Ashkelon railway station

The Ashkelon railway station is a railway station that is located in Ashkelon, Israel. It is the southern terminus of the Binyamina–Tel Aviv–Ashkelon and the Ra'anana-Rishon LeZion-Ashkelon suburban lines. Previously, Majdal railway station, built by the British forces during World War I, has existed at the site, and since 1920, the station served regular passenger trains between El Kantara, Egypt and Haifa. During 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the connection to Gaza Strip and Egypt was severed, but freight service on the Lod–Ashkelon railway continued.[1]

Ashkelon תחנת רכבת אשקלון
Israel Railways
Location	Adjacent to "Cosmos" shopping center, Kefar Silver Junction, Ashkelon
Coordinates	31°40′35″N 34°36′16″E
Platforms	2
Tracks	4
Construction
Parking	150 spaces
Bicycle facilities	5 spaces
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	2005

Binyamina/Netanya – Rehovot/Ashkelon line
Binyamina Caesarea-Pardes Hanna Hadera Ma'arav Netanya Netanya Sapir Beit Yehoshua Highway 20 to Ra'anana Herzliya to Hod Hasharon & Lod Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv Savidor Central Tel Aviv HaShalom Tel Aviv HaHagana to Rishon LeZion Moshe Dayan to Ben Gurion Airport & Modi'in Central Kfar Chabad Lod to Be'er Sheva & Jerusalem Be'er Ya'akov to Rishon LeZion HaRishonim Rehovot Yavne East to Yavne West Ashdod Ad Halom Ashkelon
Israel Rail Lines Map

In 2002 it was decided to double-track the Ashdod–Ashkelon railway and recommence the passenger service to Ashkelon. The remains of the old British station were demolished as part of preparing the site. The new Ashkelon passenger station was opened in 2005. Later, a new railway north of Ashkelon was constructed between Rishon LeZion and Ashdod Ad Halom railway station. This new line was inaugurated on 4 August 2013 and significantly shortened the travel time from Ashdod and Ashkelon to Tel Aviv to 35 and 45 minutes respectively.

The railway line south of the station was extended to Beersheba beginning in 2006, which enabled rail service to the towns of Sderot, Ofakim and Netivot in the northern Negev. The line was completed in 2015.