The Jerusalem railway station (Hebrew: תחנת הרכבת ירושלים, Tahanat HaRakevet Yerushalayim; Arabic: محطة قدس شريف[1]) is a historic railway station in Jerusalem, located between Hebron Road and Bethlehem Road, near the German Colony.

The station opened in 1892 during the Ottoman period as a terminus of the Jaffa–Jerusalem line, at the 86.6 kilometer mark and an elevation of 787 metres (2,582 ft).

[3] The station lay neglected for many years, although the railway yard was used for annual events such as Hebrew Book Week.

[4] The idea to build a railway linking the coast with the Jerusalem was first raised in the middle of the 19th century by Dr. Conrad Schick, Moses Montefiore and others.

The franchise for laying the railway was obtained from the Ottoman government by Joseph Navon, but due to financial difficulties, he had to sell the franchise to a French company which was set up to build the line – Société du Chemin de Fer Ottoman de Jaffa à Jérusalem et Prolongements.

It was built along the "donkeys' trail", an ancient route ascending to Jerusalem which passed through Nahal Sorek and the Valley of Rephaim.

[6] As a result, between 1948 and 1967 the Beit Safafa neighborhood was divided; the area south of the railway line was part of the Jordanian controlled West Bank and the railway line itself and small area to the North part of the Israeli controlled section of Jerusalem.

[6] In 1959 the railway tracks to Jerusalem underwent extensive renovations, but over time, the number of passengers using the line decreased, especially after the opening of Highway 1.

Several restaurants and pubs have opened in the area, and an exhibition of historic photographs is displayed inside the station house.