Harish, Baqa-Jatt and Hefer Valley to be connected by rail: plan for 50 km line deposited

The National Council for Planning and Building has decided to deposit the "Menashe Line" plan, a railway about 50 km long that will connect Harish, the Baqa-Jatt area, the Menashe and Alona communities, and the Hefer Valley to the national rail network. The plan includes three new stations, road upgrades, and tunneling about a third of the route. It replaces the Wadi Ara railway, which was converted to a mass transit system that has not yet been implemented due to budget transfers to Jewish communities.

The National Council for Planning and Building decided today (Tuesday) to deposit the "Menashe Line" plan, a double-track railway about 50 km long that will for the first time connect Harish, the Baqa-Jatt area, the Menashe and Alona communities, and the Hefer Valley to the national rail network. The plan, promoted by the Ministry of Transport through Netivei Israel, includes the construction of three new stations at Beit Hefer, Baqa al-Gharbiyye, and Harish, along with upgrades to Roads 574 and 581 and completion of Regional Road 444. The railway will run along Highway 6, connecting in the south to the Eastern Railway and in the north to the Valley Railway, Haifa, and the planned Galilee Railway to Tiberias. About a third of the route is planned to be tunneled, including under the Megiddo biosphere reserve, to preserve open spaces and natural values. The plan replaces the Wadi Ara railway, which was converted to a mass transit system on Highway 65, which has not yet been implemented. According to the article, although the plan was included in the government decision as part of the five-year plan for Arab society and an initial budget of about NIS 500 million was allocated, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance transferred the budgets to infrastructure in Jewish communities. The Director General of the Planning Administration, Rafi Elmaliah, said that the deposit is a crucial step to strengthen the periphery and connect it to the center.