Jerusalem–Malha railway station (, ''Tahanat HaRakevet Yerushalayim–Malha''; ) was one of two

Israel Railways Israel Railways Ltd. (, ''Rakevet Yisra'el'') is the state-owned principal railway company responsible for all inter-city, commuter, and freight rail transport in Israel. Israel Railways network consists of of track. All its lines are standar ...

termini in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, the other being

Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon railway station Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon Railway Station (, ''Tahanat HaRakevet Yerushalaim–Yitzhak Navon''; ), originally named Jerusalem–HaUma railway station is an Israel Railways passenger terminal in Jerusalem, located at 6 Shazar Avenue. The station ...

. The station is located in the southern neighborhood of

Malha Malha is a neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem, between Pat (Jerusalem), Pat, Ramat Denya and Kiryat Hayovel in the Valley of Rephaim. Before 1948, Malha was an Arabs, Arab village known as al-Maliha (). Malha is now an upscale neighborhood fea ...

, across from the

Jerusalem Shopping Mall Malha Mall (, ''Kanyon Malha''), sometimes spelled Malcha Mall, also known as Jerusalem Mall (, ''Kanyon Yerushalayim''), is an indoor shopping mall in the southwestern neighbourhood of Malha, Jerusalem. The mall, which opened in 1993, has 260 s ...

Pais Arena The Jerusalem Arena (, ''HaArena Yerushalayim''), renamed for the National Lottery Mifal HaPais grant as Pais Arena Jerusalem (, ''HaPais Arena Yerushalayim''), is a multi-purpose sports arena that was built in Jerusalem by the city council and N ...

and

Teddy Stadium Teddy Stadium () is a sports stadium in Jerusalem. Two major Israeli football clubs currently use it as their home ground: Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Jerusalem. The Israel national football team also uses it for select home matches. The stadi ...

. As it is much less centrally located than Navon station, and the historic

Jaffa–Jerusalem railway The Jaffa–Jerusalem railway (also J & J) is a railway that connected Jaffa and Jerusalem. The line was built in the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem (Ottoman Syria) by the French company ''Société du Chemin de Fer Ottoman de Jaffa à Jérusale ...

provides a much slower journey to the Tel Aviv area than the modern

Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway is a railway line in Israel connecting the cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The line serves as the main rail link between the two cities, complementing the old Jaffa–Jerusalem railway. As such, the railway ...

, ridership is very low. 115,118 passengers boarded or disembarked at the station in 2019, ahead of only the adjacent Biblical Zoo railway station and Dimona railway station. Service to the station has been suspended entirely since March 2020 due to poor usage combined with the economic impacts of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, and it is unclear if or when it will resume.

History

Jerusalem–Malha is the current

terminus Terminus may refer to: Ancient Rome *Terminus (god), a Roman deity who protected boundary markers Transport *Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination *Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end des ...

of the

. The other Jerusalem station on this line is the Biblical Zoo station which is served by limited stops. Jerusalem Malha was opened on April 9, 2005, when the historic Jaffa–Jerusalem railway was restored after being out of service for six years. The line underwent a major renovation, including the laying of new tracks. Jerusalem Malha replaced the historic Jerusalem railway station near the Old City as the terminus of the line, which was not restored due to the objections of area residents over

train noise Train noise is vehicle noise made by trains. Noises may be heard inside the train and outside. Subway systems, light rail transit and freight trains can send loud train noise into neighborhoods. Organizations such as the World Health Organizati ...

. The at grade tracks from Malha to Khan have been turned into a mixed use path, called the Park HaMesila, or Train Track Park. Since February 5, 2006, intercity bus routes to

Gush Etzion Gush Etzion (, ' Etzion Bloc) is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains, directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank. The core group includes four Jewish agricultural villages that were founded in 1943� ...

and the

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

area stop at Malha station on their way from the Jerusalem Central Bus Station to their destination via Begin Boulevard.

Future

There are conceptual plans to extend the new

from Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon to Jerusalem–Malha along an underground route beneath Jerusalem; for that reason, Malha station was built as a thorough station at a surface elevation equal to that of Jerusalem–Navon's underground tracks and platforms. Detailed plans unveiled in November 2021 establish the precise course of the extension, which will also pass via a new underground station in central Jerusalem and another underneath the historic Jerusalem-Khan train station. file:Malha railway station (inside).JPG, Passengers hall (2013) file:Malha railway station (outside).JPG, View from outside File:תחנת הרכבת מלחה בשלג.JPG, Malha railway station in snow

References

External links

Niv-Schwartz architectural plan

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jerusalem-Malha railway station Railway stations in Jerusalem Railway stations in Israel opened in 2005