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Jerusalem Light Rail
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The Jerusalem Light Rail project consists of one, and at a later stage, multiple light rail lines to provide rapid public transport in Jerusalem.
light rail was forwarded in the 1990s as a means of providing faster and less polluting travel, as well as reversing the decline of some central areas. CityPass, a specially formed consortium won a 30-year concession to build and operate Line 1.
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Encyclopedia
The Jerusalem Light Rail project consists of one, and at a later stage, multiple light rail lines to provide rapid public transport in Jerusalem.
Construction
The light rail was forwarded in the 1990s as a means of providing faster and less polluting travel, as well as reversing the decline of some central areas. CityPass, a specially formed consortium won a 30-year concession to build and operate Line 1. City Pass consists of financiers Polar Investments (27.5%) and Harel (20%), constructors Ashtrom (27.5%) and engineers Alstom (20%), plus service operators Connex – later Veolia Transportation (5%).
Construction of Line 1 began in April 2006, and is currently under construction and scheduled for completion at 2010. Line 1 is planned to have 23 stations on a new 1,435mm gauge twin-track 13.8km alignment. It is planned to run from Pisgat Ze'ev in the northeast, south along Road 1 (intercity) to Jaffa Road (Rehov Yaffo). From there, it is planned to run along Jaffa Road westward to the Jerusalem Central Bus Station, and continue to the southwest, crossing the Chords Bridge along Herzl Boulevard to the Beit HaKerem neighborhood.
Initial extensions to the first line were planned for the Neve Ya'akov and Ein Kerem neighborhoods, and former mayor Uri Lupoliansky stated that they would be completed at the same time as the rest of the line. However, in March 2009, CityPass announced that it would not be interested in working on the extensions.
Rolling stock
Initial rolling stock are to be 46 Citadis 302 100% low-floor five-module units manufactured at Alstom's Aytré factory. Styling was selected from options in Jerusalem and features the Emblem of Jerusalem. The first car was delivered via the Port of Ashdod in September 2007. All axles are driven to handle up to 9% inclines. The maintenance and storage depot for the whole fleet are to be located on a 10-acre site near French Hill in the north of Jerusalem. The route and vehicles are to be monitored from the control center, and trams are to be driven under line of sight principles, with built-in priority at road intersections. The fare collection and ticketing system is to be supplied by Affiliated Computer Services.
Controversy and criticism
The project has aroused controversy because the path of the rail line is planned to run through Israeli occupied territory. In consequence, a Dutch bank divested from Veolia Environnement, one of the French companies in the consortium hired to build and operate the rail system. Both Veolia and Alstom are facing possible legal action in a suit by the Palestinian Liberation Organization in the French courts. Israeli settlers argued that the project will bring economic prosperity to the Palestinian population on route of the train and thus will attract more Arab residents and businesses into the Jerusalem area. Settlers claimed it may block their attempt to Judaize Jerusalem.
The works on the first line have been criticized for being extremely polluting. It is believed that fumes from the construction vehicles have raised the amount of 'polluted days' in Jerusalem from 12 in 2006 to 16 in 2007. Nir Barkat, elected mayor of Jerusalem in late 2008, is opposed to the project and said that the feasibility of the project should be reconsidered. In January 2009, he criticized the human traffic jams caused by the construction and told Yair Naveh, CEO of City Pass, that "The process isn't being managed, you can't stop a city. This is intolerable".
Archeological findings
While tracks for the light rail were being built in Shuafat, the remains of an ancient Roman-Jewish settlement were discovered. The settlement was described as a "sophisticated community impeccably planned by the Roman authorities, with orderly rows of houses and two fine public bathhouses to the north."
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