Transportation in Israel is based mainly on private motor vehicles and bus service and an expanding railway network. Demands of population growth, political factors, the Israel Defense Forces, tourism and increased traffic set the pace. All facets of transportation in Israel are under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety.
Ben Gurion Airport, commonly known by its Hebrew acronym as Natbag (נתב״ג), is the main international airport of Israel and the busiest one in the country. The airport is located on the northern outskirts of the city of Lod, about 45 km (28 mi) northwest of Jerusalem and 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Tel Aviv. Originally named Lod Airport, it was renamed in 1973 after David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister. The airport serves as a hub for El Al, Israir Airlines, Arkia, and Sun D'Or and is operated by the Israel Airports Authority – a government-owned corporation that manages all public airports and border crossings in Israel.
The Jerusalem Central Bus Station is the main bus depot in Jerusalem, Israel and one of the busiest bus stations in the country. Located on Jaffa Road near the entrance to the city, it serves Egged, Superbus and Dan intercity bus routes. City buses and light rail trains pick up and discharge passengers across the street on Jaffa Road and on Zalman Shazar Boulevard, which can be accessed via an underground pedestrian passageway. The entrance to Israel Railways' underground Navon Railway Station is located across the light rail stop in front of the station.
The Dankal is a planned mass transit system for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area in central Israel. The system will include different modes of mass transit, including rapid transit (metro), light rail transit (LRT), and bus rapid transit (BRT). The government agency overseeing the project is NTA, and it will complement the intercity and suburban rail network operated by Israel Railways.
Jerusalem–Malha railway station is one of two Israel Railways termini in Jerusalem, the other being Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon railway station. The station is located in the southern neighborhood of Malha, across from the Jerusalem Shopping Mall, Jerusalem Arena and Teddy Stadium.
Nahariya railway station is a railway station serving the city of Nahariya and the surrounding towns and villages of the Western Galilee region. It is the northernmost passenger station in Israel and is currently the terminus of the north–south coastal line.
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.
The Tel Aviv Savidor Central railway station is a major railway station on the Ayalon Railway in central Tel Aviv, Israel, serving most lines of Israel Railways.
Highway 50, officially called Begin Boulevard and also referred to as Menachem Begin Expressway or Begin Highway, is an urban freeway in western Jerusalem named after Israel's sixth Prime Minister, Menachem Begin. Local Jerusalemites simply refer to it as 'Begin'. It continues into the Palestinian territories.
Ben Gurion Airport railway station is an Israel Railways station located in the lower level of Ben Gurion International Airport's Terminal 3. The station opened on 10 October 2004, together with the opening of Terminal 3. The railway line extending to the northwest from the station connects it to Tel Aviv and points north, while in the other direction from the station the railway splits south to Lod and southeast to Modi'in and Jerusalem.
Lod railway station is an Israel Railways station in Lod, Israel, served by most railway lines of Israel Railways. The station is located in the HaRakevet district of south Lod. In December 2006, Lod Station served a daily average of 7,786 passengers.
Tel Aviv HaHagana railway station is a major railway station on the Ayalon Railway in southern Tel Aviv, Israel, serving most lines of Israel Railways. It is located in the median of the Ayalon Highway, north of Highway 1 and 400 meters east of the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station. In 2019, over six million passengers used the station, making it the third-busiest in the country after the nearby Savidor Central and HaShalom stations.
Rail transport in Israel includes heavy rail as well as light rail. Excluding light rail, the network consists of 1,384 kilometers (860 mi) of track, and is undergoing constant expansion. All of the lines are standard gauge and as of 2016 the heavy rail network is in the initial stages of an electrification programme. A government owned company, Israel Railways, manages the entire heavy rail network. Most of the network is located on the densely populated coastal plain. Some of the rail routes in Israel date back to before the establishment of the state – to the days of the British Mandate for Palestine and earlier. Rail infrastructure was considered less important than road infrastructure during the state's early years, and except for the construction of the coastal railway in the early 1950s, the network saw little investment until the late 1980s. In 1993, a rail connection was opened between the coastal railway from the north and southern lines through Tel Aviv. Previously the only connection between northern railways and southern railways bypassed the Tel Aviv region – Israel's population and commercial center. The linking of the nationwide rail network through the heart of Tel Aviv was a major factor in facilitating further expansion in the overall network during the 1990s and 2000s and as a result of the heavy infrastructure investments passenger traffic rose significantly, from about 2.5 million per year in 1990 to about 67 million in 2018.
The Jaffa–Jerusalem railway is a railway that connected Jaffa and Jerusalem. The line was built in the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem by the French company Société du Chemin de Fer Ottoman de Jaffa à Jérusalem et Prolongements and inaugurated in 1892. The project was headed by Joseph Navon, an Ottoman Jewish entrepreneur from Jerusalem, after previous attempts by the British-Jewish philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore failed. While the first rail track in the Middle East was laid elsewhere, the line is considered to be the first Middle Eastern railway.
The Tel Aviv transportation system is seen as the hub of the Israeli transport network in terms of road, rail, and air transport. The Israeli road network partly centers on the city, with some of the country's largest highways passing through or running to the city. The city forms a major part of the country's rail network, whilst Ben Gurion International Airport located near the city is the country's largest airport. There is also a strong public transport system within the city, based primarily on bus transportation.
The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway is a railway line connecting the cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in Israel. The line serves as the main rail link between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, complementing the old Jaffa–Jerusalem railway. As such, the railway is often referred to in Israel as the high-speed railway to Jerusalem to distinguish it from the older, longer and slower line.
Bnei Brak–Ramat HaHayal railway station is a suburban passenger railway station in Israel, operated by Israel Railways. It is located on the Yarkon Railway near the Bnei Brak–Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak–Tel Aviv borders next to the Ayalon Mall and Ramat Gan Stadium. In spite of its proximity to important industrial and commercial areas of Gush Dan as well as to residential areas of Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak is one of the less-popular stations of Israel Railways, possibly because of its misleading name and lack of awareness. As a result, in an effort to increase the public's awareness of the station, the name of the Ramat HaHayal neighborhood located to the north of the station was added to the station's name in 2016.
The Jerusalem railway station is a historic railway station in Jerusalem, Israel, located between Hebron Road and Bethlehem Road, near the German Colony. It was part of the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway until its closure in 1998. When it was in operation it was also known as the Khan station for the old caravanserai building, now the Khan Theater, located across the road.
Tel Aviv South railway station was the name of two former railway stations in Tel Aviv, Israel, which were situated in two different locations. The original station opened in 1920, then in 1970 it was relocated 2.5 km south-east, and it finally closed to passengers in 1993.
The Israeli city of Beersheba occupies a central role in southern Israel. Because of its central position in the Negev it is situated on important national routes reaching down to the far southern port of Eilat. Be'er Sheva is also home to a population of 195,000, with an estimated metro population at over 500,000 making it one of the largest cities in Israel. Much of the cities high-tech industry is concentrated in the center of the city, with Industrial estates existing in the south of the city, both of these areas are thus extensively served.
