 In November 1961, a short branch line to the port of Ashdod was opened just north of the city of Ashdod; then, on 17 November 1982, Heletz railway connected the branch line to the port of Ashdod with the railway to Beersheba, allowing the freight traffic between the south of Israel and the port to bypass the busy railways around Lod.One more branch line, to Rutenberg Power Station just south of Ashkelon, opened in 1990 to supply the power station with coal imported via the port of Ashdod.This branch line is out of use since 2000, when a pier was built at the power station to allow unloading the coal directly from the ships.