Lev HaMifratz Railway Station

Lev HaMifratz Railway Station ( _he. תחנת הרכבת לב המפרץ, "Tahanat HaRakevet Lev HaMifratz") is an Israel Railways passenger station in Haifa, Israel, serving Lev HaMifratz Mall ( _he. קניון לב המפרץ, "Heart of the Bay Mall"), one of Haifa's largest malls, and the surrounding Haifa-Bay industrial zone just north of Haifa.

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 Haifa-Bay industrial zone (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 – Ben-Gurion Airport Inter-City Service) and the suburban line serving Haifa's northern suburbs – The Qrayot (Haifa - Qiryat Motzkin Suburban Service). The station is situated between Hutzot HaMifratz Railway Station to the north and Haifa Center Railway Station to the south.

*Inter-City Service:
**On weekdays the station is served by 27 southbound and 25 northbound trains. First train departs at 04:47 and last train arrives at 01:05.
**On Fridays and holiday eves the station is served by 19 southbound and 17 northbound trains. First train departs at 04:50 and last train arrives at 15:24.
**On Saturdays and holiday the station is served by 4 southbound and 5 northbound trains. First train departs at 19:32 and last train arrives at 22:30.

*Suburban Service:
**On weekdays the station is served by 14 southbound and 12 northbound suburban trains to and from Haifa. First train departs at 06:20 and last train arrives at 18:10.

Public transport connections

Hutzot HaMifratz Railway Station is located next to HaMifratz Central Bus Station as well as the main highway (Highway 4), which makes it one of the most accessible stations north of Haifa, both by bus and "sherut" taxis (share taxi).

Facilities

*Payphone
*Ticket cashier
*Ticket machine
*Buffet
*Parking lot
*Toilet
*Shopping facilities
*Taxi station

External links

* [http://www.israrail.org.il/english/index.html Israel Railways website]
* [http://www.railnewsil.com/english/index.html RailnewsIL]

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