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Transportation
At the time of our trip to Israel I was a PhD student at the University of Illinois with a research focus on passenger rail transportation. It seemed appropriate that during our trip to Israel I should explore their transit systems whenever possible. So, on our day off, while my mother was at the National Museum of Israel, I took the Israel Railways train from Jerusalem back up to Tel Aviv and Haifa, and returned the same day.
The route from Jerusalem up to Tel Aviv follows the route of Israel's first railroad, the Jaffa-Jerusalem Railway, an old narrow-gauge route that was opened in 1892 by a French company in what was then Ottoman-controlled Palestine. The line was upgraded to standard gauge in 1920 during the British Mandate. Service ended during the war for independence, but was resumed in 1950 under the control of Israel Railways, the government-owned national railway company that is responsible for all inter-city and suburban railway passenger and freight traffic in the country. Service on the line was suspended in 1998 but resumed in 2003 after extensive renovation of the line.
The topography surrounding Jerusalem is mountainous and the section of the line between Jerusalem and Bet Shemesh runs through the mountains along the Refa'im Stream. While this makes the line scenic, the absence of tunnels or deep cuts necessitates a significant amount of curvature, making the travel on the line slow and generally uncompetitve with motor coaches on Highway 1 expressway.
The rolling stock for my trip to Tel Aviv was a IC3/PRA(II) Diesel multiple unit, built in 1995 by Adtranz Denmark. I would have gotten some better pictures of the train itself, but I was concerned about calling the attention of the security folks to my photography - something that would happen later north of Tel Aviv.
Bet Shemesh
North of Bet Shemesh, the topography becomes considerably more level and the train accordingly became much faster and more crowded.
Notably, a number of young people in military uniforms got on board. The Israel Defense Forces folks take public transit to work and come fully armed and loaded - which is oddly comforting and disturbing at the same time.
Tel Aviv - Savidor Merkaz
Tel Aviv's Savidor Merkaz station is one of the central hubs that permits transfer to all of the system's lines, and it was here that I transferred to the train to Haifa. I didn't get a chance to see exactly what the equipment was, but I think it was group of coaches pulled by a Alstom Prima diesel locomotive.
05/29/2011 11:17 IDT Tel Aviv - Savidor Merkaz |
05/29/2011 11:17 IDT Tel Aviv - Savidor Merkaz |
05/29/2011 11:18 IDT Turnstiles |
05/29/2011 11:19 IDT Mezzanine |
05/29/2011 11:24 IDT Route map |
05/29/2011 11:26 IDT Cigarette vending machine |
05/29/2011 11:27 IDT Landscaping beside rails |
05/29/2011 11:27 IDT Friendly natives |
05/29/2011 11:42 IDT Coach |
05/29/2011 12:14 IDT Parking lot through dirty windows |
05/29/2011 12:15 IDT Binyamina Station |
05/29/2011 12:15 IDT Lady across the aisle |
Train Police
The railway company doesn't seem to wash their coaches very often, presumably to avoid the waste of water. This leaves the windows caked in dirt and difficult to photography through. When we were stopped at Alit, I popped my head out of the open door and photographed the station sign, at which point a train police officer accosted me and asked what I was taking pictures of.
On the day I visited, the train police were wearing blue polo shirts under khaki jackets. I said that I was a tourist, to which he replied, "I know." I told him that I wanted to get a clean picture of the station sign, and I showed him my camera. He flipped through the photos on my camera and then asked to see my passport. It didn't help that his blonde hair, blue eyes and vaguely German accent conjured a host of conflicting stereotypes in my imagination. After a tense moment where he couldn't find the visa stamp and I had to point out the lightly-printed stamp on the first page, he asked why I was here and I mentioned that I was on a tour and that I studied transportation systems at the University of Illinois. He pondered this for a moment before returning my camera and passport, grunting an "Okay" and walking away.
It was a curious moment that reminded me that I was visiting a fragile police state facing an incessant, existential threat. The cognitive dissonance between that awareness and photography as an act of civil disobedience was thought provoking - and made me appreciate the comparative freedom I had back at home in the USA.
05/29/2011 11:17 IDT Train police |
05/29/2011 12:30 IDT Alit Station |
05/29/2011 12:36 IDT Google Haifa |
05/29/2011 12:44 IDT Haifa Bat Galim station |
Haifa
Because I wanted to be back on the train south in time to get home for dinner at a decent time, I chose to get out at Haifa Bat Galim station. The stop wasn't much of a tourist destination, although the fact that the entire area seems to have been built in the mid 1970s made it a bit of an architectural time trip back to the age of disco.
05/29/2011 12:45 IDT Train leaving Haifa station |
05/29/2011 12:49 IDT Subterranean walkway |
05/29/2011 12:51 IDT Haifa - Bat Galim |
05/29/2011 12:51 IDT Sderol Hahagana |
05/29/2011 12:54 IDT Unitask |
05/29/2011 12:55 IDT Hayl Hayam St. |
05/29/2011 12:55 IDT Apartment courtyard |
05/29/2011 12:57 IDT Haifa - Baha'i Shrine |
Joseph Meyerhoff Square
Walking around the area I stubled across a diversified shopping plaza a few blocks from the station. Joseph Meyerhoff Square was presumably named after Joseph Meyerhoff (1899-1985) a Ukranian-born Jew who immigrated to the U.S. as a child and ended up making a fortune in development and construction. He was one of a group of Jewish-American businessmen who aided Israel during the 1950s and he continued to support Jewish charities as a philanthropist after retirement. He also has a symphony hall in Baltimore named after him.
05/29/2011 12:59 IDT Joseph Meyerhoff Square |
05/29/2011 13:14 IDT Supermarket |
05/29/2011 13:06 IDT Produce section |
05/29/2011 13:07 IDT Water and dairy |
05/29/2011 13:09 IDT Shops |
05/29/2011 13:09 IDT Outdoor cafe |
05/29/2011 13:11 IDT Shops |
05/29/2011 13:11 IDT Shop |
05/29/2011 13:14 IDT Art |
Bat Galim Station
Haifa Bat Galim station was built as a combined rail and bus terminal in 1975. The overscaled monstrosity was clearly a product of its time and the brutalist architecture has not worn well in the salty Mediterranean air. Bus service was relocated to a new Hof HaCarmel Central Bus Station in 2003, leaving the old bus terminal largely abandoned. The crumbling and precarously cantilevered tower above the station was supposedly used by the Israeli bus company, Egged, for offices.
05/29/2011 12:52 IDT Crumbling brutalism |
05/29/2011 13:18 IDT Crumbling brutalism |
05/29/2011 13:23 IDT Crumbling brutalism |
05/29/2011 13:23 IDT Crumbling brutalism |
05/29/2011 13:23 IDT Crumbling brutalism |
05/29/2011 13:23 IDT Crumbling brutalism |
05/29/2011 13:24 IDT Crumbling brutalism |
I caught the 1:46pm train back to Tel Aviv. The equipment for this leg was one of the newer Siemens Viaggio Light single-deck push-pull trains that entered service in 2009. The train was packed, which, I guess, is indicative of the good health of the system.
05/29/2011 13:28 IDT Train in Haifa Bat Galim Station |
05/29/2011 13:28 IDT Locomotive |
05/29/2011 13:29 IDT Hebrew iPhone 4 ad |
05/29/2011 13:32 IDT Clock, warning sign |
05/29/2011 13:53 IDT Mediterranean seen from train south of Haifa |
05/29/2011 13:53 IDT Mediterranean seen from train south of Haifa |
05/29/2011 14:23 IDT High tension lines |
05/29/2011 14:24 IDT Shipping containers |
05/29/2011 14:28 IDT Packed coach |
05/29/2011 14:56 IDT Coach weight rating |
05/29/2011 14:56 IDT Alstom Prima Locomotive |
05/29/2011 15:11 IDT Suburban Tel Aviv apartments |
05/29/2011 15:20 IDT Shortwave transmitting facility |
05/29/2011 15:20 IDT Shortwave transmitting facility |
05/29/2011 15:23 IDT Sunflowers |
05/29/2011 15:23 IDT Disconnected spur |
05/29/2011 15:24 IDT Meeting the northbound train from Jerusalem |
05/29/2011 15:25 IDT The northbound train |
05/29/2011 15:36 IDT Orchard |
05/29/2011 15:51 IDT Entering hilly terrain |
05/29/2011 15:52 IDT Curve around hills |
05/29/2011 15:53 IDT Curve into cut |
05/29/2011 15:53 IDT Round switching tower |
05/29/2011 15:53 IDT Steep hillside |
05/29/2011 15:58 IDT Curve around cut |
05/29/2011 15:59 IDT Abandoned Dayr ash-Shaykh (Bar Giora) Station |
05/29/2011 16:02 IDT Concrete ties |
05/29/2011 16:05 IDT Steel service buildings? |
05/29/2011 16:17 IDT Terraced hillsides |
05/29/2011 16:17 IDT Rocky hillside |
05/29/2011 16:17 IDT Palestinian area? |
05/29/2011 16:18 IDT Curve into dry creek area |
05/29/2011 16:18 IDT Passing siding in valley |
05/29/2011 16:18 IDT Dry creek valley |
05/29/2011 16:18 IDT Dry creek valley |
Jerusalem Malha Station
05/29/2011 16:31 IDT Jerusalem-Malha Station |
05/29/2011 16:32 IDT Jerusalem-Malha Station |
05/29/2011 16:34 IDT Jerusalem football stadium |
At various points on the tour, our bus passed near or over Israel Railway tracks - dramatizing how small the country really is.
05/23/2011 09:34 IDT Israel Railway |
05/23/2011 09:34 IDT Israel Railway |
05/24/2011 10:00 IDT Haifa railyard |
05/24/2011 10:04 IDT Railroad tracks in Haifa |
05/24/2011 10:04 IDT Railroad tracks in Haifa |
05/24/2011 10:04 IDT Railroad tracks in Haifa |
05/24/2011 10:27 IDT Railroad tracks north of Haifa |
05/24/2011 10:28 IDT Railroad tracks north of Haifa |
05/30/2011 10:50 IDT Grade crossing at Bet Shemesh |
05/30/2011 10:50 IDT Grade crossing at Bet Shemesh |
05/30/2011 10:50 IDT Grade crossing at Bet Shemesh |
05/30/2011 10:58 IDT High Speed Rail sign? |
05/30/2011 12:25 IDT Rail tracks beside Hwy 1 headed into Tel Aviv |
Jerusalem Mall
On returning to Jerusalem I decided to save the cab fare and try to catch a city bus back to the Hotel. Since the train station was a few hundred feet from the Jerusalem Mall, I decided to see how well this product of the American suburbs had transferred to the Holy Land.
The Malha Mall opened in 1993 and is one of seven Israeli enclosed shopping malls built by David Azrieli. Other than the signs in Hebrew and shops in the food court selling falafel, I could just as easily have been in Houston or Kansas City. Time-space compression and globalized homogenization reign.
05/29/2011 16:31 IDT Jerusalem Mall |
05/29/2011 16:53 IDT Jerusalem Mall |
05/29/2011 16:54 IDT Jerusalem Mall |
05/29/2011 16:54 IDT Jerusalem Mall |
05/29/2011 16:54 IDT Jerusalem Mall |
05/29/2011 17:17 IDT Bus back to hotel |
05/29/2011 17:46 IDT Bus back to hotel |
05/29/2011 17:51 IDT Flowers |
Old Jerusalem Railway Station
The Khan Station was the original Jerusalem terminus of the Jerusalem-Jaffa line that opened in 1892. It closed along with the rest of the line in 1998 and, at the request of the city, was not included in the renovations that resulted the resumption of Jerusalem-Tel Aviv service in 2003. That service now terminates south of the city in Malha.
When I visited, the station was in a serious state of disrepair and had apparently suffered a fire in the main building. A stage had been built on a part of the old railyard south of the building and the right-of-way was being converted to a recreational path.
05/29/2011 17:54 IDT Jabotinsky Street east of station |
05/29/2011 17:55 IDT Old Jerusalem station end bumper |
05/29/2011 17:55 IDT Tracks disconnected from end bumper |
05/29/2011 17:55 IDT Abandoned ROW west of bumper |
05/29/2011 17:55 IDT Commemorative sign? |
05/29/2011 17:55 IDT Old station master's house? |
05/29/2011 17:56 IDT Street wall north of station |
05/29/2011 17:57 IDT New recreational path headed up to old ROW |
05/29/2011 17:58 IDT New bike racks (Davidic lion on bike!) |
05/29/2011 17:58 IDT Recreational trail |
05/29/2011 17:57 IDT West side of station building viewed from northwest |
05/29/2011 17:57 IDT Station building |
05/29/2011 17:57 IDT Station building |
05/29/2011 17:58 IDT Station building |
05/29/2011 17:58 IDT Station building |
05/29/2011 17:59 IDT Station building |
05/29/2011 17:59 IDT Razor wire |
05/29/2011 17:59 IDT Awning |
05/29/2011 17:59 IDT Awning |
05/29/2011 18:01 IDT Performance space in old rail yard |
05/29/2011 18:02 IDT Signal |
05/29/2011 18:03 IDT Signal |
05/29/2011 18:02 IDT Recreational trail headed south |
05/29/2011 18:03 IDT Signal and control tower remnants |
05/29/2011 18:05 IDT Station building |
05/29/2011 18:14 IDT The train theatre |
05/30/2011 05:34 IDT Street headed south to old station |
05/30/2011 05:35 IDT Kahn Theatre |
05/30/2011 05:35 IDT Kahn Theatre |
05/30/2011 05:36 IDT Bible Hill urban nature site sign |
05/30/2011 05:36 IDT East side of station viewed from the north |
05/30/2011 05:37 IDT Station entrance |
05/30/2011 05:37 IDT Station entrance |
05/30/2011 05:38 IDT Station buildings |
05/30/2011 05:38 IDT Old railyard |
05/30/2011 05:38 IDT Station entrance |
05/30/2011 05:39 IDT Drip irrigation in traffic circle center |
05/30/2011 05:39 IDT Station buildings |
05/30/2011 05:39 IDT Station entrance |
05/30/2011 05:40 IDT Station sign |
05/30/2011 05:41 IDT Interior |
05/30/2011 05:42 IDT Facade |
05/30/2011 05:42 IDT Blow up the Railway Station |
05/30/2011 05:43 IDT Event light pole banner |
05/30/2011 05:48 IDT Control tower |
05/30/2011 05:49 IDT ROW recreational path headed south |
05/30/2011 05:49 IDT Signals |
05/30/2011 05:50 IDT Path construction |
05/30/2011 05:50 IDT Track still in street crossing |
05/30/2011 05:51 IDT Track street crossing |
05/30/2011 05:51 IDT Project sign |
05/30/2011 05:51 IDT Recreational path |
05/30/2011 05:51 IDT Construction materials on old track |
05/30/2011 05:52 IDT Track from 1954 |
05/30/2011 05:52 IDT Stone or iron ties? |
05/30/2011 05:52 IDT Surviving track headed south |
05/30/2011 05:52 IDT Fastener |
05/30/2011 05:53 IDT Construction materials on track |
05/30/2011 05:53 IDT New path beside track |
05/30/2011 05:53 IDT Construction fence on track |
05/30/2011 05:53 IDT Construction beside track |
05/30/2011 05:54 IDT Landscaping |
05/30/2011 05:54 IDT Track and path |
05/30/2011 05:54 IDT Old crossbucks |
05/30/2011 05:54 IDT Old crossbucks |
05/30/2011 05:54 IDT ROW looking northeast |
05/30/2011 05:56 IDT Expensive house next to tracks |
05/30/2011 05:56 IDT House next to tracks |
05/30/2011 05:56 IDT Houses next to tracks |
Roads and Rails: Eretz Israel Museum
The Eretz Israel Museum has a small display in a back corner lot of some historic rolling stock from the Israel Railway.
05/31/2011 14:22 IDT Roads and rails |
05/31/2011 14:22 IDT Cellphone tower disguised as very tall palm tree |
05/31/2011 14:22 IDT Train historical sign |
05/31/2011 14:24 IDT Box car weight plaque |
05/31/2011 14:24 IDT Box car |
05/31/2011 14:25 IDT Rail and iron ties |
05/31/2011 14:25 IDT Service car |
05/31/2011 14:26 IDT Diesel shunting locomotive |
05/31/2011 14:28 IDT Passenger coach seats |
05/31/2011 14:23 IDT Passenger coach theatre seats |
05/31/2011 14:27 IDT Passenger coach driver position |
05/31/2011 14:28 IDT Passenger coach driver controls |
05/31/2011 14:29 IDT Brake pedal? |
Haifa Subway - Carmelit
When the tour was in Haifa, our guide mentioned that Haifa was the only city in Israel that had a subway - and that one of the stations was right around the corner from our hotel. Cool.
The Carmelit is actually an underground funicular or inclined plane railway. Much of Haifa is built on the top and sides of Mount Carmel, and this train provides service to six stations from the top of the mountain down to Paris Square in downtown Haifa. The entire system consists of two two-car trains that counterbalance themselves on a pair of drive cables. The system has a single track with a short passing track midway along the route. It originally opened in 1956 and underwent significant renovations in the late 1980s. At the time I visited it was apparently lightly used and ran an operating deficit.
05/23/2011 21:26 IDT Gan Ha'em Station |
05/23/2011 21:27 IDT Train in station |
05/23/2011 21:28 IDT Car interior |
05/23/2011 21:33 IDT Six stops |
05/23/2011 21:33 IDT Door between cars |
05/23/2011 21:40 IDT Downhill side of car |
05/23/2011 21:40 IDT Cable |
05/23/2011 21:41 IDT Car delivery photo on station wall |
05/23/2011 21:42 IDT Paris Square station |
05/23/2011 21:44 IDT Turnstiles |
05/23/2011 21:48 IDT Waiting for a train |
05/23/2011 22:05 IDT Riding the train |
05/23/2011 22:07 IDT Riding the train |
05/23/2011 22:13 IDT Biker on the train |
05/23/2011 22:15 IDT Scooters |
05/23/2011 22:15 IDT Gan Ha'em Station (uphill) |
05/23/2011 22:16 IDT Sderot HaNassi |
05/23/2011 22:17 IDT Gan Ha'em Station (downhill) |
05/23/2011 22:18 IDT Gan Ha'em Station (downhill) |
05/24/2011 06:17 IDT Gan Ha'em Station |
05/24/2011 06:17 IDT Location display |
05/24/2011 06:17 IDT Gan Ha'em station |
05/24/2011 09:56 IDT Paris Square |
05/24/2011 09:57 IDT Paris Square Station |
05/24/2011 09:57 IDT Paris Square Station |
CityPass / Jerusalem Light Rail Transit
Jerusalem was the first city to build a light rail system. CityPass was apparently plagued by significant political and construction delays and at the time of our visit was only running test trains. Work on the line began in 2002 and it was scheduled to open for revenue service in late 2011.
05/29/2011 06:45 IDT Test train in Mahane Yehuda station |
05/29/2011 06:46 IDT Saidoff |
05/29/2011 06:48 IDT Hamedrash Zohorei Chama - Sundial |
05/29/2011 06:48 IDT Etz-Hayim Grand Yeshivah and Soup Kitchen |
05/29/2011 06:49 IDT Etz-Hayim |
05/29/2011 06:49 IDT Etz-Hayim |
05/29/2011 06:49 IDT Etz-Hayim |
05/29/2011 06:37 IDT Looking northwest down Jaffa Street |
05/29/2011 06:39 IDT Mahane Yehuda Market |
05/29/2011 06:41 IDT Mahane Yehuda station |
05/29/2011 06:42 IDT Bet Ya'aqov St. |
05/29/2011 06:42 IDT Mahane Yehuda station |
05/29/2011 06:36 IDT Residence of the British Consul |
05/29/2011 06:37 IDT Residence of the British Consul |
05/29/2011 06:33 IDT Davidka Square Station |
05/29/2011 06:34 IDT Davidka Square Station |
05/29/2011 06:51 IDT Davidka Square Station |
05/29/2011 06:51 IDT Platform lights in Davidka Square Station |
05/29/2011 06:51 IDT Sign in Davidka Square Station |
05/29/2011 06:34 IDT Ki'ach Street |
05/29/2011 06:34 IDT Looking northwest down Jaffa Street from Davidka Square |
05/29/2011 06:34 IDT Signal light |
05/29/2011 06:35 IDT Looking northwest down Jaffa Street |
05/29/2011 06:35 IDT Historic marker - The Mustashfa / Cafe Ritz |
05/29/2011 06:36 IDT Luxury apartments |
05/29/2011 06:52 IDT Alcove in demoltion |
05/29/2011 06:52 IDT Alcove in demolition |
05/29/2011 06:53 IDT Test train in King George station |
05/29/2011 06:54 IDT King George Station |
05/29/2011 06:55 IDT Tracks |
05/29/2011 06:56 IDT King George St. |
05/29/2011 06:56 IDT Looking southwest down Jaffa from King George |
05/29/2011 06:57 IDT King George Station |
05/29/2011 06:59 IDT Tracks headed down Jaffa from Shlomtsiyon Ha'Malka split |
05/29/2011 06:59 IDT Tracks headed down Jaffa Street |
05/29/2011 06:59 IDT Operation Pitchfork |
05/29/2011 06:59 IDT Blow up the C.I.D. HQ |
05/29/2011 07:00 IDT Mandarin Chinese Restaurant |
05/29/2011 07:00 IDT Jerusalem Police HQ - 32 Yafo |
05/29/2011 07:00 IDT Test train |
05/29/2011 07:01 IDT Seats covered |
05/29/2011 07:01 IDT Floor covered |
05/29/2011 07:01 IDT Train headed westbound |
05/29/2011 07:02 IDT Line headed northwest |
05/29/2011 07:02 IDT Curve at Daniel Garden |
05/29/2011 07:02 IDT Uzi Hasson |
05/29/2011 07:02 IDT Safra Square Station |
05/29/2011 07:02 IDT Safra Square Station |
05/29/2011 07:03 IDT Safra Square Station |
05/29/2011 07:03 IDT Old bus shelter |
05/29/2011 07:03 IDT Safra Square Station |
05/29/2011 07:03 IDT Safra Square Station |
05/29/2011 07:04 IDT Armenian Building |
05/29/2011 07:04 IDT Armenian Building |
05/29/2011 07:04 IDT Curve to Hatzenhanim St. |
05/29/2011 07:04 IDT Curve down Shlomo Ha'Melech |
05/29/2011 07:05 IDT Line headed northwest up Jaffa |
05/29/2011 07:06 IDT Curve up Jaffa |
05/29/2011 07:06 IDT Line headed northeast up Hatzenhanim |
05/29/2011 07:06 IDT Curve up Jaffa |
05/29/2011 07:07 IDT Tracks in grassy ROW |
05/29/2011 07:07 IDT Line headed northeast |
05/29/2011 07:07 IDT Alley |
05/29/2011 07:08 IDT New Gate |
05/29/2011 07:08 IDT Line headed down Hatzenhanim St. |
05/29/2011 07:10 IDT Curve up Heil Ha'Handasa |
05/29/2011 07:10 IDT Line headed north up Heil Ha'Handasa |
05/29/2011 07:11 IDT Parking lot |
05/29/2011 07:11 IDT Damascus Gate Station |
05/29/2011 07:13 IDT Damascus Gate |
05/27/2011 08:01 IDT Light rail line - Hatzenhanim St. |
05/27/2011 08:01 IDT Light rail line |
05/27/2011 08:02 IDT Light rail line - Heil Ha'Handasa |
05/27/2011 08:02 IDT Light rail line |
05/27/2011 08:04 IDT Shivtei Israel Station |
05/27/2011 08:04 IDT Shivtei Israel Station |
05/28/2011 07:50 IDT Shivtei Israel Station |