ISRAEL: A record budget of 28·3bn shekels for development of the rail network by 2020 was approved by Transport Minister Israel Katz on February 3. Katz said the projects would help to improve links to peripheral areas in particular.
Israel Railways said the spending would significantly improve services, with electrification and new signalling enabling the number of passenger trains to be increased from 450 to 860 per day and ridership forecast to exceed 70 million passengers/year.
| ISR investment plans, million shekels | |
|---|---|
| Electrification | 1200 |
| Signalling including ETCS Level 2 | 3700 |
| Depots for electric trains, building the Modi'in Outskirts - Rishonim - Rishon Le-Ziyyon line in the median of highway 431, connection between Modi'in Outskirts and the A1 fast link, freight facilities | 3400 |
| Planning infrastructure projects including the Tel-Aviv - Haifa quadrupling, linking Rishon Le-Ziyyon Rishonim and Rishon Le-Ziyyon West (Moshe Dayan) stations, enlarging Ben-Gurion Airport station and building a Lod bypass | 700 |
| Station upgrading, and new stations at Kfar-Menakhem (to open 2017), Mazkeret Batya and Netanya Sapir | 153 |
| Park and ride facilities and other passenger improvements | 245 |
| Grade separation projects | 335 |
