The Jerusalem Light Railway project will revolutionize transportation in the Capital, and will radically transform downtown Jerusalem.
By Simon Griver
Based on similar projects in Paris, Bordeaux and Strasbourg, the Jerusalem Light Railway is an updated version of the American streetcar or British tram, popular in the first half of the 20th century. While the concept never went out of fashion in Holland, Belgium and other parts of Western Europe, the past decade has seen them re-introduced into dozens of environmentally-concerned Western European cities. Manchester recently inaugurated two
light railway lines, and Barcelona and Stuttgart are embarking upon similar projects.
Major infrastructure work is already underway on the first line of the light railway, which will stretch from the northern suburb of Pisgat Zeev through the city center to Mount Herzl in the west. Eitan Meir, Deputy-Director General of the Jerusalem Municipality and Head of the Infrastructure Administration, estimates that this line will be ready within four years. "By the year 2020 we plan to have a total of eight lines crossing the city," he adds. "At that
time, the city's population, which is today nearly 700,000, will be approaching a million."
At present the municipality is widening large stretches of Yafo Street, the central artery of Israel's capital city, and preparing underground infrastructure for the railway line. In fact, almost all of Yafo Street and much of Jerusalem's now choking city center will become a car-free zone, developing the "pedestrianization" concept introduced in the 1970s in Ben Yehuda Street and extended to Nahlat Shiva.
Powered by electricity, trams are silent and non-polluting, as well as safe. Because the floor-level of the tram is the same height as the street, the vehicles are also convenient for the disabled and elderly.
"This project is all about improving the quality of life in Jerusalem and decreasing pollution," explains Meir. "It will be difficult and expensive for people to bring their car into the city, and more attractive for them to use public transport."
The Jerusalem Light Railway is part of a larger Mass Transit System Project, which will integrate the eight new lines with feeder bus services operated by Egged, Israel's national bus company. The tram, like regular trains, will have priority at all junctions, where traffic lights for cars will turn to red on its approach. Several bridges and tunnels will be built at busy intersections, such as the city's western entrance.
The railway will be operated on a (BOT) Build Operate & Transfer basis. Those competing for the tender include leading Israeli companies in partnership with major corporations including Daimler-Chrysler, STIB of Belgium, Holland's HTM, Spain's CAF and Canada's Bombadier and Lavalin/SMC and two companies from Germany - SSB and Uestra. The
expected investment is some $400 million, in return for a 30-year lease.
Each individual line will be subject to a separate BOT tender and in theory it is possible that all the lines will be run by one operator, or each one by a separate company. Either way, the traffic jams, honking horns and exhaust fumes that have characterized central Jerusalem in recent decades will soon be a thing of the past.