PASSENGER traffic on Israel Railways increased by 12% from 40.4 million journeys in 2012 to 45.1 million last year, with traffic growing by 25% since 2009.
TEL AVIV Metropolitan Mass Transit System (NTA) announced on January 13 that four international consortia have prequalified for the railway systems contract for the city's planned 22km light rail Red Line from Petakh-Tikva to Bat Yam.
ISREAL's prime minister Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, together with transport minister Mr Yisrael Katz and Israel Railways' general manager Mr Boaz Zafrir, opened an extension of the Tel Aviv - Ashkelon line south to Shderot on December 25.
ISRAEL Railways has completed a $US 186 million project to upgrade and double track the 20km Kiryat-Motzkin - Nahariya line, thereby creating a continuous double-track line for the first time from Beer-Sheva in the south via Tel Aviv and Haifa to Nahariya in the north.
ISRAEL Railways (IR) has launched the procurement process for its first electric trains by issuing a request for information (RFI) from potential suppliers of locomotives and multiple units.
ISRAEL's Ministry of Transport, Israel Railways, and the municipality of Jerusalem are reportedly developing plans for a 2.5km extension of the new Tel Aviv – Jerusalem direct line, which is due to open in 2018, to Jerusalem Old City.
ISRAEL Railways has placed a Shekels 1.5bn ($US 421.7m) contract with Alstom to maintain its fleet of IC3 dmus for seven years, with an option for an eight-year extension.
THE $US 5.6bn project to extend the Israeli rail network south to the port of Eilat on the Gulf of Aqaba has received a boost following its approval by the Ministerial Committee for Internal Affairs and Services.
ISRAELI transport minister Mr Yisrael Katz announced on August 13 that the National Infrastructure Committee has approved the initial phase of Israel Railways' (IR) national electrification programme.
THE ISRAELI government has reached an agreement over controversial plans to cut the budget for new infrastructure projects, which have been put forward as part of proposals intended to reduce the country's Shekels 39bn ($US 10.8bn) budget deficit.