The National Planning and Building Council voted on Tuesday, 4 August 2026, to deposit the "Menashe Railway" plan, which includes a railway station for Harish.
Deposit is not final approval. The plan now passes to the district planning committees for comment and opens to public objections; only then can it be approved and detailed design begin. Residents can object once the deposit is formally advertised.
The plan
- A double-track line of roughly 50 kilometres along the Route 6 corridor, with three new stations: Bat Hefer, Baqa al-Gharbiyye and Harish.
- Connections to the Eastern Railway in the south and the Jezreel Valley Railway in the north, onward to Haifa and the planned Galilee line toward Tiberias. Residents heading to central Israel would no longer need to route through Haifa, and freight could shift from lorries to rail.
- Roughly a third of the alignment in tunnel, to limit damage to open landscape along the stream channels.
- Upgrading and widening of Routes 574 and 581, and completion of a regional route 444 corridor between Bat Hefer, Harish and Route 65.
- Overall cost of about 10 billion shekels, according to the Harish news desk.
The municipality says the route replaces older planning along Route 65, which was found likely to cause significant harm to nearby communities and the environment. About two years ago the National Council backed a Transport Ministry and Netivei Israel proposal to keep the line along Route 6.
Reactions
Acting mayor Yochai Fara'ji told the council that around 65 percent of Harish's workforce leaves the city each day and roughly 87 percent of households own at least one vehicle. He asked that the city's accessibility, internal connectivity and cycle network be protected, and that rail planning be coordinated with the Israel Land Authority's Harish West scheme. He credited deputy mayor Shlomo Peretz with advancing the file.
Peretz, who chairs the local planning and building committee, called the deposit a meaningful moment for the city. Rafi Elmaliach, director general of the Planning Administration, said the project strengthens the periphery's link to the centre, eases road pressure and moves freight onto rail.
Source: Harish Municipality announcement, 5 August 2026, and Globes, 4 August 2026.
