National Council Deposits Rail Plan Linking Harish and Wadi Ara to the Network

The National Planning and Building Council decided on Tuesday to deposit the Mesilot Menashe plan, a national infrastructure project that would connect Harish, the Baqa al-Gharbiyye and Jatt area, the Menashe and Alona communities, and Emek Hefer to the national rail network for the first time. The plan calls for about 50 kilometers of double track along the Route 6 corridor, three new stations at Bat Hefer, Baqa al-Gharbiyye and Harish, upgrades to Routes 574 and 581, and completion of the regional Road 444 corridor between Bat Hefer, Harish and Route 65. The line would join the Eastern Railway in the south and continue north toward the Valley Railway, Haifa and the planned Galilee line, shortening travel to the center of the country without passing through Haifa and opening a freight path from Haifa's port that bypasses the coastal line. About a third of the alignment is planned in tunnels, including under the Megiddo biosphere reserve, to protect open land and stream channels. Planning Administration director general Rafi Elmaliach called the deposit a decisive step in strengthening the periphery and linking it to the center.