Eastern Rail Line Opens, Linking the Sharon, Samaria and Central Israel

On Sunday, the first stage of Israel’s Eastern Railway will begin operating, opening the Hadera East, Shomron-Taybeh and Tirah-Kochav Yair stations. The new service connects these stations to the upgraded Rosh HaAyin North station, where passengers can change trains and continue to Tel Aviv and other destinations nationwide.

The line will run Sunday through Thursday from about 06:00 to 21:00, with two trains an hour in each direction. Israel Railways said most transfers at Rosh HaAyin should take about seven minutes. Travel times to Tel Aviv are expected to be about one hour from Hadera East, 46 minutes from Shomron-Taybeh, and 39 minutes from Tirah-Kochav Yair.

The Eastern Railway is a double-track electrified line about 64 kilometers long, stretching from Hadera to Lod near Route 6. It is being built jointly by Israel Railways and Netivei Israel. The Transportation Ministry says the project will raise the national rail service supply by about 30 percent and allow trains to move between north and south without using the crowded coastal corridor.

In the next stage, after electrification and engineering work are completed, the line will be extended to include Shoham-Airport, Elad and Lod stations. Service hours will also be expanded to include Fridays and Saturday nights. Transportation Minister Miri Regev called the opening "a historic moment for the transport revolution of the State of Israel," saying it will connect the Samaria, Sharon and Arab communities to the national rail network and create new opportunities in employment, education and commerce. Separately, Israel Railways said it is extending Friday and Saturday-night service hours at dozens of stations in the north and south, including Nahariya, Acre, Karmiel, Netanya, Beit Shemesh, Lod, Kiryat Gat and Beersheba.