Parking 500 free spaces Platforms in use 2 | Disabled access Yes Tracks 2 | |
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Location 55 HaHistadrut Blvd., Haifa
Israel Address HaHistadrut Ave 55, Haifa, Israel Similar Lev HaMifratz Mall, Haifa Bay Central Bus Station, Hutzot HaMifratz Railway, Haifa Center HaShmo, Carmel Beach Railway | ||
Lev HaMifratz Railway Station (Hebrew: תחנת הרכבת לב המפרץ, Taḥanat HaRakevet Lev HaMifratz) is an Israeli railway passenger station in Haifa, Israel, serving Lev HaMifratz Mall (Hebrew: קניון לב המפרץ, Heart of the Bay Mall), one of Haifa's largest malls, and the surrounding Haifa Bay industrial zone in the northeast of the city.
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Location
The station is situated on the North-South coastal line and is located in the southern part of the Haifa-Bay industrial zone. The station is one of two railway stations serving this district (the other being Hutzot HaMifratz Railway Station), although it is much larger in terms of passenger numbers and trains serving it. The station is also one of six railway stations within Haifa's municipal borders.
History
The station was constructed during the summer of 2001 and officially opened on October 8, 2001. This is the first public railway station whose construction was entirely funded by a private enterprise (the adjacent shopping mall). Entrance to the station is possible only through the mall's second floor, where a small station building exists. A bridge connects the mall's second floor with the two platforms on ground level just west of it.
During the 2006 Lebanon War train service to the station was suspended after a Hezbollah Katyusha rocket hit a train depot in Haifa 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.
Train service
Lev HaMifratz Railway Station is a station on both the main North-South coastal line of Israel Railways Nahariya – Haifa – Tel-Aviv – Modi'in/Be'er Sheva Inter-City Service) and the suburban line serving Haifa's northern suburbs – The Krayot (Haifa - Kiryat Motzkin Suburban Service). The station is situated between Hutzot HaMifratz Railway Station to the north and Haifa Central HaShmona Railway Station to the south.
Public transport connections
Lev HaMifratz Railway Station is located some 300 meters from the HaMifratz Central Bus Station, which constitutes the public transport gateway to Haifa from the North. It is the terminus for all Egged bus lines between Haifa and its northern suburbs, as well as other cities in northern Israel. The bus terminal also serves as the terminus for several intracity bus lines within Haifa, operated by Egged. Apart from buses, the station is served by sherut (shared) taxis passing along Route 4. The Metronit has an interchange station with Israel Railways at Lev HaMifratz.
Construction
A large public transport complex at Lev Hamifratz which will serve as an integrated transit hub that includes new central bus and train stations housed within the same building is currently under construction just south of the mall and is expected to open by 2018. It will replace the existing train station hall inside the mall. The new station will also be connected to a new passenger platform serving the Jezreel Valley railway. A terminal for a proposed aerial tramway connecting the station with the Technion University on Mount Carmel and points in between is being considered for construction in the future as part of the complex.