Ben Gurion Airport railway station

Coordinates: 32°00′01.66″N 34°52′13.91″E / 32.0004611°N 34.8705306°E / 32.0004611; 34.8705306
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Ben Gurion Airport railway station
נמל התעופה בן גוריון
Israel Railways

Platform 1 of the airport train station at Terminal 3
General information
LocationIsrael Ben Gurion Airport, Israel
Coordinates32°00′01.66″N 34°52′13.91″E / 32.0004611°N 34.8705306°E / 32.0004611; 34.8705306
Line(s)Tel Aviv–Jerusalem
Platforms2
Construction
AccessibleYes
History
Opened10 October 2004 (2004-10-10)
Electrified20 September 2018 (2018-09-20)
Passengers
20194,383,073[1]
Rank6 out of 68
Services
Preceding station Israel Railways Following station
Tel Aviv HaHagana
towards Nahariya
Nahariya–Modi'in Paatei Modi'in
Tel Aviv HaHagana
towards Herzliya
Herzliya–Jerusalem Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon
Terminus
Tel Aviv Savidor Central
towards Binyamina
Binyamina–Jerusalem

Ben Gurion Airport railway station (Hebrew: תחנת הרכבת נמל התעופה בן גוריון, Tahanat HaRakevet Nemal HaTe'ufa Ben Gurion) 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.[2][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.

Services[edit]

A westbound train at the station, as seen from the arrivals level.

The station currently serves three passenger lines. In August 2019, it handled an average of approximately 22 thousand passengers per day,[4] but its ridership declined severely with the advent of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Nahariya – Haifa – Tel Aviv – Modi'in[edit]

The rail journey from Ben Gurion Airport to Tel Aviv Savidor Central station takes 15–20 minutes (with intermediate stops at Tel Aviv's HaShalom and HaHagana stations). Most Northbound trains from the airport then continue past Tel Aviv and terminate in Nahariya in northern Israel, making stops in Binyamina, Haifa, the Krayot and Acre (with a total journey time of about 2 hours from the airport to Nahariya). The service to and from Nahariya operates from 5 AM to 15 past Midnight the following day, except on Shabbat (i.e., from Friday evening to Saturday evenings) and on Jewish Holidays, operating twice per hour and in the opposite direction from the airport terminating in Modi'in to the southeast. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the line operated 24 hours a day except on Shabbat and Jewish Holidays, and there was one train per hour from during late night and early morning.

Binyamina – Herzliya – Tel Aviv – Jerusalem[edit]

The station is a stop on the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway. Travel time from the airport to Navon station in Jerusalem is just under 25 minutes with trains running every 30 minutes during the day and evening. In the opposite direction daytime and evening trains terminate at the Herzliya railway station while making stops in Tel Aviv's railway stations. During late nights and early mornings the line operates once per hour and the service extends north of Hertzliya to also include stops in Netanya, Hadera West, and Binyamina. As of 2023, the line operates 24-hours a day, except during holidays, from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening, and from Wednesday night to early Thursday morning.

Night trains to southern Israel[edit]

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, during late nights and early mornings there was one train per hour to and from the airport terminating at Beersheba Center via Lod, Rehovot, Ashdod, Ashkelon and selected stops in between.

Future services[edit]

With the new fast line to Jerusalem and the current construction of two new railway lines (the new Eastern line and the new Rishon Lezion-Modi’in line) that will connect to the Ben Gurion Airport line, an extra 6 km (3.7 mi) of double tracks will be added with new platforms on the southern side of the current station to accommodate the increase in traffic.

Station layout[edit]

Platform numbers increase in a North-to-South direction

Platform 1      Nahariya–Modi'in Advancing toward Modi'in Central (Pa'atei Modi'in)
     Herzliya–Jerusalem Advancing toward Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon (terminus)
     Binyamina–Jerusalem Advancing toward Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon (terminus) during night hours only, except on Wed.-Thu. nights
Island platform
Platform 2      Nahariya–Modi'in Returning toward Nahariya (Tel Aviv HaHagana)
     Herzliya–Jerusalem Returning toward Herzliya (Tel Aviv HaHagana)
     Binyamina–Jerusalem Returning toward Binyamina (Tel Aviv Savidor Central) during night hours only

Ridership[edit]

Passengers boarding and disembarking by year
Year Passengers Rank Source Notes
2021 881,276 (Increase 92,409) 26 of 66 (Decrease 5) 2021 Freedom of Information Law Annual Report Station closed due to COVID-19 restrictions from March 2020 to April 2021; operated in an alighting-only manner from November 2021 until the end of the year
2020 788,867 (Decrease 3,594,206) 21 of 68 (Decrease 15) 2020 Freedom of Information Law Annual Report Station closed in March 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions and remained closed at the end of the year
2019 4,383,073 6 of 68 2019 Freedom of Information Law Annual Report

References[edit]

  1. ^ "2019 Freedom of Information Law Annual Report" (PDF). Israel Railways.
  2. ^ Airport Rail Links Open International Railway Journal November 2004 page 2
  3. ^ "Ben-Gurion Airport Station". Israel Railways. Archived from the original on 2008-04-17. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
  4. ^ "עלייה משמעותית במספר הנסיעות לתחנת הרכבת נתב"ג בחודש אוגוסט". 6 March 2021.

External links[edit]