Binyamina railway station


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.

Location

The station is situated on the North-South coastal line and is located in the southern part of Binyamina. It is located on HaMesila street, besides the Zikhron Ya'akov – Pardes Hanna-Karkur road.

History

The station was opened on July 11, 1921 as a halt on the Coastal 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 platforms and two adjacent bridges 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 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 Palestinian who was sent by Palestinian Islamic Jihad and detonated himself on the crowded platform, killing 2 IDF soldiers, a man and a woman, and severely injuring one more soldier and at least 8 civilians.
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.

Future plans

The long term plans are for Binyamina to eventually lose its status as the key northern transfer station between intercity trains and the central-Israel region suburban trains. When implemented, suburban trains will terminate instead at Hadera West, two stations to the south, where a large combined public transportation complex will be built.

Design

The station consists of a side platform and an island platform, serving tracks 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 tickets 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 line of Israel Railways and a terminus for the Tel Aviv suburban line, 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.
Binyamina railway station is located besides the Zikhron Ya'akov – Pardes Hanna-Karkur road 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 stop on the road outside the station.

Facilities