A plan known as National Infrastructure Plan 65a was recently deposited for public objections. It concerns Israel Railways' most extensive infrastructure project for the coming years, in which it will start Stage A of the introduction of high-speed trains, capable of speeds of 250 kilometers per hour, into service in Israel. This stage covers the northern stretch of railway on which these trains will run, between Haifa and Herzliya. So why is the project hardly known, what does it consist of, and how much will it cost us? "Globes" explains.
Connecting two metropolises first
First and foremost, this is an ambitious plan to double the costal line between the two metropolises. Currently there are just two tracks, one northbound and one southbound. The new plan calls for two tracks in each direction. One will accommodate trains at speeds of up to 250 km/h (the current maximum speed is 160 km/h) that will make intermediate stops only at Hadera. The second will operate in the current format of suburban trains stopping at ten stations. National Infrastructure Plan 65a relates to a 68 kilometer stretch between the Hof Hacarmel station in Haifa and a proposed station at Shefayim, where there is no railway station at present.
One of the reasons for proposing the construction of a station at Shefayim is a link-up to a huge project being promoted by Netivei Ayalon involving the construction of a park-and ride parking lot with 7,000 parking spots from which shuttle buses will run on fast lanes to business centers in Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan. This project is budgeted and underway.
Finance assured
In the recently passed state budget, a NIS 46 billion five-year plan was set out for Israel Railways. The main item in the plan is this project. A sum of NIS 15 billion is allocated for its planning and construction, but there is no budget provision for the cost of new rolling stock suitable for high-speed trains, which is estimated at several billion shekels. Although it's a five-year plan, the budget is for the whole project, which is due to be up and running in 2030. The preamble to the plan states that it will "facilitate growth of passenger traffic to 30,000 passengers an hour at peak hours on the Haifa-Tel Aviv segment in each direction on all lines."
Binyamina to lose station
The person responsible for the project at Israel Railways is vice president for development Ilya Volkov. Talking to "Globes", he explained some of the complexity of the huge project, "The project requires the construction of power infrastructure and various systems, among them modern control systems suitable for 250 km/h trains, which are more advanced and quieter, the new generation of equipment that doesn't yet exist in Israel Railways."
Apart from that, he says that the project includes diverting the existing line at many points. "The main change in the line is removing the station at Binyamina and constructing a new station in east Or Akiva." The plan also proposes the construction of several other new stations, at Zichron Yaakov, in the Netanya area, and, as mentioned, at Shefayim. In addition, ten existing stations will be upgraded, among other things by lengthening the platforms to 400 meters, to adapt them to the future trains.
Who needs to know about the project?
Adv. Zvi Shoob, an expert on planning, construction and real estate law, explains that the current stage of the plan, the objections stage, is critical for anyone who owns property along the route. "This is a major plan that will have a large effect on many landowners along the route. Large areas of land will be expropriated. Because of a distortion in the law, neither at this stage nor at the stage of approval of the plan is there any obligation to inform owners of land expropriations personally. A property owner may have land marked for expropriation without being aware of it.
"The obligation to inform a property owner personally comes only at the actual expropriation stage, when the land is physically seized, but that's already too late, when the value of the land will be low, because it is zoned for a highway, and so the compensation will be minimal. Therefore, people with property along the route should already be checking what's in store for their land, and file early objections, in order to protect themselves and their assets."
The future: High-speed trains from Haifa to Jerusalem
The plan to double the coastal railway line is, as mentioned, only the first stage of an extensive project in which 250 km/h trains will be introduced. Under plans for the future (ambitious both from an engineering and a budgetary point of view) the project will be extended southwards, with tracks 5 and 6 running via Ben Gurion Airport to Jerusalem. This project is meant to be completed by 2040, but at present it is not budgeted.
Another planned extension is northwards from Haifa (National Infrastructure Plan 6b). Because this will require substantial changes on the Haifa seafront, and because of opposition to the project voiced by the Haifa Municipality, it was split off from the project to double the coastal line. Concerning plan 65a, the Haifa Municipality told "Globes", "The Haifa Municipality welcomes the promotion of the plan to double the coastal line and put it in tunnels in the Haifa area. The municipality will insist that the landscaping and car parking planning take maximum account of and serve the users of the beaches and the Hof Hacarmel station, both while the work is carried out and after it is completed."
It is also intended in the future to connect Beersheva with a high-speed railway, so that all four of Israel's metropolitan areas will be connected by 250km/h trains.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 14, 2021.
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