Jerusalem to Build Stations for Fast Train Service to and From Tel Aviv

There are plans in place of building two additional stations in central Jerusalem, aimed at extending fast train services that would go to and from Tel Aviv.

The Yitzhak Navon train station is already offering train services to and from the capital after its inauguration in 2019 and the new stations would be an addition.

The new stations

Reports indicate that once the project receives initial approval from the National Committee dedicated to the construction of infrastructures, the new stations will become fully operational by 2030.

Comments have also been invited on the project from the public as well as the relevant local committees.

Currently, the Navon station is where the track starts and ends to and from Jerusalem, which is close to the city’s western entrance near the Chords Bridge.

This area is referred to as the Jerusalem Gateway and there are a number of new developments planned for it in the next few years.

Jerusalem Central will be the new station were the extended service will reach, which would be at the intersection of the King George and Jaffa Streets.

It will end at a station on David Remez Street located near the Khan Theater.

The plans

There had already been a railway station at this location back in 1982, which had been part of the Jaffa-Jerusalem railway service.

However, it had been shut down in 1998 before being reopened in 2013 as Hatahana Harishona (the First Station) and has served as a cultural venue.

With the planned extended service, people will also benefit from better connections with the cable car that is planned to the Old City, as well as the light rail system, including both red and blue lines.

Initially, there will be two to three trains going coming and going in an hour and one train per hour at night in both directions.

But, they will increase the services gradually to 13 trains per hour between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv by 2040.

More details

The cost of the extension will be around NIS 4.7 billion and work on it is slated to start in 2024. It will serve as an essential part of the strategic plan for Israel Railways 2040.

This had been unveiled back in 2017 and had promised a 300% increase in the number of passengers and rail journeys.

Moshe Lion, the Mayor of Jerusalem, said that they will receive full approval for the extended service within months and also said that a revolution was taking place in Jerusalem.

Some of the previous plans had included a connection that would lead to a station close to the Western Wall, which was to be named after Donald Trump, the former US President.

But, it appears that these plans have now been scrapped, even though they still plan on building a cable car that would lead to the Old City of Jerusalem.

This cable car project is worth NIS 200 million and had received approval from the government back in 2019. The Jerusalem Municipality and the Tourism Ministry have advocated for the project.