"The line will become a hit": The fast train from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv gets underway

The new line that will cut the trip from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv for about half an hour will be launched after more than ten years of work. The trains will operate at a frequency of two trains per hour in each direction during the week, with time increasing in frequency during demand hours. "The line will be successful when people internalize its benefits," the Ministry of Transport said

"The line will become a hit": The fast train from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv gets underway

A historic moment will be recorded tonight (Saturday) with the opening of the new tram line between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. So far, the train has only traveled between the capital and Ben Gurion Airport, where another train had to be replaced. From now on, it will continue on its way to the defense station and will soon continue to Tel Aviv Central Station - Savidor. The new route allows the train to go the distance in only half an hour, compared to the one and a half hours in the old line, whose course goes up and down the mountain windings, including the replacement at Beit Shemesh.

To allow the high speed over 56 miles of railroad route, more than half of the route consists of tunnels and bridges. In them, a tunnel is 11.6 kilometers long which is the longest in Israel, a bridge 1.25 kilometers long which is the longest in Israel, and a bridge about 90 meters above the ground which is the highest bridge in Israel. Also the Yitzhak Navon Nation Station in Jerusalem was excavated 80 meters underground, making it the deepest station in Israel and one of the deepest heavy rail stations in the world.

The official project cost of the line is about NIS 6.9 billion, but some estimate it to be about NIS 9 billion. The old line continues to operate in parallel, mainly to serve Beit Shemesh passengers, as well as freight train traffic.

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Over half of the route consists of tunnels and bridges. The highway to Jerusalem (Photo: Reuters)

Construction of the railway route between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, near Jerusalem. September 2016 (Photo: Reuters)

The first train to Tel Aviv is expected to depart at 9:56 pm this evening, after several weeks of running and festive trips hosted by Bezalel Smutrich and Foreign Minister Israel Katz only on Wednesday. More than three million trips have been made to the Jerusalem Expressway, which opened about a year ago, since its opening in September 2018. Every day, an average of ten thousand passengers travel by line. During demand hours, two trains are currently traveling every hour in each direction, with the number of passengers on the train currently limited to only 400 passengers per trip. In the coming months, when the railroad's electrical work is completed in Ayalon, the restriction is expected to be gradually phased out and the possible number of passengers on the line will increase to about a thousand.

"Connecting the train between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv will allow more passengers to leave the vehicle at home and skip traffic on the way to work, study or vacation," welcomes the accomplished Shmarit Notman, CEO of 15 Minutes - the Passenger for Better Public Transportation, which also mentions: And the construction of the line has taken heavy prices from Israel Railways and its passengers, and we hope that now that this important phase is complete, the railway administration will be able to allocate more resources to make service on all routes more accurate and pleasant. "

At Wednesday's press conference, Minister Smutrich thanked his predecessor Israel Katz, the Ministry of Transport and Israel Railways, for the long-term vision and vision in establishing the highway to Jerusalem. "It's a morning of excitement. In the days when we talk about Israel I and Israel II and the state of Tel Aviv and the state of Jerusalem we build a bridge," he said. "With all the controversies, no buffer can be created, but roads and trains will be built because we are one people," Smutrich added.

Minister Katz said it was a holiday for him. "After years of hard work and struggles, Jerusalem connects to Tel Aviv," he said. "There is tremendous significance here in strengthening Jerusalem and strengthening the state. This is how Palestine is being built, just like in 1948," Minister Katz added. Managing Director Michael Meixner added that this was an important achievement for Israel Railways, which is a lever for rail development programs, "replacing the diesel-powered mobile fleet with modern green energy-powered trains."

After a decade of work and a 33-minute drive, the expressway line finally reached Lim

Tel Aviv and Jerusalem highway segment (Photo: Reuven Castro)

High-speed train from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem (Photo: Reuven Castro)

The trains will make their way from their departure stations in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to their destination in just 32-34 minutes, slightly more than the 28 minutes promised, after one stop in Ben Gurion Airport. The trains are expected to operate on Sundays through Thursdays, with the frequency of two trains per hour, from each hour 6:20 am to 9:30 pm On Saturday night, one train will depart one hour in each direction, from 9:56 pm to midnight, over time the frequency of demand increases for 4 trains per hour, with the rail capable of serving even six trains per hour Because, if there is a demand for it.

"This line will become a hit as people internalize its distinct advantages over traveling between these two major cities in any other way," said a senior transport ministry official who also closely followed the line's birth difficulties. "Demand for the line will rise steadily, and it will be one of the most sought-after lines in Israel's rail system, if not the most popular. It changes the reality of anyone who works in Jerusalem and lives in Tel Aviv and vice versa."

He said, "The line creates a new reality for those who need to move from Jerusalem to Jerusalem and those who live in the capital, and want to spend time in Tel Aviv. It's the most efficient and fastest way, without traffic jams and no wear and tear on the private vehicle." From city center to the other city center and when each of the points of departure is adjacent to public transport inland. Sky and earth compared to the situation so far, "the official from the Ministry of Transport added.

Interrupting trains in favor of the line has resulted in overcrowding and cancellation of other trains (Photo: Railroad website)

Tel Aviv Railway Station The defense is not prepared for the reception of large passengers, December 2, 2019 (Photo: by train, official website)

The line planners have been waiting for it to open for 18 years, since in 2001 it was decided to simultaneously renovate the old line and construct the new line with the most expensive and complicated alternative to carry, but also the one that will provide the best service to passengers. There are forty years of waiting, since in 1979 the train service between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv deteriorated to one train a day in each direction.

After the decision to build the line, there were delays of many years, with the project budget slipping by three times the original budget of about NIS 2 billion. In addition, a long-standing dispute with the green organizations, mainly due to the route in the Yatla River area, caused further delay. Then there were political issues of railroad sections going beyond the Green Line, repairs that were already required in excavated service tunnels and difficulties in obtaining licensing from the police and the fire department. Various operational difficulties also affected unexpected places. For example, the demolition of locomotives and cars in favor of the line from the general carriage, resulted in unbearable crowding and the cancellation of trains in the north, followed by anger and much frustration on the part of the passengers.

"If Minister Katz had not launched the lecture then we would not be ready today," said a senior train official. "The fact that today there are almost no glitches and those that are more mechanical. It does not go beyond anything similar in every line of the world to such a scale," he added. "The media has a fair share of how it is perceived by the public as a catastrophe. It has empowered it to disproportionate coverage." He said that later the line is planned to extend the line within Jerusalem, to the Old City, the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. From Tel Aviv, the tram is expected to continue in the future until Herzliya. "Either way, the major engineering project behind us," said the senior on the train.

"There's excitement." Smutrich and Katz in the premiere of the train this week (Photo: Roni Kanfo)

Jerusalem's premiere ride from Jerusalem - to Tel Aviv with Bezalel Smutrich and Israel Katz, December 18, 2019 (Photo: Roni Kanfo)