The Ministry of Transport and Netivei Israel - National Transport Infrastructure Company Ltd. have announced that the third stage of the construction of the Afula railway station has been completed, and that the station is in the finishing stages. The new station is part of a large Ministry of Transport project, being carried out by Netivei Israel, for the renewal of the Jezreel Valley Railway, at a total cost of NIS 4 billion.
The Afula station is the largest in the project. It covers 700 square meters and has two 300 meter-long platforms. A large transport hub is under construction next to the railway station. It covers 50,000 square meters, and will serve buses and taxis and provide 1,000 parking places.
The railway will reach the Afula station on a bridge above highway 60, and will continue from the station via tunnels that are also close to completion.
In Netivei Israel's plan, the 60 kilometer Valley Railway will connect Beit She'an to Haifa, with an end-to-end journey time of about 50 minutes.
The original Jezreel Valley Railway opened in 1905, when the area was governed by Turkey, as a branch of the Hejaz Railway built to transport Muslim pilgrims to Mecca.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 1, 2016
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