Israel Railways will begin running the fast line between Yerushalayim’s Yitzchak Navon station and Ben Gurion Airport 24 hours a day starting November 14, under a directive from Transportation and Road Safety Minister Miri Regev.

The move is meant to serve the general public, travelers whose flights leave late at night or before dawn, and airport employees. Running the line through the night will give passengers a fast, safe and convenient way to reach central Israel and the airport, regardless of the railway’s regular hours of operation.

The Transportation Ministry and Israel Railways said the expanded night service is part of a broader plan to upgrade public transportation, strengthen the connection between Yerushalayim and the airport, and ease congestion on intercity highways.

The 24-hour service is set to begin on the same night that a new national train schedule takes effect, on Motzei Shabbos, November 14. Under the new timetable, the Yerushalayim Yitzchak Navon–Tel Aviv–Herzliya line will be extended north to Beit Yehoshua, Netanya and Hadera West, allowing passengers at those stations to travel to the airport and Yerushalayim without changing trains.

According to Israel Railways, the changes will add about 140,000 seats a day, and new high-capacity electric trains will replace diesel trains on some routes. Frequency at the newly connected stations will also be increased during off-peak hours.

Some passengers will be affected by the changes. Trains on the Beersheba–Karmiel line will no longer stop at Hadera West, so travelers between Hadera West and Haifa will have to switch trains at Binyamina, adding about 16 minutes to the trip.

Israel Railways said that following a successful pilot at the Yitzchak Navon station in recent months, it plans to add a third train per hour on the Yerushalayim–Herzliya line in the near future, and later a fourth, bringing service to one train every 15 minutes in each direction.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)