Bnei Brak–Ramat HaHayal Railway Station

The station stands near the boundaries of Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan, and Tel Aviv, placing it close to residential neighborhoods and employment areas in all three cities.[5] To its north lie Tel Aviv neighborhoods including Hadar Yosef, Neve Dan, and Ramat HaHayal, as well as the Ramat HaHayal employment district.[1] The railway line beside the station connects Tel Aviv with Bnei Brak and Ramat Gan.[2]

Despite this location, pedestrian connections to the surrounding districts have presented difficulties.[5] A 2016 investigation identified a 170-dunam freight-storage area owned by Israel Railways south of the station as a barrier between the station and nearby residential and commercial areas.[5] On the northern side, roads and interchanges were described as poorly suited to pedestrians, while access to bridge-level bus stops required climbing spiral stairs to a height of about three stories.[5] A station employee said he did not know what to tell women arriving with strollers who asked how to reach Ayalon Mall or the park.[6]

A 2025 account described the station as lacking a passenger hall and characterized its surroundings as resembling a construction site.[1] It also described a narrow spiral staircase on the approach and reported that passengers sometimes waited as long as half an hour for a bus.[1] These descriptions concern conditions reported in 2025, while the detailed official inspection findings concerning the staircase and absent elevator relate to 2018.[1][2]

Passenger service at the older Bnei Brak station resumed in 2000 after an interruption lasting several years.[3] Its reopening coincided with the growth of the Ramat HaHayal and Kiryat Atidim employment districts, which were described in 2022 as major job centers attracting tens of thousands of workers each morning.[3]

A station review in 2005 recorded free parking, bus and taxi service, a covered and clean station, and seating.[7] It also identified a tactile-paved route and a lift for passengers with disabilities.[7] Other facilities were limited: the ticket office operated restricted hours, no station announcements were heard during the review, and refreshments consisted of a drinks machine rather than a café.[7] A security guard volunteered to help passengers seeking information.[7]

Ayalon Highways completed Mivtza Kadesh Bridge over the Yarkon River in December 2006, crossing the railway line beside the station.[2] By 2009, a Ministry of Transport station file had recorded difficulties reaching nearby bus stops, with no stops located inside the station grounds.[2] The bus stop examined in the subsequent accessibility audit was at road level on the bridge.[2]

A pedestrian bridge providing a route toward Ramat HaHayal and Kiryat Atidim opened about a year and a half before November 2019.[8] During infrastructure work, Bnei Brak municipality closed it, requiring commuters to make a detour of more than a kilometer.[8]

Railway expansion proposals also included the station: a plan reported in 2019 envisaged a Sharon-region loop linking Bnei Brak with Herzliya, Petah Tikva, Rosh HaAyin, Hod HaSharon, and Ra'anana.[9] The proposed operation depended on completing a track connection to Ra'anana West and changing the signaling system; it was a plan rather than a description of service already operating.[9]

Figures based on 2008 statistical data placed 190,000 residents of Ramat Gan, Bnei Brak, and northern Tel Aviv neighborhoods within two kilometers of the station, together with 110,000 jobs.[6] In 2016, the station was reported to handle about 4,000 passengers daily, a level described as low relative to the surrounding population and employment.[6] The population and employment figures therefore describe an earlier statistical catchment, not a count made at the same time as the reported passenger total.[6]

A shuttle connecting the station with the Ramat HaHayal employment district began operating in May 2015.[10] It ran on weekdays during morning and late-afternoon periods, stopping at several locations within the district.[10] Ridership was reported to have grown from 300 in the first week to nearly 1,000 a day.[10] The service was tailored to Ramat HaHayal workers; comparable shuttles did not serve nearby employment centers in Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak or other neighboring residential areas at the time of the 2016 report.[10]

A dedicated shuttle to Kiryat Atidim was also documented under the name “Bnei Brak–Ramat HaHayal.”[2] It formed part of arrangements in which Israel Railways cooperated with local authorities, employment areas, large employers, or educational institutions to provide onward travel from stations.[2]

By January 3, 2022, Dan bus route 81 had begun connecting the station with the Ramat HaHayal employment area.[3] The service was planned to make 58 daily trips between 6:00 a.m. and 10:15 p.m., using three buses and four drivers.[3] Departures were timed to train arrivals, although the afternoon bus and train schedules did not fully align.[3]

The station has also been used for special-event transport.[4][11] For Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky’s funeral in March 2022, Israel Railways announced a special overnight train from Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon to Bnei Brak without intermediate stops.[4] The announcement followed extreme crowding at Jerusalem Navon, where ushers were to regulate entry as platforms cleared.[4] After a performance by singer Odelia at Ramat Gan Stadium, extra trains were planned from nearby Bnei Brak station and Tel Aviv Savidor Central toward destinations in several parts of the country.[11] Those departures were described as operating on a “fill and go” basis.[11]

Inspections in January and July 2018 found that the route between station level and the bridge-level bus stop involved a spiral staircase of about 60 steps, making transfers difficult for people with disabilities, older adults, and people pushing strollers.[2] In January 2018, there were still no bus stops within the station complex and no elevator linking the two levels.[2] These findings describe the audit period, not verified present-day arrangements.[2]

An elevator had been planned by February 2013, with a tender then expected in May of that year, but it had not been installed by January 2018.[2] In its August 2018 response, Ayalon Highways described the stairs as temporary pending light-rail construction and bridge widening, and said pedestrian ramps built in 2010 required a longer, looping route.[2] It attributed the incomplete elevator arrangement to the lack of maintenance funding.[2]

Bnei Brak municipality said in June 2018 that the bus-stop location was outside its responsibility, while undertaking to approach the bus company about a closer stop.[2] The Ministry of Transport was examining a formal access path and elevator, noting municipal ownership of the relevant land and unresolved maintenance responsibility; the audit criticized the delay since 2009.[2] The separate pedestrian-bridge closure in 2019 also drew criticism: the municipality cited heavy equipment and a near-accident involving a cyclist, while Tel Aviv deputy mayor Meital Lehavi said the detour lengthened journeys and encouraged a return to private cars.[8]

Ayalon Mall and Ramat Gan Stadium were placed about 800–850 meters from the station in a 2025 report, corresponding to a walk of under 15 minutes.[1] Ramat HaHayal and Kiryat Atidim are additional nearby destinations served by documented shuttle connections and pedestrian routes from the station.[2][8]