It’s quite amazing there wasn’t a proper rail line connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem until very recently. Certainly the very mountainous terrain around Jerusalem makes it difficult but the Swiss have managed.
All the traffic between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv was via highway one, for quite some time. I was once told, that the rail network was neglected, out of fear that it would be vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
Yes, but they have buses instead, which are just as vulnerable. The bus connections from downtown Tel Aviv or Jerusalem to Ben Gurion airport were absolutely abysmal.