New Jezreel Valley railway

This article is about the 21st century railway line. For the historic line, see Jezreel Valley railway.

The Jezreel Valley Railway (Hebrew: מסילת העמק) is a railway of Israel Railways (IR), which connects Haifa with Beit She'an in the Jezreel Valley. The railway line was opened to the public on October 16, 2016.^[1]

New Jezreel Valley railway מסילת העמק
Overview
Owner	Israel Railways
Termini	HaMifrats Central railway station (Haifa) Beit She'an railway station
Stations	5
Service
Type	Commuter Rail
Operator(s)	Israel Railways
History
Opened	October 16, 2016
Technical
Line length	60 km (37 mi)
Track gauge	1435 mm
Route map Legend to Tel Aviv Haifa–Hof HaCarmel Haifa–Bat Galim Haifa Center–HaShmona HaMifratz Central to Nahariya Nesher Yokneam–Kfar Yehoshua Migdal HaEmek–Kfar Baruch Afula 60 Beit She'an–David Levy

History

The railway passes almost identically on the old western section of the former Haifa - Dar'ā railway line which was shut down in 1951. Since the 1990s, there have been repeated attempts to re-create the Jezreel Valley railway line. On the one hand, this is one of the most productive agricultural areas of Israel, on the other hand, the traffic in the Greater Haifa area, especially by commuters, is heavily overloaded.

In 2011, the plans for the new railway line were approved. The construction of the line began in 2012, and the railway line was completed in 2016. On August 29, 2016, the route was inaugurated by the Israeli Minister of Transportation Israel Katz. The construction cost was just over $ 1 billion.^[2]

The railway line was opened to the public on October 16, 2016.^[1]

An extension of the railway line to Israel's border with Jordan, and maybe into Jordan, is currently being considered.^[3]

The Israel Valley Railroad Route: from Haifa to Beit She'an

See also

• Jezreel Valley railway