The new high-speed rail line between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Photo: Reuters / Ammar Awad.

JNS.org – The National Infrastructure Planning Council announced on Monday that it has approved a project to build a high-speed rail connection between Haifa and Tel Aviv for a travel time of 30 minutes.

The project will cost NIS 12 billion ($3.8 billion).

Shlomi Heisler, chair of the planning council, said the project “will propel the entire Haifa metropolitan area forward, a fast and efficient electric train connection from the heart of the metropolis to the high-speed train network,” reported The Times of Israel.

The time between Nahariya to Tel Aviv would be shortened to 54 minutes instead of the more than hour-and-a-half it currently takes. The Israeli daily Globes said the train would travel at 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour) and would be completed by 2040.

Another plan is in the works for a high-speed train connecting Beersheva to major points in the country.