An opinionated column argues that Israel Railways’ Friday service cutoff in Haifa is absurdly early, forcing passengers to rush for the last train from Merkazit HaMifratz to Tel Aviv at 11:43 a.m. The writer says her daughter, who had planned to return from a Friday business meeting around 1:30 or 2:00 p.m., discovered at 10:30 a.m. that she had only one hour left to catch the final train, and that the trip was uncomfortably crowded despite taking about 30 minutes.
The article says the cutoff is especially hard on soldiers and reservists trying to get home for Shabbat, as well as northern residents living under fire. Israel Railways says the shortened Friday hours are temporary and are meant to minimize service disruption while accelerating electrification work. The company adds that service in Haifa and the north runs normally on weekdays, and that the earlier shutdown applies only during hours of especially low demand.
According to rail data cited in the piece, about 75% of the electrification project has been completed, and roughly half of Israel’s 650 daily trains already run on electricity. The author notes that officials had previously said the project should have ended in early 2025, and suggests the delay could mean at least two more years without Friday trains. The piece also says the company now promises Saturday-night service between Haifa and Tel Aviv will resume within about a year.
The writer argues the real reason is political, not technical, claiming the Ministry of Transport and Israel Railways chose not to authorize work on Shabbat so as not to anger ultra-Orthodox coalition partners. She notes that the electrification work on the Haifa line is being carried out by Spain’s SEMI, whose workers are not Jewish and face no halachic obstacle to working on Saturdays. The column concludes with a swipe at double standards, saying that if the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem line were shut at 11:43 a.m. for infrastructure work, the government would react immediately, whereas northern passengers are expected to wait in silence.
