Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon railway station

Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon Railway Station (Hebrew: תחנת הרכבת ירושלים – יצחק נבון, Tahanat HaRakevet Yerushalaim–Yitzhak Navon; Arabic: محطة أورشليم – يتسحاق ناڤون), originally named Jerusalem–HaUma railway station is an Israel Railways passenger terminal in Jerusalem, located at 6 Shazar Avenue.^[4]

Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon ירושלים – יצחק נבון
Israel Railways
Surface vestibule
General information
Location	6 Shazar Avenue, Jerusalem
Coordinates	31.788219°N 35.202439°E / 31.788219; 35.202439
Operated by	Israel Railways
Line(s)	Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway
Platforms	2
Tracks	4
Train operators	Israel Railways
Connections	Jerusalem Central Bus Station, Jerusalem Light Rail
Construction
Structure type	Deep-level pylon three-vault station
Depth	80 metres (260 ft)
Accessible	Yes
Architect	Barchana Architects
Architectural style	Neo-futurism
Other information
Website	rail.co.il
History
Opened	25 September 2018; 6 years ago (2018-09-25)[1][2]
Electrified	at opening
Passengers
2020	1,651,659[3]
Rank	5 out of 68

Escalators in the central vault

The station is the eastern terminus of the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway. It is the world's deepest heavy-rail passenger station, with its platforms extending down to 80 metres (260 ft) below street level.^[5] At the time of its opening, it was the fourth deepest underground station in the world and the deepest underground station outside the former Soviet Union; it is currently the sixth-deepest in the world, and the deepest in West Asia.^{[note 1]} It is located across from Binyanei HaUma and constitutes part of a major public transportation hub, being situated adjacent to the Jerusalem Central Bus Station as well as next to a station serving current and future lines of the Jerusalem Light Rail.

The station is named after Jerusalem native Yitzhak Navon, the fifth President of Israel.

History

Construction of the station began in 2007 and was completed in 2018 at a cost of about NIS 500 million (appx. US$140 million).^[6]

2,674,840 passengers boarded or disembarked at the station in 2019,^[7] making it the 16th busiest station in the country overall at the time. As electrification works progressed northwards along the line, direct services from Tel Aviv were made possible without the need for a transfer at Ben-Gurion Airport and as a result the station's ridership rankings rose further – making it the fifth-busiest railway station in the country and the busiest outside of Tel Aviv (immediately above the previous holder of this title, Haifa Hof HaCarmel) with 1,651,659 passengers boarding or disembarking in 2020.

In 2021, 3,598,443 passengers embarked and disembarked, not only surpassing the (2019) pre-COVID traffic numbers, but also making Navon station the fourth-busiest in the network, above Tel Aviv University.^[8]

In 2022, Navon Station reached a ridership of 6,536,393,^[9] nearly double that of the previous year, placing it behind only the Savidor Central and HaShalom stations in central Tel Aviv. 2022 also marked the opening of a second line served by the station, connecting Jerusalem with Modi'in, as well as the beginning of nighttime services;^[10] initially only between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Savidor, with a stop at Ben Gurion Airport, these services were extended in 2023 to stop at Herzliya, Netanya, Hadera and Binyamina,^[11] continuing well north of the daytime services (which still terminate at Herzliya).

Station structure

Due to the constraints of building the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway in a grade suitable for carrying passengers, the station platforms had to be built 80 metres (260 ft) below street level, at the end of a tunnel leading to the railroad bridge over Emeq HaArazim.

The underground portion of the station is built as a pylon tri-vault. The side vaults each host one of the two island platforms, and are linked by three pairs of overpasses to the central vault. The length of the platforms is 300 metres (980 ft),^[12] and the temperature inside remains consistent year-round.

The central vault itself contains the escalators, high-speed elevators and stairways leading up to the surface vestibule 60 metres (200 ft) above, where the station offices, ticket offices, station café and other services are located.

The surface vestibule is located at an elevation of 815 metres (2,674 ft), with most of the station's 60,000 square metres (650,000 sq ft) of floorspace located underground.^[5] The lion's share of the underground portion is home to vast logistical and operating areas. The station can double as a shelter in case of a conventional, biological or chemical attack, being able to provide refuge for 5,000 people.^[13] Due to the station's vast depth, its underground portion has large ventilation systems pulling in air directly from the surface level, which are also capable of quickly sucking out air in the event of a fire.

Future plans

As of 2022, additional surface entrances from the east and south are being added as part of a major urban re-development plan being carried out in the vicinity of the station.

There is a proposed plan to extend the railway from the station towards the Jerusalem–Malha railway station, via a new underground station in central Jerusalem and another underneath the historic Jerusalem-Khan train station.

Station layout

Platform numbers increase in a North-to-South direction

+1	Street level	Light Rail, buses
	Light Rail station	Central Bus Station entrance
		Side platform
		Southbound	← Red Line toward Mount Herzl (Kiryat Moshe)
		Northbound	→ Red Line toward Heil Ha-Avir (Ha-Turim) →
		Side platform
		Navon Station entrance
0	Entrance level	Exterior plaza, security checkpoint, ticket machines, underpass to Central Bus Station
-1	Passenger hall	Fare control, ticket machines, station master's office, synagogue, toilets
-2	Passage to platforms	Children's play area, station café, toilets
-3	Platforms	Platform 1	←      Herzliya–Jerusalem trains toward Herzliya (Ben Gurion Airport) ←      Night Train toward Herzliya (Ben Gurion Airport)
		Island platform
		Platform 2	←      Herzliya–Jerusalem trains toward Herzliya (Ben Gurion Airport) ←      Night Train toward Herzliya (Ben Gurion Airport)
		Platform 3	←      Herzliya–Jerusalem trains toward Herzliya (Ben Gurion Airport)
		Island platform
		Platform 4	←      Jerusalem–Modi'in trains toward Modi'in–Center (Paatei Modi'in)

Ridership

Passengers boarding and disembarking by year

Year	Passengers	Rank	Source
2022	6,536,393 ( 2,937,950)	3 of 66 ( 1)	2022 Freedom of Information Law Annual Report
2021	3,598,443 ( 1,946,784)	4 of 66 ( 1)	2021 Freedom of Information Law Annual Report
2020	1,651,659 ( 1,023,181)	5 of 68 ( 11)	2020 Freedom of Information Law Annual Report
2019	2,674,840	16 of 68	2019 Freedom of Information Law Annual Report

Station lines

v t e Jerusalem– Herzliya/Binyamina Line
Legend
future electrification to Haifa Karmiel Ahihud to Nahariya Kiryat Motzkin Kiryat Haim Hutzot HaMifratz to Beit She'an HaMifratz Central Haifa Government District Haifa Bat Galim–Kiryat Eliezer Haifa–Hof HaCarmel Atlit Binyamina (night services only) Caesarea–Pardes Hanna (electrified, but not serviced) Hadera–West (night services only) Netanya (night services only) Netanya–Sapir (electrified, but not serviced) Beit Yehoshua (electrified, but not serviced) to Rosh HaAyin–North via Ra'anana–West Herzliya to Rosh HaAyin–North via Bnei Brak–Ramat HaHayal Tel Aviv–University (day services only) Tel Aviv–Savidor Central Tel Aviv–HaShalom (day services only) Tel Aviv–HaHagana (day services only) to Rishon LeZion–Moshe Dayan to Lod via Kfar Chabad Ben Gurion Airport to Lod via the Eastern Railway to Modi'in Central Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon (no night service Wed.-Thu.) Jerusalem–Central Jerusalem–Khan Jerusalem–Malha
Israel Rail Lines Map

Preceding station	Israel Railways			Following station
Terminus		Jerusalem–Modi'in		Paatei Modi'in towards Modi'in–Center
Ben Gurion Airport towards Herzliya		Herzliya–Jerusalem		Terminus
		Night Train Herzliya–Jerusalem

See also

• Transportation in Israel
• Jerusalem–Malha railway station

Notes

1. Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon's depth is surpassed by:

   • Hongyancun station of Chongqing Rail Transit, 116 metres (381 ft)
   • Arsenalna station of the Kyiv Metro, 110 metres (360 ft) below ground
   • Hongtudi station of Chongqing Rail Transit, 94 metres (308 ft) below ground
   • Admiralteyskaya station of the Saint Petersburg Metro, 86 metres (282 ft) below ground
   • Park Pobedy station of the Moscow Metro, 84 metres (276 ft) below ground

References

1. Inauguration of the Yitzchak Navon Train Station in Jerusalem
2. Opening of Jerusalem-Tel Aviv train route delayed by six months, Arutz Sheva, 21 February 2018
3. "2020 Freedom of Information Law Annual Report" (PDF). Israel Railways.
4. "ירושלים - יצחק נבון".
5. Riva, Na'ama (26 September 2018). "מפלצת תת-קרקעית: תחנת הרכבת החדשה יכולה לשנות את ירושלים" [Underground Monster: The New Railway Station Can Change Jerusalem] (in Hebrew). TheMarker. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
6. "מפלצת תת-קרקעית: תחנת הרכבת החדשה יכולה לשנות את ירושלים - הארץ - הארץ". www.haaretz.co.il. Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
7. "2019 Freedom of Information Law Annual Report" (PDF). Israel Railways.
8. "2021 Freedom of Information Law Annual Report" (PDF). Israel Railways.
9. "2022 Freedom of Information Law Annual Report" (PDF). Israel Railways.
10. "רכבת לילה לנתב"ג: שינויים דרמטיים בקווי רכבת ישראל | ישראל היום". 2 August 2023.
11. יוסף, אבי (February 12, 2023). "רכבות הלילה מתוגברות: הרכבת לנתב"ג תגיע עד בנימינה". ביזנעס.
12. Fiske, Gavriel (October 6, 2014). "Work begins on final tunnel for Jerusalem-Tel Aviv link". Times of Israel. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
13. Petersburg, Ofer (August 18, 2010). "Israel's 'Judgment Day' Shelters". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2010-08-18.

External links

• Official website
• Video of the construction site (December 2011).
• Architectural renderings by Barchana Architects.