Binyamina Railway Station
Encyclopedia
Binyamina Railway Station is an Israel Railways
passenger station located in the region of Binyamina-Giv'at Ada
and serves these towns, as well as Zikhron Ya'akov, Or Akiva and other small communities in the area.
and is located in the southern part of Binyamina. It is located on HaMesila street , besides the Zikhron Ya'aqov – Pardes Hanna-Karkur
road (Route 652).
–Cairo
railway line, constructed by the British during their Mandate of Palestine.
After the establishment of the State of Israel it became one of the combined passenger-freight stations on the Tel Aviv
– Haifa
railway line. The relatively low population density and the lack of places of interest in the area meant that the station's importance was minimal.
During the late 1990s the station underwent a massive change, both in design and its role in the Israel Railways network. The station underwent vast reconstruction that included the construction of an additional island platform
, a tunnel
under the tracks
connecting the platform
s and two adjacent bridge
s above them, as well as expansion of the station building while preserving the original stone
structure. At the same time Israel Railways implemented a plan which made Binyamina Railway Station the northernmost station on the Tel Aviv suburban line (Binyamina/Netanya
- Tel Aviv - Rehovot
/Ashkelon
Suburban Service) and the last station before Tel Aviv for Inter-City trains traveling on the Haifa – Tel Aviv route, making Binyamina Railway Station one of the most important interchange station
in the entire Israel Railways network.
On July 16, 2001 the Binyamina Railway Station was the scene of a suicide bombing. The terror attack was executed by a Palesitnian who was sent by Palestinian Islamic Jihad and detonated himself on the crowded platform, killing 2 IDF soldiers, one of them a woman, and severely injuring one more soldier and at least 8 civilians.http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-45735554.html
During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
the station briefly acted as Israel
's northernmost station after Israel Railways announced the suspension of all train service north of Binyamina as a result of a Hezbollah Katyusha rocket hitting a train depot in Haifa on July 16, 2006, killing 8 Israel Railways workers. Train service to both Atlit Railway Station
and Hof HaCarmel Railway Station
was reinstated several days later, after Israel Railways gave in to heavy public pressure, annulling its new and unfortunate status.
and an island platform
, numbered 1 to 3 from east to west. Between the side platform and the island platform there are two parallel rail tracks, and an additional track to the west of platform 3, there are several additional tracks to the west of the station in use by freight trains.
The station hall is located to the east of the rail tracks. The two platforms are interconnected by a pedestrian tunnel. A pedestrian bridge is also connecting the platforms and a second adjacent bridge connects the parking lot
just to the east of the station to the industrial zone to the west, bypassing any station territory where train ticket
s are required.
Platform 1 is used by southbound Inter-City trains, platform 2 for northbound Inter-City trains. Platform 3 is used by the Tel Aviv suburban trains as a terminus of their journey.
The Inter-City train from Haifa always arrives several minutes before the suburban train to Tel Aviv departs, allowing interchange for passengers wishing to do so. The Passengers disembark the Inter-City train at platform 1 and go through the pedestrian tunnel to platform 3, where the suburban train is waiting. A similar but reverse interchange is possible between an incoming suburban train and an Inter-City train from Tel Aviv.
of Israel Railways (Nahariya
–Haifa–Tel Aviv–Ben-Gurion Airport inter-city service) and a terminus
for the Tel Aviv suburban line (Binyamina/Netanya
–Tel Aviv–Rehovot
/Ashkelon
suburban service), as well as being an important interchange station
between the two railway lines. The station is situated between Atlit Railway Station
to the north and Caesarea-Pardes Hanna Railway Station
to the south.
– Pardes Hanna-Karkur
road (Route 652) and is accessible by several bus
lines as well as sherut taxis, bus line 9, 10 are synchronized with train arrival or departure times. The bus lines are:
Sherut Taxis (share taxis) stop on the road outside the station.
Israel Railways
Israel Railways is the principal passenger railway operating company in Israel, and is responsible for all inter-city and suburban rail way passenger and freight traffic in the country. All its lines are standard gauge. The network is centered in Israel's densely populated coastal plain, from...
passenger station located in the region of Binyamina-Giv'at Ada
Binyamina-Giv'at Ada
Binyamina-Giv'at Ada is a town in the Haifa District of Israel. It is the result of the 2003 merger between the two local councils of Binyamina and Giv'at Ada. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , the population of Binyamina-Giv'at Ada was 12,000 at the end of 2009...
and serves these towns, as well as Zikhron Ya'akov, Or Akiva and other small communities in the area.
Location
The station is situated on the North-South coastal lineCoastal railway line, Israel
The Coastal railway line is a mainline railway in Israel, which begins just south of the Lebanon-Israel border on the Mediterranean coast, near the town of Nahariya in Northern Israel and currently ends in Tel Aviv; by 2013 it will be linked to the existing Ashdod Railway Station south of Tel Aviv,...
and is located in the southern part of Binyamina. It is located on HaMesila street , besides the Zikhron Ya'aqov – Pardes Hanna-Karkur
Pardes Hanna-Karkur
Pardes Hanna-Karkur is a town in the Haifa District of Israel. In 2009, it had a population of 31,800.-History:In 1913, 15 square kilometers of land was purchased by the Hachsharat Hayishuv society from Arabs in Jenin and Haifa for 400,000 francs...
road (Route 652).
History
The station was opened on July 11, 1921 as a halt on the BeirutBeirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
–Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
railway line, constructed by the British during their Mandate of Palestine.
After the establishment of the State of Israel it became one of the combined passenger-freight stations on the Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
– Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
railway line. The relatively low population density and the lack of places of interest in the area meant that the station's importance was minimal.
During the late 1990s the station underwent a massive change, both in design and its role in the Israel Railways network. The station underwent vast reconstruction that included the construction of an additional island platform
Island platform
An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...
, a tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
under the tracks
Rail tracks
The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
connecting the platform
Railway platform
A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...
s and two adjacent bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
s above them, as well as expansion of the station building while preserving the original stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
structure. At the same time Israel Railways implemented a plan which made Binyamina Railway Station the northernmost station on the Tel Aviv suburban line (Binyamina/Netanya
Netanya
Netanya is a city in the Northern Centre District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is located north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north.Its of beaches have made the...
- Tel Aviv - Rehovot
Rehovot
Rehovot is a city in the Center District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 112,700. Rehovot's official website estimates the population at 114,000.Rehovot was built on the site of Doron,...
/Ashkelon
Ashkelon
Ashkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age...
Suburban Service) and the last station before Tel Aviv for Inter-City trains traveling on the Haifa – Tel Aviv route, making Binyamina Railway Station one of the most important interchange station
Interchange station
An interchange station or a transfer station is a train station for more than one railway route in a public transport system, and allows passengers to change from one route to another. Transfer may occur within the same mode, or between rail modes, or to buses...
in the entire Israel Railways network.
On July 16, 2001 the Binyamina Railway Station was the scene of a suicide bombing. The terror attack was executed by a Palesitnian who was sent by Palestinian Islamic Jihad and detonated himself on the crowded platform, killing 2 IDF soldiers, one of them a woman, and severely injuring one more soldier and at least 8 civilians.http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-45735554.html
During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War #Other uses|Tammūz]]) and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War , was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon, northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. The principal parties were Hezbollah...
the station briefly acted as Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's northernmost station after Israel Railways announced the suspension of all train service north of Binyamina as a result of a Hezbollah Katyusha rocket hitting a train depot in Haifa on July 16, 2006, killing 8 Israel Railways workers. Train service to both Atlit Railway Station
Atlit Railway Station
Atlit Railway Station is an Israel Railways passenger station serving the town of Atlit as well as the Surrounding rural communities and military bases.- Location :...
and Hof HaCarmel Railway Station
Hof HaCarmel Railway Station
Carmel Beach Railway Station is an Israel Railways passenger station serving the city of Haifa, Israel.-Location:The station is situated on the north-south Coastal line in southwest Haifa...
was reinstated several days later, after Israel Railways gave in to heavy public pressure, annulling its new and unfortunate status.
Design
The station consists of a side platformSide platform
A Side platform is a platform positioned to the side of a pair of tracks at a railway station, a tram stop or a transitway. A pair of side platforms are often provided on a dual track line with a single side platform being sufficient for a single track line...
and an island platform
Island platform
An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...
, numbered 1 to 3 from east to west. Between the side platform and the island platform there are two parallel rail tracks, and an additional track to the west of platform 3, there are several additional tracks to the west of the station in use by freight trains.
The station hall is located to the east of the rail tracks. The two platforms are interconnected by a pedestrian tunnel. A pedestrian bridge is also connecting the platforms and a second adjacent bridge connects the parking lot
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
just to the east of the station to the industrial zone to the west, bypassing any station territory where train ticket
Ticket (admission)
A ticket is a voucher that indicates that one has paid for admission to an event or establishment such as a theatre, movie theater, amusement park, zoo, museum, concert, or other attraction, or permission to travel on a vehicle such as an airliner, train, bus, or boat, typically because one has...
s are required.
Platform 1 is used by southbound Inter-City trains, platform 2 for northbound Inter-City trains. Platform 3 is used by the Tel Aviv suburban trains as a terminus of their journey.
The Inter-City train from Haifa always arrives several minutes before the suburban train to Tel Aviv departs, allowing interchange for passengers wishing to do so. The Passengers disembark the Inter-City train at platform 1 and go through the pedestrian tunnel to platform 3, where the suburban train is waiting. A similar but reverse interchange is possible between an incoming suburban train and an Inter-City train from Tel Aviv.
Train service
Binyamina Railway Station is a station on both the main North-South Coastal lineCoastal railway line, Israel
The Coastal railway line is a mainline railway in Israel, which begins just south of the Lebanon-Israel border on the Mediterranean coast, near the town of Nahariya in Northern Israel and currently ends in Tel Aviv; by 2013 it will be linked to the existing Ashdod Railway Station south of Tel Aviv,...
of Israel Railways (Nahariya
Nahariya
Nahariya is the northernmost coastal city in Israel, with an estimated population of 51,200.-History:Nahariya was founded by German Jewish immigrants from the Fifth Aliyah in the 1930s...
–Haifa–Tel Aviv–Ben-Gurion Airport inter-city service) and a terminus
Terminal Station
Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...
for the Tel Aviv suburban line (Binyamina/Netanya
Netanya
Netanya is a city in the Northern Centre District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is located north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north.Its of beaches have made the...
–Tel Aviv–Rehovot
Rehovot
Rehovot is a city in the Center District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 112,700. Rehovot's official website estimates the population at 114,000.Rehovot was built on the site of Doron,...
/Ashkelon
Ashkelon
Ashkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age...
suburban service), as well as being an important interchange station
Interchange station
An interchange station or a transfer station is a train station for more than one railway route in a public transport system, and allows passengers to change from one route to another. Transfer may occur within the same mode, or between rail modes, or to buses...
between the two railway lines. The station is situated between Atlit Railway Station
Atlit Railway Station
Atlit Railway Station is an Israel Railways passenger station serving the town of Atlit as well as the Surrounding rural communities and military bases.- Location :...
to the north and Caesarea-Pardes Hanna Railway Station
Caesarea-Pardes Hanna Railway Station
Caesarea-Pardes Hanna Railway Station is an Israel Railways passenger station between the local council Pardes Hanna-Karkur and Caesarea's industrial zone, and serves these towns, their large industrial zones, as well as Or Akiva and other small communities in the area.- Location :The station is...
to the south.
- Inter-city service:
- On weekdays the station is served by 35 southbound and 35 northbound trains. First train departs at 01:56 and last train arrives at 00:27.
- On Fridays and holidayJewish holidayJewish holidays are days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov or chag or ta'anit...
eves the station is served by 23 southbound and 20 northbound trains. First train departs at 01:56 and last train arrives at 15:06. - On SaturdaysShabbatShabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
and holiday the station is served by 6 southbound and 5 northbound trains. First train departs at 19:17 and last train arrives at 21:50.
- Suburban service:
- On weekdays the station is served by 27 southbound and 26 northbound suburban trains. First train departs at 06:17 and last train arrives at 21:51.
- On Fridays and holiday eves the station is served by 5 southbound and 6 northbound suburban trains. First train departs at 10:49 and last train arrives at 15:02.
Public transport connections
Binyamina Railway Station is located besides the Zikhron Ya'aqovZikhron Ya'aqov
Zikhron Ya'akov is a town in Israel, south of Haifa, and part of the Haifa District. It is located at the southern end of the Carmel mountain range overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, near the coastal highway...
– Pardes Hanna-Karkur
Pardes Hanna-Karkur
Pardes Hanna-Karkur is a town in the Haifa District of Israel. In 2009, it had a population of 31,800.-History:In 1913, 15 square kilometers of land was purchased by the Hachsharat Hayishuv society from Arabs in Jenin and Haifa for 400,000 francs...
road (Route 652) and is accessible by several bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
lines as well as sherut taxis, bus line 9, 10 are synchronized with train arrival or departure times. The bus lines are:
- 9: Or AqivaOr AqivaOr Akiva is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, on the country's Coastal Plain. It is located just inland from the ancient port city of Caesarea and the Mediterranean Sea, and to the north of the city of Hadera. It is 30 miles south of Haifa and 24 miles north of Tel Aviv...
– Benyamina, direct, operated by Nativ ExpressNativ ExpressNateev Express is an Israeli bus company.It serves regional routes in two regions of the country:*The northern Sharon area, with hubs at Netanya and Hadera.*The upper Galilee, with hubs at Safed and Nahariya....
. - 10: Or Aqiva – Benyamina, via Caesarea-Pardes Hanna railway station, operated by Nativ Express.
- 11: Benyamina - Or Aqiva, via Caesarea-Pardes Hanna railway station, operated by Nativ Express.
- 70: Zikhron Ya'aqovZikhron Ya'aqovZikhron Ya'akov is a town in Israel, south of Haifa, and part of the Haifa District. It is located at the southern end of the Carmel mountain range overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, near the coastal highway...
– HaderaHaderaHadera is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel approximately from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along of the Israeli Mediterranean Coastal Plain...
, operated by Nativ Express. - 708, 709: Zikhron Ya'aqov – NetanyaNetanyaNetanya is a city in the Northern Centre District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is located north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north.Its of beaches have made the...
, operated by Nativ Express. - 708, 710: Netanya - Zikhron Ya'aqov, operated by Nativ Express.
- 156: AfulaAfulaAfula is a city in the North District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley", referring to the Jezreel Valley. The city had a population of 40,500 at the end of 2009.-History:...
– Binyamina Railway Station, operated by KavimKavimKavim is an Israeli bus company. It was founded in 2000 and provided lines in the eastern Gush Dan region - the towns/cities Kiryat Ono, Petah Tikva, Or Yehuda, Giv'atayim and others. In February 2005, Kavim expanded to the north, where it started providing bus lines in Afula, Bet She'an and the...
. - 202: Haifa Hof HaCarmel Central Bus StationHaifa Hof HaCarmel Central Bus StationCarmel Beach Central Bus Station is the main bus station in Haifa, Israel, replacing the Haifa Bat Galim Central Bus Station. The former station is now only used to store Egged buses and for Egged office space and innercity buses now only stop there on the road rather than inside on the route...
– Pardes Hanna-KarkurPardes Hanna-KarkurPardes Hanna-Karkur is a town in the Haifa District of Israel. In 2009, it had a population of 31,800.-History:In 1913, 15 square kilometers of land was purchased by the Hachsharat Hayishuv society from Arabs in Jenin and Haifa for 400,000 francs...
, operated by EggedEgged Bus CooperativeEgged Israel Transport Cooperative Society Ltd , a cooperative owned by its members is the largest transit bus company in Israel. It provides about 55 % of public transport services throughout the country, employs 6,227 workers and has 2,861 buses for more than 928 service routes and 3,103...
. - 222: Haifa Hof HaCarmel Central Bus Station – Hadera, operated by Egged.
- 872: Zikhron Ya'aqov – Tel Aviv Central Bus StationTel Aviv Central Bus StationTel Aviv Central Bus Station, known as the New Central Bus Station , is the main bus station of Tel Aviv, Israel...
, operated by Egged.
Sherut Taxis (share taxis) stop on the road outside the station.
Facilities
- PayphonePayphoneA payphone or pay phone is a public telephone, often located in a phone booth or a privacy hood, with pre-payment by inserting money , a credit or debit card, or a telephone card....
- TicketTicket (admission)A ticket is a voucher that indicates that one has paid for admission to an event or establishment such as a theatre, movie theater, amusement park, zoo, museum, concert, or other attraction, or permission to travel on a vehicle such as an airliner, train, bus, or boat, typically because one has...
cashierCashierCashier is an occupation focused on the handling of cash money.- Retail :In a shop, a cashier is a person who scans the goods through a machine called a cash register that the consumer wishes to purchase at the retail store. After all of the goods have been scanned, the cashier then collects... - Ticket machineTicket machineA ticket machine, also known as a ticket vending machine , is a vending machine that produces tickets. For instance, ticket machines dispense train tickets at railway stations and tram tickets at some tram stops and in some trams...
- BuffetBuffetA buffet is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners generally serve themselves. Buffets are offered at various places including hotels and many social events...
- Parking lotParking lotA parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
- ToiletToiletA toilet is a sanitation fixture used primarily for the disposal of human excrement, often found in a small room referred to as a toilet/bathroom/lavatory...
- TaxiTaxicabA taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
station