Transportation Minister inaugurates Jezreel Valley railway
After 65 years the railway line is reopening.
Transportation Minister Israel Katz took an inaugural journey on the new Haifa-to-Beit She’an line, in which NIS 4 billion has been invested.
Scheduled services for the new train service will begin on October 16, and be free until November 4.
The new 60 km. route will have five stations: Haifa, Kfar Yehoshua-Yokne’am, Migdal Ha’emek-Kfar Baruch, Afula and Beit She’an. Two new stations will be added in the future, at Haifa Bay and Nesher. The journey will take 50 minutes.
After the scheduled services begin on the eve of the Sukkot holiday (October 16), there will be a 50 percent discount the following two years on tickets for all stations except Haifa.
Israel Railways CEO Boaz Tzafrir said that the Valley Railway was operating using electricity, which is quieter, cheaper and cleaner than on other lines.
In the future, the line will be extended eastward to the Sheikh Hussein bridge and border terminal with Jordan, and will link up with the Jordanian railway system.
The plan is for cargo trains to transport goods between Europe and Jordan via Haifa Port and the Valley Railway. A freight yard is being built near Kibbutz Sde Nahum west of Beit She’an.
“We are talking about a real revolution that will increase the value of real estate in these towns, and expand employment and housing options for residents,” said Katz. He added that the cargo rail link from Haifa Port will reduce the number of trucks on the roads and cargo rail traffic along the coastal line.
However, the high cost of the line has been criticized by many who consider it to be an inefficient use of financial resources for a region that does not suffer from heavy road traffic, while the potential number of rail passengers does not justify the expense.
The original Valley Railway was built in 1905 by the Ottoman Turks and linked Haifa with Damascus via Tzemah (in the Kinneret region). The line fell into disuse after the establishment of Israel in 1948, and was used occasionally for tourism and transporting troops until its final closure in 1951.