Haifa Center HaShmona Railway Station

Location

The station is situated on the North-South coastal line and is located on Plumer Square (Hebrew: כיכר פלומר‎‎, Kikar Plumer) along Independence Road (Hebrew: דרך העצמאות‎‎, Derekh HaAtzma'ut) in Haifa's downtown (or Lower-Town). The station is one of three railway stations serving the city of Haifa directly and also one of six railway stations within Haifa's municipal borders.

History

Haifa Center Railway Station was built by the British during their Mandate for Palestine and was opened in 1937. The station was built on territory reclaimed from the Mediterranean Sea during the constriction of Haifa Port in the 1930s. The station building was built in the Bauhaus style and was aligned with the buildings that stood on HaAtzmaut Road (then - Kingsway), thus it is not parallel to the rail tracks and platforms at the station.

At first the station was constructed with two side platforms, but over time a third rail track was added along the far-side platform, thus making it an island platform.

Several years later a second story was added to the station building to increase its office capacity (this was possible because the building was designed to have up to four stories).

During the 1950s and 1960s Plumer Square housed one of Haifa's Central Bus Stations, until it was relocated to Haifa Bat Galim Central Bus Station in the 1970s.

Until 1980 the head office of Israel Railways was located at Haifa Central Station. Tzvi Tzafriry, the general manager of Israel Railways, decided to move the head office to Tel Aviv Savidor Station.

In the years 2003-2004 the station underwent extensive upgrading and renovation. The station has been made accessible for the disabled. The low bridge connecting the two platforms was replaced by a tunnel with elevators (the bridge was too low for the planned overhead electrical lines). During the upgrade both the interior and exterior of the station were renovated and updated to the present passenger station standard of Israel Railways.

During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict train service to the station was suspended after a Hezbollah Katyusha rocket hit a nearby train depot on July 16, 2006, killing 8 Israel Railways workers. It was restored 29 days later, on August 14, two days after the ceasefire went into effect.

On July 16, 2007, one year after the incident, the station was renamed "Haifa Merkaz Hashemona" (Haifa Center of the Eight) to commemorate the eight victims.

Train service

Haifa Center Railway Station is a station on both the main North-South coastal line of Israel Railways (which serves parts of the Nahariya – Haifa – Tel-Aviv – Ben-Gurion Airport – Modi'in, the Nahariya – Haifa – Tel-Aviv – Lod – Beersheba, and in the future the Haifa – Tel-Aviv – Jerusalem Intercity Lines) and the suburban line serving Haifa's northern suburbs – The Qrayot, Akko (Acre), and Nahariya (Haifa - Akko/Nahariya Suburban Service). It also serves trains operating on the Jezreel Valley railway. The station is situated between Lev HaMifratz Railway Station to the north and Haifa Bat-Galim Railway Station to the south. Train service at the station is very frequent. For example, on weekdays during peak times (7:00-11:00 and 15:00-20:00) there are four trains per hour to and from Tel Aviv Central with a journey time of about one hour.

Public transport connections

Haifa Center Railway Station is located next to HaAtzmaut Road, a major public transport artery, thus easily accessible from both bus and Sherut Taxi (share taxi). Bus lines include:

The station is also within a short walking distance from the Port of Haifa's passenger terminal and is near Kikar Pariz (Hebrew: כיכר פריז‎‎, Paris Square) — a Carmelit (Haifa's subway) station.

Facilities