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Railway to Karmiel

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Construction activity near the western portal of the Gilon Tunnels in August 2012.

TheRailway to Karmielis arailwaylinkingHaifaandKarmielin northernIsrael.It opened in 2017 and consists of a double trackstandard gaugerailway stretching for 23 km from nearAcre(Akko) to Karmiel. It branches eastwards from theCoastal Railwaybetween theKiryat Motzkin Railway Stationand theAcre Railway Station(at a point nearby where the Coastal Railway passes over theNa'aman River) and includes a 5 km long tunnel (composed of two parallel single-track tunnels) in the mountainous region near the eastern end of the line. Most of the route is in the vicinity ofHighway 85.There are two stations on the railway:AhidudandKarmiel.

From Karmiel, a plan exists to eventually extend the railway toKorazim(nearSafed) and from there toKiryat Shmonaat the very northern tip of Israel. The Northern District Planning and Building Committee approved plans for the line in the spring of 2021. The plan will include considerable tunneling and bridging work and will cost at least NIS 20 bn.[1]

Planning and financing

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The railway was first proposed in the early 2000s but the plans were put on hold in theSharon governmentdue to financial reasons. An alternative plan to instead create alight railline fromHaifato Karmiel was rejected.[2]TheKnesset's Research and Information Centre criticised the relevant authorities for not doing enough research on the advantages and disadvantages of light vs. heavy rail in the project.[3]The light rail plan was supported byMinistry of FinanceandHaifa's development company Yefe Nof, while the heavy rail plan was supported byIsrael Railwaysand the Karmiel municipality.[3][4]The light rail to Karmiel would have been part of a larger project that would includeNazarethandAcre.[3]The Nazareth section was eventually also rejected in favour of a heavy rail line.[5]

In 2009, a number of northern municipalities turned to theNegev and Galilee Development ministerSilvan Shalomin an effort to promote the plan for the railway. They argued that it was necessary for the construction of viable institutions of higher education in the region. On November 26, 2009,Transportation MinisterYisrael Katzapproved the plans.[6]However, this did not immediately translate into financial approval.[2]

On February 24, 2010, the Israeli government voted to appropriate funds to construct the line as part of a larger national infrastructure spending package.[3][7]A budget ofNIS2.8 billion (about US$750 million) was approved for the project,[8]not including the cost ofelectrifyingthe line, which was approved as part of a separate NIS 2.2 billion appropriation[3]which also includes the cost of rolling stock for the Karmiel and some other new lines.[citation needed]

Route and technical specifications

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The railway isdouble trackwith a length of 23 kilometers (14 mi) per track, from theCoastal Railwayto the entrance toKarmiel.The majority of the route follows the east–westHighway 85.The railway's design speed is 160 kilometers per hour (99 mph).[7]It currently operates using diesel rolling stock but is expected to undergo electricification beginning sometime in the early 2020s.

The railway will include two stations,Ahihudand Karmiel, with the possibility of additional stations adjacent toJadeidi-MakrandMajd al-Krum.[3]It has been declared a national project under National Infrastructure Plan 12/2.[9]In the future, it will be extended toKiryat Shmona,the northernmost city in Israel.[3]

Construction

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Upon the approval of the line, construction was expected to last between 2011 and 2015.[10]TheNational Roads Company,which is coordinating the project, published a total of sixdesign-buildtenders for the railway, including four infrastructure tenders and a tender for each of the two stations on the line.[4]The following sections are included in the infrastructure tenders:

Na'aman Junction – Yasif Junction
A 6.5 km (4.0 mi) section, including bridges over theNa'amanand Hilazon streams, a 900 meters (980 yd) diversion of Hilazon Stream, and converting 1.2 km (1,300 yd) ofHighway 4to a bridge over the railway.[7]The tender was published on March 17, 2011 and the winner, Terre Armee, was chosen in late June 2011.[11]Work on the section itself is expected to start in early 2012 and end in late 2013.[12]
Yasif Junction – Bar Lev Industrial Zone (Ahihud)
The tender for this section will be published in early 2012.[12]
Gilon Tunnels
A pair of 4.6 to 5 km (2.9 to 3.1 mi) tunnels, as well as 18 connection and escape tunnels, under Mount Gilon betweenAhihudand Karmiel.[4][8][12]The estimated cost of this section is NIS 1 billion, including NIS 600 million for the construction and 400 million for right-of-way acquisitions. In August 2011,Danya Cebusand the Chinese companyCCECCwon the tender, beating Hofrei HaSharon andMax Bögl,Minrav andMoscow Metrostroy,Eyal Sela and Roltsur Tunnels, andShafir EngineeringandImpresa Pizzarotti.[8]Planning was expected to take 8 months, while construction was to take an approximate 32 months.[12]Work on the tunnel started in April 2012.[13]

Construction of the line was completed in March 2017 and service began in September of that year.[14][15]

References

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  1. ^"Karmiel - Kiryat Shmona railway route approved".Globes.23 June 2021.
  2. ^abPerry, Galit (December 3, 2009)."Railway to Karmiel? Finance Ministry Hasn't Heard of It".Mynet(in Hebrew).RetrievedAugust 25,2011.
  3. ^abcdefgYosef, Idan (May 30, 2010)."Exposé: Galilee Railway Failure"(in Hebrew). News1.RetrievedAugust 26,2011.
  4. ^abcBar-Eli, Avi (14 April 2011)."1 Billion NIS Gilon Railway Tunnels Tender Published".The Marker(in Hebrew).RetrievedAugust 25,2011.
  5. ^Gutman, Lior (May 30, 2011)."Netanyahu Ordered: Railway from Nazareth to Haifa will be Regular, not Light".Calcalist(in Hebrew).RetrievedAugust 26,2011.
  6. ^Levy, Eli (November 26, 2009)."News for the North: Railway from Akko to Karmiel"(in Hebrew).Ma'ariv.RetrievedAugust 25,2011.
  7. ^abcGutman, Lior (June 29, 2011)."Tar Arma to Build Akko–Karmiel Railway".Calcalist(in Hebrew).RetrievedAugust 25,2011.
  8. ^abcWohlberg, Erez (August 24, 2011)."Danya Cebus and the Chinese CCECC Won Tender for Railway between Akko and Karmiel"(in Hebrew).Globes.RetrievedAugust 25,2011.
  9. ^"Haifa–Karmiel Railway"(in Hebrew).Israel Railways.RetrievedAugust 25,2011.
  10. ^Perry, Galit (March 2, 2010)."Government Announcement: Railway to Karmiel by 2015".Mynet(in Hebrew).RetrievedAugust 25,2011.
  11. ^"First Tender Winner in the Railway to Karmiel Selected".Port2Port(in Hebrew). June 29, 2011.RetrievedAugust 25,2011.
  12. ^abcd"Railway to Karmiel: Construction of Temporary Bypass on Highway 4 Started".פורט2פורט(in Hebrew). Port2Port. October 25, 2011.RetrievedOctober 25,2011.
  13. ^"Work starts on Gilon tunnel".Railway Gazette. April 24, 2012.RetrievedApril 30,2012.
  14. ^"Karmiel - Akko railway line completed".Globes.16 March 2017.Retrieved21 March2017.
  15. ^"Israel inaugurates Acre - Carmiel line".International Railway Journal.6 September 2017.Retrieved7 September2017.
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