The highly anticipated new high-speed Jerusalem / Tel Aviv train (via Ben Gurion Airport) is now operating, going quickly and efficiently from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. This route is officially called the King David Line – and in this quick post we are going to give you all the information you need in order to use it easily.
Some History
As a local Israeli I would always try to avoid using the train between Jerusalem & Tel-Aviv. Not only was the line slow, the end station in Jerusalem was quite far from the city center. All of that changed in September 2018, when a new fast train route running between Jerusalem’s new Yitzhak Navon station and Tel Aviv HaHagana was officially inaugurated.
Initially, the train only traveled between Jerusalem and Ben Gurion Airport (in Hebrew called ‘Natbag’) and passengers continuing to Tel Aviv had to change lines or use a different form of transportation. Later, by early 2019, the route was extended to Tel Aviv itself (to the city central HaHagana and Savidor stations).
King David Line is the first heavy rail line in Israel to be electrified, and the journey from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv takes a little over twenty minutes. Jerusalem’s Yizhak Navon station is the world’s deepest heavy rail passenger station and the fourth deepest underground train station in the world, with its platforms extending down to 80 metres (260 ft) below street level.
It is named after Jerusalem native Yitzhak Navon, the fifth President of Israel.
Due to the constraints of building the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway in a grade suitable for carrying passengers, the station platforms had to be built 80 metres (260 ft) below street level, at the end of a tunnel leading to the railroad bridge over Emeq HaArazim.
Traveling between Jerusalem & Tel-Aviv by Train
You can take a train from any station in Tel Aviv to Ben Gurion Airport and then switch to a train to Jerusalem, or you can aim to take the direct line to Jerusalem from the station Tel Aviv HaHagana.
When planning your trip, it is important to take in mind that it takes about 15 minutes to enter Yitzhak Navon Station in Jerusalem – as you will need to go down 3 escalators and a set of stairs to reach the platform – and maybe 5-10 to the Tel-Aviv ones. Once on the train, the trip to Hashalom Station in central Tel Aviv now takes around 40 minutes, with stops at Hahagana, Savidor Central, Tel Aviv University, and Herzliya Stations.
At the time of writing this, the price of a ticket is 22 NIS.
Trains are avilable between Sundays to Thursday, 6am-9pm. Israeli trains doesn’t operate on Shabbat (Friday evening through Saturday evening). For more information on schedling, please check Israel Railway’s website.
Helpful App: “Israel Railways” – Available on App Store and Google Play.
About the Project
The total cost of this enormous Tel-Aviv Jerusalem railway project is estimated at 7 billion dollars, invested to help passengers commute more comfortably on one of the country’s most congested roads and cut the traffic jams on Highway 1 and on all major junctions from Israel’s capital city to Gush Dan Metropolitan Area.
The track is 57 kilometers in length and includes a significant amount of construction challenges solved to ensure the fastest and smoothest ride possible. Seven kilometers of bridges were built for the purpose of this project, including Israel’s tallest bridge (at 95 meters height) and Israel’s longest bridge (with 1,250 meters of length) in addition to 38 kilometers of tunnels that were dug. All the construction works were done with consideration to the preservation of the environment.
