - Tel routes Aviv - Herzliya - Rosh ha-Ain-Zafon - Bnei Brak - Tel Aviv - Rishon Lezion-Moshe Dayan - Ashkelon and Binyamina - Herzliya - Tel Aviv - Lod - Rehovot - Ashkelon. The transfer of freight traffic to electric traction is not fundamentally planned.

• Laying the second track between the Lod - Be'er Sheva stations (project “To Be'er Sheva in 50 minutes”). Start of construction: 2004, the project was put into effect on July 14, 2012. The total length of the laying section of the second track is 87 kilometers, the railway track has been completely updated, in some places the route has been straightened, 19 bridges have been built. A new passenger stop will also be opened at Kfar Menachem station ^[8] and the Ramle platform ^{[9] will be} modernized. From September 1, 2012 the route of night trains (Nahariya - Haifa - Tel Aviv - Ben Gurion Airport) has been extended to Lod, Kiryat Gat and Be'er Sheva (today again only to Ben Gurion Airport).
• Improving the train control system in Tel Aviv . The project was launched in July 2012.
• Laying the second path on the Tel Aviv- Od Hasharon line .
• New connecting line Yavne Maarav (Western) - Ashdod .
• A railway depot was commissioned near the Beersheba-Severnaya / University station.
• Laying the second track between the stations Kiryat Motzkin - Nahariya . Start of construction: 2004, completion of construction: III quarter of 2013.
• Line Ashkelon - Be'er Sheva. Start of construction: 2006, completion of construction: 2016. It includes the new stations Sderot (passenger stop and technical station - started up on December 24, 2013), Netivot (started up on February 15, 2015) and Ofakim (started up on 01/01/2016).
• Haifa East Railway - Beit Shean . Includes new stations Kfar Yehoshua, Kfar Baruch, Afula and Beit Shean . Start of construction: 2011, launched on 10/16/2016 ^[10] .
• Railway Naaman - Karmiel . Includes Ahiud platform and Karmiel station. Start of construction: 2011, completion of construction: 2017 ^[10] .
• A new platform in the Kiryat Sapir industrial zone of Netanya , on the Tel Aviv-Haifa line.
• A new passenger stop (Kiryat Malachi - Yoav) near the Kfar Menachem technical station on the Tel Aviv - Be'er Sheva line.
• The new Merkazit-HaMifrats platform on the Haifa-East - Beit Shean line.

• A new line connecting Od Hasharon and the Tel Aviv - Haifa trunk line. Start of construction: 2005, completion of construction: 2017 ^[10] . It includes 2 new platforms in the city of Raanana (commissioned in 2018), as well as the third and fourth routes on the Tel Aviv / University - Herzliya section.
• The new Mazkeret Batya platform on the Tel Aviv-Be'er Sheva line.

• The new Nesher platform on the Haifa East - Beit Shean line.
• New passenger stop at the Zikhron-Yaakov station on the Tel Aviv-Haifa line.
• Laying the second track in the section Rehovot - Yavne - Ashdod .
• The fourth way in Tel Aviv, on the Ayalon site.
• The Eastern Way. It starts in Lod and before Hadera . In the future - connection in Afula with the railway on Beit Shean.
• The railway to Eilat , the Chinese have been eyeing the tender for a long time; most likely, they will build.
• Electrification of a number of railway sections for passenger traffic.

Ticket Types

One-time tickets can be purchased at ticket offices and vending machines at stations. Tickets are a magnetic stripe cardboard card. A ticket is purchased for the entire route.

It is possible to purchase an online ticket on the railroad website and then record it on the Rav-Kav card in ticket machines at the stations, or directly during the transition through the turnstile to the platforms. After payment on the site, you should make sure that 30 minutes have passed since the payment, otherwise the purchased ticket will not be visible yet.

However, it should be remembered that even after 30 minutes, the combined travel card (for train and bus) purchased through the railway website cannot be used on the bus before the ticket is recorded on the card with a ticket machine at the railway station or at the turnstile validator in the same place.

On the website ravkavonline.co.il it is possible to purchase various tickets, except for tickets valid only for the train. Card tickets are recorded on the card either at the time of purchase if there is a special usb card reader purchased at Rav-Kav clearance offices, or with subsequent recording at Kasponet ATMs.

The site is available in Hebrew and English.

There is also a mobile application that allows you to purchase and record a ticket directly using your phone with the NFC module

However, there are reports that this application does not work with all phone models.

The ticket must be validated at the turnstiles at the entrance and exit at the stations. Exit at the intermediate station will cancel the further trip.

Cardboard tickets are only for one trip at full cost. All other types of tickets are recorded on the Rav-Kav smart card.

The Rav-Kav card has eight memory slots on which you can record up to eight different tickets.

The card is valid for 8 years, at the end of it the remaining tickets can be transferred to a new card.

By an application or website (via a card reader) Rav-Kav Online you can also renew any expiring card for six months (including several times).

The card is anonymous and personal. If a personal card is lost, all tickets can be restored on a new card. The first personal card is free of charge, reissue in case of loss for any reason costs 10 shekels. An anonymous card costs 5 shekels.

Many employees of Rav-Kav check-in points are sure that foreign tourists do not need a name card, and many - even that tourists can’t get it, but this is not true and anyone has the right to issue a personal card by presenting a passport or an internationally recognized travel document, according to whom he entered Israel. In the event of a collision with such employees, one should be persistent and sometimes even swear openly.

Only on a personal card can you write a travel card for 30 days or for a calendar month. Also, only on a personal card you can charge preferential tickets for pensioners, students and other categories of the population. To receive benefits, information on the preferential status of its owner is entered on the card. The preferential profile of the card is issued only to citizens or foreigners with Israeli resident status.

On Rav-Kav you can charge the money balance (Erech tsavur), with a top-up charge of 25% from the top, that is, charging 30 shekels on the card is charged 37.5, when charging 100 - 125, etc. At ticket offices, vending machines and bus drivers (on the routes where they sell tickets), the amount of 30/50/100/150/200 shekels is possible. Through the Rav-Kav Online website, you can charge an arbitrary amount.

However, it should be ensured that the total amount receivable (according to the passenger’s profile) is a multiple of 0.1 balance units, that is, avoid charging amounts that result in 50.05 units being received on the balance, because according to some reviews, this interferes with the implementation of a free transplant when using several carriers in large cities.

Also on Rav Kav it is possible to charge various day, week, 30 day tickets and tickets for a calendar month, differing in zones of operation and categories of transport. Most of the existing travel tickets that can be purchased on the railway have a regional operating principle, and operate on buses in the travel region, however, there are travel tickets for 7 and 30 days that operate only on the railway between specific stations. There is no complete list of train tickets for the train and their availability can only be determined by experience. On combined travel information is more open and can be found on the relevant sites.

There are also travel tickets for 12 trips for travel between specific stations

It should be noted that it is worthwhile to study in detail the availability of different types of travel cards for planning a trip, since in some cases buying a day ticket costs less than a single trip ticket.

About compensation tickets

If the train is late for 30 minutes or more, the passenger gets the right to 1 free trip between the same destinations, and if the train is late for 1 hour or more, 2 trips. To obtain such a ticket, you should contact the head of the destination station, presenting a ticket for the trip with the corresponding delay (you can apply after a few days).

About Reservation Tickets

In addition to a regular ticket, a passenger could purchase a ticket with a reservation in a special carriage for an additional fee of 5 shekels, usually it was the most “northern” train carriage (Hebrew “Karon Shamur”). Passengers without such a ticket were not allowed in this car. In this car, passengers were required to remain silent. Such an opportunity was available only on intercity trains. On Sunday mornings, in August, and also on weekdays of the festive period (Hebrew " khol ha-moed "), such tickets were not sold.

Starting from April 1, 2018, trains ceased to be subdivided into intercity and suburban; all began to be considered simply passenger. Currently, the reservation service is provided on the Karmiel - Be'er Sheva, Tel Aviv - Be'er Sheva and Nahariya - Be'er Sheva trains.

• Acre
• Atlit
• Afula
• Ahihud
• Ashdod - Hell Halom
• Ashkelon
• Ben Gurion Airport
• Bat Yam - Yoseftal
• Bat Yam - Kommiyut
• Be'er Sheva - Merkaz (“Central”)
• Be'er Sheva - Zafon ("North") University
• Beer Yaakov
• Beit yehoshua
• Beit shean
• Beit shemesh
• Binyamina
• Bnei Brak
• Hercelia
• Dimona
• Jerusalem - Yitzhak Navon
• Jerusalem - Malha
• Tanahic (Biblical) Zoo
• Yokneam - Kfar Yehoshua
• Karmiel
• Caesarea - Pardes Hana
• Kiryat Gat
• Kiryat Malachi - Yoav
• Kiryat Motzkin
• Kiryat Haim
• Kfar Saba (Nordau)
• Kfar Chabad
• Leavim - Rahat
• Lod
• Lod - Ganei Aviv
• Mazkeret Batya
• Merkazit Ha Mifratz
• Migdal Haemek - Kfar Baruch
• Nahariya
• Netanya
• Netanya - Sapir
• Netivot
• Paatei Modiin
• Crossroads Holon
• Modiin Merkaz (“Central”)
• Od Hasharon (Sokolov)
• Ofakim
• Petah Tikva - Kiryat Arie
• Petah Tikva - Sgula
• Raanana - Darom ("South")
• Raanana - Maarav ("Western")
• Ramle
• Rehovot (named after A. Hadar)
• Rishon Lezion - Moshe Dayan
• Rishon Lezion - Ha Rishonim
• Rosh Hay Ain - Zafon ("North")
• Sderot
• Tel Aviv - Merkaz ("Savidor")
• Tel Aviv - University
• Tel Aviv - Hashalom
• Tel Aviv - Haganah
• Hadera - Maarav ("Western")
• Haifa - Hof ha-Carmel (named after Shaul Raziel)
• Haifa - Bat Galim
• Haifa - Leo HaMifratz
• Haifa Merkaz - Hashmona (Central Eight)
• Holon - Wolfson
• Hutsot Ha Mifratz
• Yavne - Mizrakh ("Eastern")
• Yavne - Maarav ("Western")

The Israeli railways mainly use trains from double-decker Bombardier cars (147 units), as well as 48 systems ^{[11] of} Danish IC3 diesel trains manufactured by ABB Scandia. GEC Alsthom trains and low-floor trains Viaggio Light of the German concern Siemens are also operated (both operate mainly on the Modiin - Tel Aviv - Haifa - Nahariya route). Traction of carriages is carried out by 37 Alstom JT42BW diesel locomotives . Recently (2011), the new Vossloh EURO 4000 freight and passenger diesel locomotives and the Vossloh EURO 3200 passenger diesel locomotives also began to be operated. Electric locomotives TRAXX P160AC3 manufactured by Bombardier were purchased (electric locomotives drive two-story trains, in the future they are also scheduled to drive the Viaggio Light trains) and the purchase of partially two-story four- and six-car trains of the Desiro HC series manufactured by Siemens is also planned (for 2020).

• 1972 - a train crashed into a military truck, killing 18 troops.
• June 11, 1985 - a train crashed into a bus carrying schoolchildren, killing 19 children and 3 adults, nearby Hosh Banim moshav.
• June 21, 2005 - In the area of ​​the Revadim crossing near Kiryat Malakhi, a passenger train that crashed from Haifa to Be'er Sheva crashed into a truck. As a result of the collision, several wagons went off the rails, 7 were killed and 180 people were injured.
• June 12, 2006 - In the Beit Yehoshua area near Netanya, the train from Tel Aviv to Haifa collided with a truck. As a result of the collision, the train went off the rails and several wagons rolled over. As a result of this disaster, 5 people died, 99 were injured.
• December 31, 2006 - In the area of ​​the city of Beit Shemesh, a passenger train, traveling from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, crashed into a tractor. The collision affected more than 30 people. ^[12]
• December 28, 2010 - A fire broke out in the Beit Yehoshua station area on the train from Nahariya to Tel Aviv. About 120 people were affected. ^[13]
• April 7, 2011 - At 9:25 near the Netanya station, two oncoming trains collided along one track, and about 70 people were injured. Tel Aviv-Haifa traffic is suspended until Saturday evening. ^[fourteen]
• December 14, 2013 - Due to the complete blocking of roads around Jerusalem (due to snow blockages and flooding from Hurricane Alex), for the first time in Israeli history, the Ministry of Transport decided to move free trains to Shabbat at 11:00 and 14:00 from Jerusalem from the Malha station via Beit Shemesh, Lod, Savidor Merkaz in Tel Aviv, Netanya, and Benjamin to the Hof Ha Carmel Haifa Station. ^[fifteen]

• Official site