Tel Aviv Savidor Central Railway Station

Tel Aviv Savidor Central Railway Station (Hebrew: תֵּל אָבִיב סָבִידוֹר מֶרְכָּז‎‎, Tel Aviv Savidor Merkaz) is the main central train station of Tel Aviv. It is one of the main railway hubs of Israel, located on the eastern side of Tel Aviv, at the border between Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan. The station was opened to the public in November 1954 under the name Tel Aviv Central. The station has a daily average of 37,800 passengers.

The station serves most rail lines in Israel and has 6 passenger platforms—more than any other station in Israel. Despite not being a terminus for most lines, it serves as a terminal for travel to all parts of Israel. The station is located next to the 2000 Terminal in the west and the Diamond Exchange District (of Ramat Gan) in the east. Like all railway stations in Tel Aviv, the tracks lie between the southbound and northbound lanes of Ayalon Highway. The tracks are connected by escalators, stairways and elevators for disabled persons to a bridge which connects them with the terminal building (on the Tel Aviv side) and the Diamond Exchange District (on the Ramat Gan side).

It is named after Menachem Savidor, Israel Railways chairman between 1954–1964 and later the speaker of the Knesset.

History

The railway station was originally the terminus of the Coastal railway line, which opened on November 3, 1954 and reached what was then the northern fringe of Tel Aviv. For the next four decades, it handled only trains to the north, therefore it was colloquially known as the Tel Aviv North station. This name is misleading though, because "Tel Aviv North" was a previous name of the Bnei Brak Railway Station. Railway traffic to the south of the city was provided through Tel Aviv South Railway Station which was not connected with Tel Aviv Center.

In its initial configuration the station's platforms were located directly north of the terminal building, to the west of their present location. In 1988, when the Ayalon railway was continued further south, the station's platforms were moved to their current location, and a pedestrian bridge was built to connect them to the terminal building. The station with its relocated tracks was opened to the public on January 10, 1988, and the official opening took place on May 3 of the same year.^[1] Between the closing of the Tel Aviv South Railway Station and the opening of Tel Aviv HaShalom Railway Station in 1996, Tel Aviv Central was the only active railway station in Tel Aviv.

References

External links

• On the Platform - information website
• Tel Aviv Savidor Central at the Israel Railways website