Public transport minister approves plans to widen the Jezreel Valley railway network between Afula and Tiberias; 1-hour train from Tel Aviv to Tiberias forecast for operation within 7 years: \’We will connect the Galilee with the start-up and high-tech Israeli nation.\’
An express train which will enable travellers to travel between Tel Aviv and Tiberias in just one hour is being planned by Public Transport Minister Yisrael Katz.
Katz approved the continuation of the high speed train between Afula and Tiberias as part of a project to expand the train network in the north on Wednesday. He said that the project will be implemented within 7 years with the completion of an eastern track connecting Afula with Tel Aviv.
The train line will begin at the Afula train station and will continue directly to Poriya Hospital on the outskirts of Tiberias. The total length of the new line will be about 18 and a half miles, and will include a number of new tunnels and bridges.
The Jezreel Valley railroad between Haifa and Beit Shean via Afula is set to begin operations on fall of 2016. The high speed rail between Tiberias and Afula is set to link up to this line. In addition to a train which will stop in cities on the Jezreel Valley railroad and the Sharon railroad, there will also be a special express train which will go directly from Tiberias to Tel Aviv in one hour.
Minister Katz praised the project, stressing that the route to will turn Tiberias and the surrounding area into a more attractive place to live and work. Furthermore, he said it will transform Tiberias into a metropolitan city in the eastern Galilee.