Israel Railways Launches Major Schedule Overhaul With Direct Sharon Lines
Israel Railways will launch a major schedule update on November 14, 2026, extending direct Sharon region routes to Jerusalem and Ben Gurion Airport while adding 140,000 daily seats through new infrastructure projects.
Israel Railways is set to launch a major schedule overhaul starting Saturday night, November 14, 2026, introducing direct services from the Sharon region to Jerusalem and Ben Gurion Airport alongside a daily addition of approximately 140,000 seats. The extensive network update aims to accommodate surging passenger numbers, following 72 million recorded journeys in 2025 and daily averages exceeding 300,000 trips during the first half of 2026.
The centerpiece of the reform is the extension of the high-speed line from Jerusalem and Ben Gurion Airport northward through Herzliya to Beit Yehoshua, Netanya, and Hadera West. Daytime passengers at these stations will benefit from direct connections without transfers to the capital or the international airport. Furthermore, new high-capacity electric trains will replace older diesel fleets on these routes, significantly boosting frequency during off-peak hours.
However, the expansion comes at a cost for commuters on parallel lines. Trains on the Beersheba-Carmiel route will cease stopping at Hadera West, forcing passengers traveling toward Haifa to transfer at Binyamina and adding about 16 minutes to their journey. Additionally, peak-hour services from Beit Shemesh and Rehovot to Netanya will be shortened to terminate at Herzliya, while Lod Gani Aviv will no longer be served by Beit Shemesh trains.
According to Israel Railways, the network upgrade is powered by three major infrastructure milestones: the opening of the new Eastern Railway line to divert freight traffic, the ongoing electrification project, and the implementation of the advanced European Train Control System (ETCS Level 2) to safely increase train frequencies.
