Israel Railways


'''Israel Railways''' (Hebrew: רכבת ישראל "Rakevet Yisrael") primarily serves Israel's densely populated coastal plain. It utilizes the standard gauge. Lines radiate out from Tel Aviv in many directions. One line goes North along the coast reaching Haifa, the Krayot, and Nahariya. One goes South to Be'er Sheva and continues past Dimona, with future plans to extend it to the Red Sea port of Eilat. Another line goes South to Ashdod which has a spur to Rishon LeTzion. Another goes East to Kfar Saba. The line to Jerusalem was suspended in 1998, due to poor track, however, it has recently been rebuilt and upgraded. In September, 2003, the section of the line to Bet Shemesh re-opened while the remainder of the the upgraded line to Jerusalem has been completed and is scheduled to be opened in April 2005 when the construction of the new Jerusalem station is completed. In October, 2004, a new line from Tel Aviv to the new Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion International Airport was opened. From there this line continues as a brand new high speed line currently under construction to Jerusalem with a spur to Modi'in. Israel Railways traces its roots to the railway lines built by the British and Turkish authorities. For many years the system lay under-utilized and in disrepair. However, in recent years Israel Railways has undertaken an ambitious expansion programme. The programme calls for large sums to be invested in reviving abandoned lines, rehabilitating and upgrading existing lines, and the constrcution of major brand new lines, as well as electrification of much of the system and the purchase of new rolling stock. In 2004 the railway carried 23 million passengers, six times the number of passengers it carried ten years ealier. Israel Railways forcasts that it will carry around 60 million passengers in 2010 as a result of this expansion program. {{MetaPicstub|article=Israel-related article| id=stub | category=Israel-related| image=Israel flag large.png| size=30 | alt=Flag of the modern State of Israel}} de:Israel Railways he:רכבת ישראל sv:IR Category:Railway companies Category:Transportation in Israel

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