Israel Railways conducted the first trial run of a train on the new Jerusalem – Tel Aviv line, 57 kilometers long, which will connect the two cities in less than 30 minutes. There will be another series of such trials over the coming week and if all proceeds according to plan, the line is due to start scheduled services in April 2018.
„This is a fast train that will take 28 minutes to travel between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and will enhance the status of Jerusalem and the ability of people to live there and set up businesses and it will completely transform the connection between Jerusalem and the rest of the country”, Minister of Transport, Yisrael Katz, said.
The fast railway, up to a 160 km/h speed has been under construction since 2001 and will complement the existing, slower Jaffa-Jerusalem railway.
Trains will service all four of Tel Aviv’s railway stations, pick up passengers at Ben-Gurion Airport and conclude their journey at Jerusalem’s new railway station near the city’s central bus station. During peak times, three trains per hour are expected to travel in each direction.
An infrastructure project requiring nine bridges and four tunnels was never going to be cheap. When complete, the railway is expected to cost in the region of NIS 7 billion (USD 1.93 billion), over double its original estimate.
The new railway is expected to change Israel’s transport and work scene, effectively turning Tel Aviv and Jerusalem into commuter towns for each other.
Photo: Jerusalem Post
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