Railway to Beersheba

The Railway to Beersheba (Hebrew: מסילת הרכבת לבאר שבע‎‎, Mesilat HaRakevet LiV'er Sheva) is the common name for the railroad which currently stretches from central Israel to the Zin Factories (Mount Zin) in southern Israel, with a spur to the Be'er Sheva Center Railway Station and branch lines to Ramat Hovav, the Arad phosphate mines and factories in Tzefa, and a connection to the Ashkelon–Beersheba railway. It is part of the main line of Israel Railways, of which the northern starting point of the line designated as the line to Beersheba is usually indicated as beginning at Na'an junction, where the railway splits to Beersheba and Jerusalem. Because the line is not limited to Beersheba, it is often called the Southern Railway in Israeli context.

Since the opening of the Dimona Railway Station in 2005, it has been used for passenger service from Nahariya to Beersheba Center and from Be'er Sheva North to Dimona. The other two branches are used exclusively for freight services.

The railway traces its origins to the Ottoman rule in Palestine and the Sinai and Palestine military campaign of World War I. The main Turkish objective in the Middle East during World War I was to either capture or disable the Suez Canal, which would have put the British Empire at a great disadvantage. However, transporting troops and supplies from Constantinople to the front lines took months by camel caravan.

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