train or bus for travel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem ?

The train may be more picturesque but if you leave after 6 PM it will be dark most of the way :-)
The train takes 1:35. The station in Jerusalem (Malha) is far from the city center and the light rail and you will have to take a bus from there to your destination.
The bus takes less than an hour and the Jerusalem bus station is conveniently located at the entrance to the city.

You do not have to the Central Bus Station in Tel-Aviv; you can go to the Arlozorov Terminal in north Tel-Aviv and take the #480 - same time, same cost, but more user-friendly !
Train schedules:
http://www.rail.co.il/EN/Pages/Homepage.aspx
Bus schedules:
http://www.egged.co.il/Eng/
Take the bus.

To expand on what mbgg wrote:

There is no point in going by train at 6 p.m. because it will be dark. Unless you're into "collecting' train rides it will be utterly pointless doing this journey by train. It takes much longer than by bus. The Jerusalem railway station is out in the middle of nowhere and involves a convoluted bus ride to get to anywhere you are likely to want to be. It's a very long way from the light rail. Dreadful planning, but that's what there is!

Get yourself to the Arlosoroff bus terminal (next to Tel Aviv Savidor Merkaz/Central railway station) and take the 480 bus from there. There are two bus terminals next to each other. If you are standing facing the railway station, as if you were going to enter the station, it's the bus terminal on your left. There is a huge sign saying "480 Jerusalem" so you won't have any difficulty finding the right platform. The buses leave every 15-20 minutes and the ride to Jerusalem takes only an hour. You'll end up at, big surprise, the central bus station in Jerusalem, and there is a light rail station right outside.

super, thank you both very much for the clarification. Bus trip it will be and I am so glad I asked.
One last thing - I might as well take out ANY guesswork from the trip ;) Do you buy the ticket on the bus from the driver, or from a ticket kiosk/office at the terminal?
thx

Pawel

You can buy the ticket from the driver but if you are at a large bus station and have the time you should buy it at the ticket office. Train tickets can only be purchased at the ticket office or from the automatic machines at the station entrance. If you take a train pay an extra 5 NIS and ask for a reserved seat. Bus seats can be reserved only on the buses to Eilat.

No need to reserve a seat on the train to Jerusalem - if you decide to go by train after all! Those trains only ever have a handful of people on them, for reasons that should be obvious by now, except at busy holiday times. I don't think it's even possible to reserve.

And as far as I recall there isn't a ticket office at the 480 bus terminal in Tel Aviv. I've always bought my ticket on the bus. The driver will give change.

#5 (Shuffaluff)

Those trains only ever have a handful of people on them, for reasons that should be obvious by now, except at busy holiday times

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.....and when the falling snow sticks in Jerusalem. :)

a1, even with the, um, interesting weather we've been having this last few days, somehow I don't think it will snow next Monday!

Taking the train is nonsensical, the train station is very far from the center of Jerusalem.

The best way to commute between Jerusalem / Tel Aviv and back is to take the sherut, the ten-seater minibuses that leave as soon as they're full. In Jerusalem they depart from Harav Kook sreet off Jaffa street, and they arrive right behind the Central bus station in Tel Aviv. There you can hop on another minibus to go where you wannt go in Tel Aviv. The ride takes about 50mn and it costs about 22 shekels during the week and about 30 during shabbat. These minibuses depart every 5 or 10 minutes.

You can also take the regular Egged buses for a few shekels less but they're less practical as they depart only once every hour, and they leave you at the central bus station in Jerusalem, not as close to the center as Jaffa street.

Catw:
- The OP was travelling from T-A TO Jerusalem, not the other way.
- There are TWO bus lines from T-A to J'm - the 405 from the C.B.S. and the #480 from Arlozorov. Both leave every 20 minutes, not every hour.
- There isn't minibus service to "wherever to you want to go" in Tel-Aviv; there are only a small number of "sherut" lines.