The High-speed railway to Eilat (Med-Red)
is a proposed Israeli railway that will enable the connection of the main Israeli population centers and
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
ports to the southern city of
Eilat on the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
coast, as well as serve commercial freight between the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
(city of
Ashdod) and
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
(
Eilat). The railway will spur southward from the existing rail line at
Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
, and continue through
Dimona
Dimona ( he, דִּימוֹנָה, ar, ديمونا) is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, to the south-east of Beersheba and west of the Dead Sea above the Arava valley in the Southern District of Israel. In its population was . The Shi ...
to the
Arava,
Ramon Airport and Eilat, at a speed of .
Its length will be roughly of electrified double-track rail (not including the Tel Aviv – Beersheba section, an additional ). Currently
Dimona railway station
Dimona railway station ( he, תחנת הרכבת דימונה, ''Takhanat HaRakevet Dimona'') is a train station in Dimona, Israel, opened in 2005.
It is on a line between Dimona and Beersheba, a separate operating line within Israel Railways. ...
is the southernmost passenger train station in Israel and the one with the least boardings/alightings.
The railway, if built, is expected to serve both passengers and freight, including minerals mined from the
Negev Desert. The high-speed passenger service will carry travelers from
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...
to Eilat in two hours or less with one intermediate stop (at the
Be'er Sheva North railway station), and with a slower service offering from Beersheba to Eilat, stopping at a number of towns and villages in the Arava. The freight service will serve as an alternative to the
Suez Canal, allowing countries in Asia to pass goods to Europe through Israel. This possible function of the line was again highlighted in the course of the
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
In March 2021, the Suez Canal was blocked for six days after the grounding of , a container ship. The vessel was buffeted by strong winds on the morning of 23 March, and ended up wedged across the waterway with its bow and stern stuck in th ...
. However, the limited capacity of the
Port of Eilat
The Port of Eilat ( he, נמל אילת) is the only Israeli port on the Red Sea, located at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba.
History
The Port of Eilat was declared in 1952, and constructed between 1952-56. Today it is mainly used for trad ...
is seen as an impediment to such plans. The line is part of a greater plan to turn Eilat into a metropolitan area numbering 150,000 residents, as well as
relocating the
Port of Eilat
The Port of Eilat ( he, נמל אילת) is the only Israeli port on the Red Sea, located at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba.
History
The Port of Eilat was declared in 1952, and constructed between 1952-56. Today it is mainly used for trad ...
further inland.
In 2015, the financial newspaper
Globes
A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe of ...
reported that if the project went ahead, it was likely that Chinese contractors would build the train line and infrastructure, and supply the trains and locomotives.
As of 2019, the project has been indefinitely frozen. But according to a 2020 media report, a rail line to Eilat is planned again.
History
Eilat is located far away from Israel's main population centers, yet serves as an important tourist city and has a strategic location as Israel's only access point to the Red Sea.
Historically it has been connected to the rest of the country with poor transportation infrastructure. Both roads to Eilat—
Highway 90 and
Road 12—have been the scenes of frequent traffic accidents and in some cases terrorist attacks, though in recent years these roads are finally being upgraded.
A line was planned after the
1948 Arab–Israeli War, but plans were cancelled in 1952 due to security concerns. In 1955, Prime Minister
David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the nam ...
again decided to build such a railway, and the French expressed interest in the project, just before the
Suez Crisis. The idea was again discussed in the 1960s and 70s, and in the 1980s an Australian fund submitted a concrete proposal for funding the construction (at the time estimated at US$250 million). The transportation minister
Haim Corfu
Haim Corfu ( he, חיים קורפו; 6 January 1921 – 23 February 2015) was an Israeli politician, and earlier Irgun member and assassin.
Biography
Corfu was born in Jerusalem in 1921. He studied in religious schools and yeshivas and att ...
appointed a committee that recommended starting construction immediately. The government again turned to France to develop the railway. In the 1990s and 2000s, various transportation ministers, including
Yisrael Keisar
Yisrael Kessar ( he, ישראל קיסר, 20 May 1931 – 8 September 2019) was an Israeli politician who served as a Knesset member for the Alignment and Labor Party between 1984 and 1996.
Life and politics
Kessar was born in Sana'a, Yemen in ...
,
Meir Sheetrit
Meir Sheetrit ( he, מאיר שטרית, born 10 October 1948) is an Israeli politician. He served as a member of the Knesset in two spells for Likud between 1981 and 1988, and again from 1992 until 2005, when he joined Kadima. He remained a Kne ...
,
Avigdor Lieberman
Avigdor Lieberman (, ; russian: Эве́т Льво́вич Ли́берман, Evet Lvovich Liberman, ; born 5 June 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician serving as Minister of Finance since 2021, having previously served twice as Deputy ...
and
Shaul Mofaz
Shaul Mofaz ( he, שאול מופז; 4 November 1948) is a retired Israeli military officer and politician. He joined the Israel Defense Forces in 1966 and served in the Paratroopers Brigade. He fought in the Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, 1982 Le ...
, promised that such a railway would be built.
In the 2010s the Israeli government approved the construction of a new port and airport for Eilat, a railway, upgraded highways and a light rail system.
The plan would see Eilat turn into a metropolitan area numbering 150,000 residents.
According to Israeli journalist Guy Bechor, the project would put Israel back on the global trade map.
Planning and financing
The project is expected to cost
NIS
Nis, Niš, NiS or NIS may refer to:
Places
* Niš, a city in Serbia
* Nis, Iran, a village
* Ness, Lewis ( gd, Nis, links=no), a village in the Outer Hebrides islands
Businesses and organizations
* Naftna Industrija Srbije, Petroleum Industry o ...
6–8.6 billion, not including rolling stock, electrification and other related costs—which could be up to NIS 30 billion.
Initial planning will cost NIS 150 million and will come out of the
Netivei Israel
Netivei Israel ( he, נתיבי ישראל, Netivei Yisra'el, ''lit.'' Routes of Israel), formerly the National Roads Company of Israel ( he, החברה הלאומית לדרכים בישראל, ), also called National Roads Authority, is a govern ...
budget (Netivei Israel is a national program to build additional roads and railways).
It is estimated that the line would not directly return the investment cost.
In October 2011, Israeli
Minister of Transport
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
Yisrael Katz signed a cooperation agreement regarding the railway with his Chinese counterpart.
In May 2012, Katz signed a similar agreement with Spain regarding general transportation development, which may involve the railway.
He also conducted talks on the subject with the Indian tourism minister.
In all, ten countries have taken interest in the project, with Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea and the United States being the other seven.
On February 5, 2012, the
Israeli cabinet unanimously approved continuing to pursue the project. There are three possible financing options:
Build-operate-transfer, through an agreement with a foreign government, or complete funding by the Israeli government. Transport minister Katz put his support behind a partnership with a foreign government, and the
Prime Minister's Office will have the final say.
The
finance ministry
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
opposes a deal with a foreign government without issuing a tender.
A ministerial committee approved the plan in 2013.
Israel approves controversial rail route to Eilat
/ref>
Route
The route to Eilat crosses hundreds of kilometers of rough desert terrain, with frequent elevation changes and the potential for flash floods. This is particularly challenging to high-speed railway construction whose aim is to avoid sharp curves along the route. The topographically challenging nature of the route (and consequently the large investment required) is one of the main reasons the railway hasn't been constructed to date, despite the frequently expressed desire of various Israeli governments for such a line to be built.
The railway's proposed route can be divided into three parts: Beersheba–Dimona, Dimona – Mount Tzin and Mount Tzin – Eilat. The line would connect to the existing railway to Beersheba which is already double tracked and is planned for electrification but the existing railway between Dimona and Mount Tzin will need to be double-tracked, electrified and upgraded to allow a speed of up to . The project will feature 63 bridges spanning a total of 4.5 kilometers and 9.5 kilometers of tunnels. Four more kilometers of tunnels may be built in the Mount Tzin area to further shorten the route and travel time. Therefore, the railway will have separate tracks for passenger and freight traffic in the Mount Tzin area, where passenger trains will make use of the 4 km shortcut tunnel, while freight trains will use the longer, but more gradually inclining existing freight route.
The Beersheba–Dimona section is , the Dimona – Mount Tzin section is and the Arava section is about . The Arava section would run through the natural habitat of ''halocnemum strobilaceum
''Halocnemum strobilaceum'' is a species of flowering plant in the subfamily Salicornioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. It is native to coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea and parts of the Middle East and central Asia, wher ...
'', a desert plant thought to have been extinct, but rediscovered in 2012. The section from Dimona to Hatzeva
Hatzeva ( he, חֲצֵבָה) is a moshav in southern Israel. Located in the Arava, 12 km north of Ein Yahav, it falls under the jurisdiction of Central Arava Regional Council. In it had a population of .
History Antiquity
Hatzeva was ...
and Paran through the Mount Tzin area was approved by the National Planning and Construction Committee on March 5, 2013.
A preliminary plan envisioned nine stations in the Arava and Eilat section: from north to south, Hatzeva
Hatzeva ( he, חֲצֵבָה) is a moshav in southern Israel. Located in the Arava, 12 km north of Ein Yahav, it falls under the jurisdiction of Central Arava Regional Council. In it had a population of .
History Antiquity
Hatzeva was ...
, Sapir, Paran, Yahel
Kibbutz Yahel ( he, יַהֵל) is a Reform kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the Arabah region of the Negev desert, 60 kilometers from the city of Eilat, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Eilot Regional Council. In it had a popula ...
, Yotvata :''"Yotvat" is also the Hebrew name for Tiran Island''.
Yotvata ( he, יׇטְבָתָה, ar, يوتفاتا) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located on the Arabah road in the southern Negev, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Eilot Regi ...
, Timna Airport, Shchoret, Eilat Center and the Port of Eilat
The Port of Eilat ( he, נמל אילת) is the only Israeli port on the Red Sea, located at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba.
History
The Port of Eilat was declared in 1952, and constructed between 1952-56. Today it is mainly used for trad ...
.
Technical and service specifications
The railway route in the Arava will allow a maximum speed of . The line will be fully electrified and double tracked.
The passenger service will feature an express and regular service options. The route is being planned such that travel on the express route from the Tel Aviv HaHagana Railway Station
Tel Aviv HaHagana railway station is a major railway station on the Ayalon Railway in southern Tel Aviv, Israel, serving most lines of Israel Railways. It is located in the median of the Ayalon Highway, north of Highway 1 and 400 meters east of ...
to Eilat will take two hours or less. An estimated 3.5 million passengers will use the service every year.
The freight service is expected to transport about of chemicals and 140,000 cars a year for the local market. In addition to the local market, the railway will serve Asian countries that want to transport freight to Europe by serving as a land bridge from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea; in that respect it will compete with the Suez Canal, although the Israel Port Authority
The Israel Ports Authority (רשות הספנות והנמלים) is the governmental agency which supervises and regulates the operation of Israel's seaports in Haifa, Ashdod and Eilat. It is located in Tel Aviv.
History
The authority was set u ...
and former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
have stated that it is not meant to compete on a regular basis. According to Netanyahu, China and India have expressed interest in the project. On the other hand, Egyptian officials have criticized the project as an alleged attempt to harm the Egyptian economy.
References
External links
Request for information
(RFI) from the Israel Ministry of Transport (PDF)
{{coord missing, Israel
Proposed railway lines in Israel
Standard gauge railways in Israel
High-speed rail in Israel