Haifa Center–HaShmona Railway Station

Haifa Center–HaShmona occupies a station plaza dating from the British Mandate period.[4] The plaza once functioned as a central meeting point connecting bus and taxi services, the railway, and the nearby port, though activity at the site declined significantly over time.[4]

The station provides access to the Valley Line and services toward central Israel. In June 2024, night services were described as stopping at Haifa Center–HaShmona and Haifa Hof HaCarmel for travel toward central Israel.[1]

Haifa's railway history stretches back to the early twentieth century. A railway built in 1905 from Constantinople toward the Muslim shrines of Mecca and Medina passed through Damascus and had a spur connecting with Haifa. That historic spur is now long dormant.[5] Israel's broader rail network later included passenger service between Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Nahariya, with rapid-transit improvements in the Haifa area using upgraded tracks coordinated with bus feeder services.[6]

The station was known as Haifa Center before Israel Railways decided to rename it in memory of eight employees killed during the Second Lebanon War.[2]

Haifa Center–HaShmona is a departure point for the Valley Line, which serves Yokneam–Kfar Yehoshua, Migdal HaEmek–Kfar Baruch, Afula, and Beit She'an.[1] The route traces its roots to the historic Hejaz Railway, which operated in the region at the start of the twentieth century and connected Damascus with Medina for pilgrims undertaking the Hajj.[1] The modern Valley Line resumed operations in 2016 after a long interruption.[1]

On July 16, 2006, during the Second Lebanon War, a Hezbollah rocket struck the Haifa railway depot and killed eight Israel Railways employees.[2][3] The Jerusalem Post later reported that dozens more were wounded, some critically.[7] The eight killed were Shmuel Ben-Shimon, Asael Damti, Dennis Lapidos, David Feldman, Nissim Elharar, Reuven Levy, Rafi Hazan, and Shlomi Mansura.[7] Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz said at a memorial ceremony that the workers had been killed at their workplace after the warning siren was not heard.[3]

In April 2007, Israel Railways announced that Haifa Center would be renamed in memory of the eight victims, with the new name scheduled to take effect on July 16, the first anniversary of the attack.[2] Reports from July 9, 2007, described the renaming ceremony as having already changed the station's name to Haifa Center–HaShmona.[8][3] At the ceremony, Israel Railways CEO Ofer Linchevsky said: "Anyone who passes here will ask who the eight are that the station is named after."[8]

A separate ceremony at the railway depot unveiled a memorial assembled from physical remnants of the attack, including pieces of the rockets and a section of the concrete platform struck by the fatal rocket.[3] In 2017, the families of the eight victims received service medals equivalent to those awarded to IDF soldiers who served in the Second Lebanon War. The recognition followed a bill passed by the Knesset that July.[7]

In December 2021, reports described plans to place Haifa's coastal railway tracks underground. One account outlined a roughly nine-kilometer tunnel between Paz Junction in eastern Haifa and Hof HaCarmel, carrying four tracks: two for fast trains capable of speeds up to 250 km/h and two for suburban trains at speeds up to 160 km/h.[9] Under the reported arrangement, the Mandate-era Haifa Center–HaShmona station would be canceled and Bat Galim would serve suburban trains. Financing and implementation timing had not been settled, and Haifa's city engineer cited a possible 2030–2040 completion horizon.[9]

Contemporaneous coverage of National Outline Plan 65B provided additional station details. It described a new underground Government Center station replacing Haifa Center–HaShmona and the conversion of Bat Galim into an underground station named Bat Galim–Kiryat Eliezer.[10] The National Infrastructure Committee had selected the plan for advancement, and the proposed fast link was intended to reduce travel between Haifa Hof HaCarmel and Tel Aviv to approximately 30 minutes.[10] At the time of those reports, the project remained at a planning stage rather than being a completed change to the rail network.[9][10]

The station can serve as an arrival point for visiting the Haifa Museum of Art, Wadi Nisnas Market, the German Colony, and the Bahai Gardens.[1] The German Colony is accessible on foot by walking up Ben Gurion Boulevard; one travel route described the walk as approximately ten minutes and noted that taxis were also readily available from the station.[11]