Israel Railways Eastern Line: Freight Diversion to Boost National Capacity

Israel Railways marks a significant operational milestone on the new Eastern Railway, crossing the 100,000-passenger threshold since its opening last June. These figures follow record demand across the national rail network, which reached approximately 72 million trips and over 300,000 daily passengers in 2025.

The northern section of the line includes three new stations connecting new populations to employment and commercial hubs: the Tira–Kochav Yair station led activity with approximately 44,000 passengers, the Shomron–Tayibe station recorded about 35,500 passengers, and the Hadera East station saw approximately 27,000 passengers.

Beyond passenger activity, the Eastern Railway brings broad logistical and operational news to Israel's entire land transport supply chain. In the coming weeks, Israel Railways is expected to launch an upgraded schedule, made possible by diverting freight trains from the congested Coastal Line to the Eastern Railway route. Clearing this coastal bottleneck is expected to free up essential track capacity, streamline freight movement, and create space for increased electric train frequency nationwide.

Simultaneously, work is progressing on the southern section of the Eastern Railway, which will create a full Tel Aviv bypass, directly connecting Hadera to Lod via 64 kilometers of double track parallel to Highway 6. This segment will also include the construction of two new railway stations—Shoham–Airport and Elad. Upon the project's full completion, alongside complementary strategic ventures such as the 431 Railway, the fourth Ayalon track, and the high-speed coastal tracks, the travel supply across the national rail network is expected to grow by approximately 30%.