Israel to open fast rail line 30 March

By most of the world standards, Israel distances are short. If you've ever been there, though, there's definitely a need for quality, modern inter urban rail serving Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion International Airport, and Jerusalem.

it will happen at the end of March. 100 mph service.

Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway - Wikipedia -- it will be electrified, something not surprising with all its tunnels. It will also be Israel's first intercity electrified line, beating the ether electrification efforts.

Hey guys
living here in Israel - i will believe it when i see it.
few weeks ago i drove by one of the areas where the line passes and unless i missed it
i did not even see that they had strung the wires.................yet.

i suppose they could run with diesel engines till the wires are up.
that is if the tunnels are well ventilated.
all trains here have a double ended loco on one end and a cab type car probably with a small HEP generator
and about half a car of seating on the other.
(save for the remaining IC3 DMUs)

and they plan to open the eve of Passover.
they may be biting off more than they can chew
what with all the "labor pains" that come with opening a new line
and huge huge vacation crowds on Passover.

I will try to grab a ride on one of the early days and report back.

John, and everyone
here is an update.

this whole week the line between Bet Yehoshua (a stop north of Hertzliya) and Tel Aviv is closed for major rehab.
they are adding two maybe three tracks to the Hertzliya station

they may be stringing wires (for the Jerusalem high speed line) but did not see that noted specifically in the paper
they are eliminating three grade crossings in the Hertzliya area - basically moving the entire line several hundred feet to be
in a highway median (which will also allow opening of the southbound part of road 20 in that area. the northbound is open)

they are connecting the main tel aviv haifa line to a line that runs in the median of road 531 until the town of Kfar Saba
this will basically complete a rail loop in the Sharon area) (not sure when the loop opens....)

(trains branch off the mainline at tel aviv university travel east towards Petah Tikva then north to Rosh Ha-Ayin
then back west to Kfar Saba. this new line connects west back to the main line just north of hertzliya.
not sure and have not yet seen if this will be a wye so that trains from Haifa could also loop this way.

(if i can ever figure how to add an image will try to find a map)

oh well knew it was too good to be true
today's paper reports that "due to lack of necessary regulatory permits" the
high speed line opening is delayed six months.
I will get back to you then (ha ha)

I did see a test car on the electrified line on Feb 19 but as you mentioned, the last I heard was a 6 month delay due to safety concerns .
Does that mean they need to conduct additional testing?
Or is it something with the new station?

latest reports in the paper list the October 23 planned opening as also being in doubt
again for "safety reasons" and possibly also because not all the wires have been strung

there have been recent outages between tel aviv and herzliya (i think the hi speed J-m line will originate there)
for track realignment and additional tracks in herzliya station
as well as to add two new stations in Ra'anana. AKA the sharon rail line
i believe that this line will be connected at some point to the TA Haifa coast line
per the open railway map there will be a wye connection.

in theory a train could leave TA going north towards petah tikva turning north to rosh ha ayin
turning west again towards kfar saba then raanana
and then rejoin the coast line to head either south back to TA or North to Haifa.

the TA university to petah tikva line is also connected by a wye
so this will complete a rail loop in the area just north of TA

last news reports state the new high speed line has been wired
from ben gurion airport to jerusalem but not yet from tel aviv to the airport

reports state the line may run from the airport to jerusalem for its planned opening in October
with either engine or train change at the airport
wonder how they will set this up as it is a two track only station one in each direction
so doubtful for cross platform transfers.

another report stated safety agencies still concerned about their abilities to work in the tunnels on the line

the northern part of the raanana wye to the haifa line seems to be open
on line rail app lists at least one train i think on sundays in the AM that begins in nahariya turns to raanana
then runs past rosh ha ayin on a little used single track past the airport (no station) direct to lod
and thence to beersheva
sort of an "inland route" that bypasses all the tel aviv stations

What is the track and electric like at BG airport?
I only went once to the airport station and it was at night so I could not tell about where the turnouts are and such.

havenot been there in a while myself
but IIRC coming from tel aviv there is a diamond crossover outside the station
the station is a center platform two track layout

the railroad usually runs UK style (left hand) so the more southern track is northbound/westbound towards tel aviv
and the more northern track is southbound/eastbound toward modiin and jerusalem

leaving the platform going south/east (on the northern track) there is a trailing switch from the south to north track
followed by a facing switch from the north track to a third track for storage probably one or two train lengths
followed by a trailing switch from the storage to the northmost (south/eastbound) track
followed by a facing switch from the northern track to the southern track

further on there is another facing switch from the north to south track immediately followed by a switch
from the southbound track to a third track which descends from the elevated structure to ground level
this single track heads towards lod and beersheva
and (heading south) connects via a trailing switch with another single track coming from the north (rosh ha ayin) which
passes under the elevated structure of the two track line heading east to jerusalem
(which is the "inland route" i noted before.

with the raanana wye open a train can go haifa to beersheva without passing any station in tel aviv

i have seen catenary east of the airport station but have not been in the station nor seen west of
it to see if wires are up

Israel rail posted the map with the line to Jerusalem from BG airport.

The journey planner shows the schedule if you select a date from the end of the month.

BG to Jerusalem - 24 minutes and service seems to be every half hour.

17NIS for a single ride. 32.50 for a one day unlimited (includes local transit).

Will this new train cut into Nesher van service or will Nesher reduce what they charge?

have not been there yet but
the schedules are on the Israel rail site
from 0630 to 1930 every half hour on the twos Jerusalem to ben gurion airport
22 minute ride non stop (no intermediate stations anyway)
no trains Friday or Saturday night (?? why)

as it stands now the catenary only reaches the airport
so passengers have to make a cross platform transfer for Tel Aviv (and elsewhere another transfer....)
currently free but reservations must be made using the rav kav (Israel's version of the Oyster card??)

if I get there will try to get some pix but there are probably a few stock photos on the various news sites here

flexliner wrote:no trains Friday or Saturday night (?? why)

The Jewish Sabbath runs from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday, and from what I read, owing to the makeup of the Knesset, with neither of the two major parties quite attaining a majority, they are dependent on a couple of strictly Orthodox splinter parties in order to govern; one of their requirements is strict prohibition of travel of any kind on the Sabbath--I think El Al was even governed by that until some kind of accommodation was reached. (Subject to correction by anyone more up to date on conditions.)

I guess they are not running on either the first Friday (day) as well as Sat night=Sunday day.

My guess is since it is new, they want the day to iron out any bugs.
They restart service on the following Tuesday.