Red Line (Jerusalem Light Rail)

The red line is the first section in operation of the tram system in Jerusalem, known as the Jerusalem Light Rail. It became fully operational on December 1, 2011. The line is 13.9 kilometers (8.6 mi) long with 23 stops. Extensions to the red line are currently under construction to the northern suburb of Neve Yaakov and to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital to the southwest. When completed in 2026, these will extend the line's length to 22.5 km.[3]

Red Line (Jerusalem Light Rail) הרכבת הקלה בירושלים
Light Rail on Chords Bridge
Overview
Status	Opened
Owner	CityPass Consortium
Locale	Jerusalem
Termini	Israel Air Force Street Mount Herzl
Stations	23
Website	www.citypass.co.il
Service
Type	Tram
System	Jerusalem Light Rail
Services	1 (Pisgat Ze'ev – Mount Herzl)
Operator(s)	CityPass
Depot(s)	French Hill depot
Rolling stock	23 of Alstom Citadis 302
Daily ridership	130,000 (2013)[1]
History
Opened	August 19, 2011 (free trial service) December 1, 2011 (full revenue service)
Technical
Line length	13.8 km (8.6 mi)[2]
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC OHLE
Operating speed	50 km/h (31 mph) maximum
Route map Leah Goldberg Tabenkin Neve Yaakov South Mazal Shor 'Heil Ha-Avir (Air Force Street) Sayeret Duchifat Pisgat Ze'ev Center Yekuti'el Adam Beit Hanina Shuafat Es-Sahl depot Giv'at HaMivtar Ammunition Hill Shimon HaTzadik Shivtei Israel Damascus Gate Safra Square (City Hall) Jaffa – Center Ha-Davidka Mahane Yehuda Market Ha-Turim Central Station Kiryat Moshe He-'Haluts Denia Square Yefeh Nof Mount Herzl Shmaryahu Levin Haaim Habib Haddassa Medical School Hadassah Medical Center

With a total estimated cost for the initial section of the line of 3.8 billion NIS (approx. US $1.1 billion),[4][5] the project was criticized for budget overruns, for its route serving Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem and for contributing to air and noise pollution during construction.[6]

Stations

List of Jerusalem Light Rail Red Line stations[7][8][9]

Station[10][11]	Street	Location	Neighborhood
Mount Herzl Hebrew: הר הרצל‎	Herzl Boulevard	Corner of HaPisga Street	Bayit VeGan
Yefeh Nof Hebrew: יפה נוף‎		Corner of Shmuel Bait Street	Beit HaKerem
Denia Square Hebrew: כיכר דניה‎		Corner of HaArazim Street at Denia Square
He-'Haluts Hebrew: החלוץ‎		Corner of HeHaluts Street
Kiryat Moshe Hebrew: קריית משה‎		Corner of HaRav Zvi Yehuda Street	Kiryat Moshe
Central Station Hebrew: התחנה המרכזית‎	Jaffa Road	Across from Central Bus Station	Romema[12]
Ha-Turim Hebrew: הטורים‎		Near Nordau Street	Mahane Yehuda
Mahane Yehuda Hebrew: מחנה יהודה‎		Near Mahane Yehuda Market
Ha-Davidka Hebrew: ה"דביד'קה"‎		Corner of Street of the Prophets at Davidka Square	City Center
Jaffa – Center Hebrew: יפו – מרכז‎		Corner of King George and Straus Streets
City Hall Hebrew: העיריה‎		Near Safra Square
Damascus Gate Hebrew: שער שכם‎	Heil HaHandassa Street	Corner of Sultan Suleiman Street
Shivtei Israel Hebrew: שבטי ישראל‎		Corner of Shivtei Israel Street	Beit Yisrael
Shim'on Ha-Tsadik Hebrew: שמעון הצדיק‎	Haim Bar Lev Boulevard	Corner of Shimon HaTsadik Street	Sheikh Jarrah
Ammunition Hill Hebrew: גבעת התחמושת‎		Corner of Levi Eshkol Boulevard	French Hill
Giv'at Ha-Mivtar Hebrew: גבעת המיבתר‎	Shuafat Road	Corner of Sheshet HaYamim Street	Givat HaMivtar
Es-Sahl Hebrew: א-סהל‎		Corner of Umm Al-Amed Street	Shuafat
Shu'afat Hebrew: שועפאט‎		Corner of Ben Rabah Street
Beit 'Hanina Hebrew: בית חנינא‎	Yekutiel Adam Street	Corner of Beit Hanina Street	Beit Hanina
Yekuti'el Adam Hebrew: יקותיאל אדם‎		Corner of Moshe Dayan Boulevard	Pisgat Ze'ev
Pisgat Ze'ev Center Hebrew: פסגת זאב מרכז‎	Moshe Dayan Boulevard	Near Hapisga Mall
Sayeret Dukhifat Hebrew: סיירת דוכיפת‎		Corner of Sayeret Dukhifat Street
'Heil Ha-Avir Hebrew: חיל האויר‎		Corner of Heil HaAvir Street

Future

Initial extensions to the Red Line were planned to the neighborhoods of Neve Yaakov in Northeast Jerusalem and Ein Karem (near Hadassah Hospital) in the Southwest. Former mayor Uri Lupolianski stated that they would be completed at the same time as the rest of the line. In 2008, French company Egis Rail won an 11.9 million Euro contract to carry out some of the design work. However, in March 2009, CityPass turned down implementing the project.[13] In May 2010 the Jerusalem Municipality announced that the extensions would be built by the state authorities rather than a private company. The extension to Hadassah Hospital from Mount Herzl is particularly challenging and will involve a complex path with complicated bridging works. As of summer 2012, while works on the extension have not begun, the line's final terminal station, next to Hadassah's new inpatient building is nevertheless being built during the construction of the inpatient building – in order not to disrupt hospital operations later after the new building will be completed.[3] Also planned are branches to the Red Line that would create a "campus line" connecting the Mount Scopus and Givat Ram campuses of the Hebrew University.[14]

See also

• Tel Aviv Light Rail
• Jerusalem Light Rail

References

1. Gilran, Eldar (2013-08-20). "CityPass Will Pay NIS 1 Million in Fines for Delays". Israel Army Radio.
2. "Jerusalem Light Rail Project". Railway Technology. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
3. "Extending Light Rail to Hadassa Ein Kerem" (Press release) (in Hebrew). Jerusalem Municipality. July 12, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
4. Melanie Lidman (2011-06-30). "Capital merchants struggle with endless light rail delays". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
5. Hasson, Nir (2011-04-02). "Light Rail on the Way". Haaretz (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2011-04-02.
6. "Findings of the London session, 20-22 November 2010" (PDF). Russell Tribunal on Palestine. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
7. "Jerusalem Green Map: Public Transportation". Green Map. p. 1. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
8. "Jerusalem Green Map: Public Transportation". Green Map. p. 2. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
9. "Jerusalem Green Map: Public Transportation". Green Map. p. 3. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
10. "Jerusalem Light Rail line map" (PDF). CityPass. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
11. "Jerusalem Light Rail line map" (PDF) (in Hebrew). CityPass. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
12. "Jerusalem Neighborhoods: Romema". Jerusalem Municipality. 2 February 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
13. Bar-Gil, Doron (March 8, 2009). "CityPass Canceled Light Rail Works in Neve Ya'akov and Ein Kerem" (in Hebrew). nrg Maariv. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
14. Friedman, Ron (May 25, 2010). "Jerusalem Presents New Transport Plan". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2014-09-16.