Israel will build a 100 billion shekel ($27 billion) rail expansion that will connect its remote areas to the city of Tel Aviv and could provide overland links to Saudi Arabia in years to come, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on July 30.
The announcement came after a visit of top US officials to Saudi Arabia in July to advance a possible forging of formal relations between the Kingdom and Israel. In a weekly Israeli cabinet meeting, Netanyahu promoted infrastructure initiatives, including the “One Israel Project.” The Prime Minister of Israel said the project is designed to reduce travel time by train to the country’s business and government centres to two hours or less.
He added that in the future, the country will also be able to transport cargo by rail from Eilat to the Mediterranean, and link Israel by train to Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula.
The plan, according to Israel’s finance minister, is to complete the high-speed, north-south rail link within the next ten years.
