Man killed by train after falling on tracks in Tel Aviv, causing rush-hour chaos
Israel Railways says man fell onto tracks from overpass south of HaHagana Station, was struck by oncoming train; rail service around Tel Aviv halted for 2 hours, gradually resumes
A man was killed when he was hit by a train Sunday morning on the tracks south of Tel Aviv’s HaHagana Station, emergency services said, forcing the suspension of rail services for several hours throughout central Israel during the morning rush-hour commute.
According to Israel Railways, the man fell off an overpass onto the tracks around 7:30 a.m., and was struck by an oncoming train.
The Magen David Adom emergency services were called to the scene, where they pronounced him dead.
Police said they were investigating the circumstances of the fall.
The incident, which took place as hundreds of thousands of people began their morning commute, completely halted train traffic for around two hours, causing severe crowding at rail stations across the country and major traffic on buses and highways as commuters looked to find other ways to get to work.
Sunday mornings are particularly busy as tens of thousands of soldiers return to their bases after the weekend.
Train service was halted between Tel Aviv’s HaHagana station and Ben Gurion Airport, causing widespread disruption and backing up train lines across the country.
Pictures and videos posted to social media showed thousands crowded on train platforms as they waited for service to resume.
Other footage showed train passengers disembarking to transfer to other trains that were not disrupted by the incident.
After some two hours, Israel Railways announced that, after police approval, partial train service in the affected stations and routes had resumed, and that it was gradually returning to full service.