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 1138 km 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 ambitious 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 Israeli War of Independence 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.

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

Lines

Israel Railways currently operates 15 passenger service lines. 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

Commuter lines

† 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 64 km 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. The 30 km Rishon LeZion–Modi'in Railway also began construction in 2019, with opening planned in 2026. 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 3.5 km 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 23.5 km 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 60 km 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

Multiple Units

Carriages

Israel Railways owns a total of 717 passenger cars.

Retired

Locomotives

Steam Locomotives

Diesel Locomotives

Multiple Units

Carriages

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: In contemporary shekels – not adjusted for inflation

Notable accidents