Travelers from Netanya, Hadera and Beit Yehoshua will soon be able to reach Jerusalem and Ben Gurion Airport without changing trains, as Israel Railways introduces a timetable expansion expected to add approximately 140,000 daily seats across the affected services. The upgrade will also bring longer journeys for some passengers heading north.

The changes, announced by the Transportation Ministry and Israel Railways, take effect Saturday evening, Nov. 14. The existing Jerusalem–Tel Aviv–Herzliya line will extend north to Beit Yehoshua, Netanya and Hadera West, connecting those stations directly with the airport and Jerusalem’s Yitzhak Navon station during the day and overnight.

Off-peak service will become more frequent at the three newly connected stations, with modern, higher-capacity electric trains replacing diesel trains on the affected services. The additional seating capacity will also benefit passengers at Herzliya, Tel Aviv University–Expo and Lod Ganei Aviv.

The overnight service operates within the railway’s regular operating calendar. Trains remain suspended for Shabbat, from Friday afternoon until Saturday evening.

For passengers traveling between Hadera and Haifa, however, the revised timetable brings a setback. Beersheba–Karmiel trains will no longer stop at Hadera West, requiring passengers to change at Binyamina and adding approximately 16 minutes to their journey. Israel Railways says the decision follows a review of passenger demand and is necessary to accommodate the expanded service toward Jerusalem and the airport.

Other routes will change as well. Peak-hour Beit Shemesh–Netanya and Rehovot–Netanya services will use Herzliya as their northern terminus. In the north, morning trains on the Valley Railway, which serves Beit Shean and Afula, will add stops at Haifa Bat Galim, Haifa Hof HaCarmel and Atlit.

At Lod Ganei Aviv, Binyamina–Ashkelon trains will take over the stop currently served by trains on the Beit Shemesh route. That change will create a direct connection between Ganei Aviv and Kfar Chabad.

The expansion follows infrastructure upgrades that have freed space for more passenger services. Israel Railways says shifting some freight traffic onto the Eastern Railway has eased pressure on the coastal tracks, while electrification and upgraded signaling have helped increase capacity. The company recorded 72 million passenger journeys in 2025.

Passengers are urged to check their journeys before traveling, including on routes outside the main expansion, because departure times will also change. Updated information is available through the Israel Railways website, its app and the *5770 service hotline.