The railway was first proposed in the early 2000s but the plans were put on hold in the Sharon government due to financial reasons. An alternative plan to instead create a light rail line from Haifa to Karmiel was rejected. The Knesset's Research and Information Centre criticised the relevant authorities for not doing enough research on the advantages and disadvantages of light vs. heavy rail in the project. The light rail plan was supported by Ministry of Finance and Haifa's development company Yefe Nof, while the heavy rail plan was supported by Israel Railways and the Karmiel municipality. The light rail to Karmiel would have been part of a larger project that would include Nazareth and Acre. The Nazareth section was eventually also rejected in favour of a heavy rail line. In 2009, a number of northern municipalities turned to the Negev and Galilee Development ministerSilvan Shalom in an effort to promote the plan for the railway. They argued that it was necessary for the construction of viable institutions of higher education in the region. On November 26, 2009, Transportation MinisterYisrael Katz approved the plans. However, this did not immediately translate into financial approval. On February 24, 2010, the Israeli government voted to appropriate funds to construct the line as part of a larger national infrastructure spending package. A budget of NIS 2.8 billion was approved for the project, not including the cost of electrifying the line, which was approved as part of a separate NIS 2.2 billion appropriation which also includes the cost of rolling stock for the Karmiel and some other new lines.
The railway is double track with a length of per track, from the Coastal Railway to the entrance to Karmiel. The majority of the route follows the east–west Highway 85. The railway's design speed is. It currently operates using diesel rolling stock but is expected to undergo electricification beginning sometime in the early 2020s. The railway will include two stations, Ahihud and Karmiel, with the possibility of additional stations adjacent to Jadeidi-Makr and Majd al-Krum. It has been declared a national project under National Infrastructure Plan 12/2. In the future, it will be extended to Kiryat Shmona, the northernmost city in Israel.
Construction
Upon the approval of the line, construction was expected to last between 2011 and 2015. The National Roads Company, which is coordinating the project, published a total of six design-build tenders for the railway, including four infrastructure tenders and a tender for each of the two stations on the line. The following sections are included in the infrastructure tenders: ;Na'aman Junction – Yasif Junction ;Yasif Junction – Bar LevIndustrial Zone ;Gilon Tunnels Construction of the line was completed in March 2017 and service began in September of that year.
