Keeping eyes on the track: Israel Railways engineer Ariella Wolfson is dedicated to ensuring safety

The term “hi-tech” definitely defines Israel Railways today, says Ariella Wolfson, an engineer at the company headquarters in Lod. “I would say that my job is even more technical than many others, even more than those who work in hi-tech today in Tel Aviv.” Wolfson, who worked for Amtrak in New York for three years before making aliyah nine years ago, studied engineering in college and decided to enter the field of railroad engineering because she viewed it as a niche and up-and-coming specialty in the engineering field.

Since making aliyah, Wolfson has worked at Israel Railways. As an engineer in the company’s track control department, she is responsible for reviewing the data that detects, classifies, and measures track defects in the rails. Israel Railways inspects every kilometer every seven weeks for geometry defects and twice a year for visual rail defects with the measurement car.

The program that Wolfson uses to analyze the tracks can automatically detect irregularities in the metal of the track. “We have heavily loaded trains, especially in areas like Tel Aviv and Haifa, and there are defects that need to be corrected constantly,” she says.

“We need to maintain the track so that it stays at the optimal quality for safety and according to our standards.”Tracks in Israel, she explains, are welded in sections eighteen meters apart, and the welds are often the spots in the metal that require the most maintenance. Wolfson notes that most of the railroad tracks used in Israel are imported from France by boat, and the longest section of track that can fit on a boat is no more than eighteen meters long. Countries that manufacture their own tracks, such as the United States, space their welds further apart, which require fewer repairs.

Wolfson, the mother of three boys, ages eight, six, and five, is one of the few women engineers at Israel Railways. “I am the only woman in the track control department, and there are very few women in the infrastructure department,” she says.

Many women working at Israel Railways are in other company departments, such as finance, safety, and human resources. “People don’t know that there’s a field of railroad engineering, and it is unusual for a woman to work in that field, especially since I am a mother.

They usually say, ‘Wow, I didn’t realize that you could do that!’” Though engineering has traditionally been considered a male-dominated field, Wolfson suggests that women can make important contributions to railroad engineering, noting that their ability to check details and connect seemingly unrelated events are valuable skills.

“If something is happening on track number one, it could also mean that something similar is happening on track number two next to it, and we will check that part of the rail as well,” she says.“I think that women can thrive in a field like engineering, which is so technical and relies on being able to think outside of the box and connect all sorts of puzzle pieces. You need to look for specific details and remember what you are doing every moment of the day, what you need to do tomorrow, and what you need to do next week.”

Wolfson says that Israel Railways is becoming more technologically advanced, both in her specific area of expertise as well as in its overall functionality. “We are working on improving the video system and the geometry system that we use to measure the tracks, and it’s very up-and-coming using AI technology,” she enthuses.

“Everything has become technologically advanced – the way that we inspect the rails, the way the trains will be dispatched, electric trains, the signaling system – all in order to improve the safety and the quality of the transportation system.” Adding these new features will require more electrical and mechanical engineers to implement these upgrades to the railroad.

Beyond adding advanced technological features, Israel Railways is adding new lines with new capabilities.“Like the new Jerusalem line, for example. It’s comprised primarily of bridges and tunnels, and maintaining such a line requires new advanced technology that we never had here in Israel for inspecting the cables and the electricity,” says Wolfson.

“All of these things are becoming much more advanced in order to improve the quality and to enable the trains to run at higher speeds. The technology that we’re going to have here in another fifteen years is not going to be anything that what we’ve had in the last 10 years. It’s going to be a whole different ballgame.

For example, the 431 route that will connect Tel Aviv and Rishon LeZion to Modi’in and Jerusalem is composed completely of bridges.” She notes that the design of bridges for trains is different from the design of bridges for automotive traffic.

Though she has lived in Israel for a number of years, Wolfson says that the reality of living in Israel during a major war hit home for the first time after October 7. Many of her co-workers were called to reserve duty, and the offices were quieter than usual.

“There are a lot of young engineers at Israel Railways in their thirties who spent six months in Gaza,” she says. “I had to pick up some of the slack, being a woman and a mom who’s not going to go to war. Many people came to me for help with questions about things and to cover the work of people who were in reserve duty. That was a different culture shock for me.” Israel’s rail system is relatively small compared to those of larger countries, and Wolfson is the sole person responsible for inspecting the metal rails of the entire system.

“It’s meaningful to be the only one doing something,” she says, “and it’s directly related to the safety of traveling by train, which impacts thousands of people in Israel riding the train. One of the biggest parts of someone’s day is how they’re going to get from point A to point B. Soldiers are taking public transportation on the way to their bases.”“There’s not one day that it doesn’t cross my mind when I’m working that this needs to be safe.

Whatever I’m inspecting needs to be the safest. Everything needs to be inspected and checked, and no stone can be left unturned when it comes to looking at the rails. Transportation is a huge part of our country, and to be a part of the Israeli railway system is a big deal. Doing this work in Israel as an American who made aliyah is even more meaningful. It’s special for me to be a part of the country and to be a part of something that’s a pretty big part of the country – transportation.”

This article was written in cooperation with Israel Railways.