The metro in Gush Dan (simulation). Now only the line from Glilot to Kfar Saba, which some Ra'anana/NTA residents oppose, remains for approval
The Bnei Brak Municipality effectively agrees to work on Shabbat within the city limits in the metro project, as long as they are carried out underground without public visibility and after they have been defined as "mental inspection." NTA's decision on which works will be so defined will be made by NTA, and will also apply to the operation of underground mining machines, whose cessation of operation upon completion of the work may lead to the collapse of the tunnels.
This is after the municipality opposed such work in the past, and even punished NTA for carrying out work on Saturday on the light rail's red line, by closing the water supply to the project. The municipality also refused to allow NTA to carry out urgent maintenance activities on weekends, which it can also carry out now if it finds them "mental inspection."
Map of the future metro project. Opening of the first phase: 2034/official website, NTA
This agreement enabled the National Infrastructure Committee, headed by Shas member Natan Elnatan, to approve today the route of another metro line in Gush Dan, the M2 line. The line, 26 kilometers long, will begin at the Yoseftal interchange in Holon and pass through Tel Aviv, Givatayim, Ramat Gan, Bnei Brak and Givat Shmuel, and end near the Segula employment area in Petah Tikva. Following the agreement, the alternative route to the Bnei Brak route that passes through Ramat Gan was canceled, in a way that would ensure service to the city. The line will include 22 underground stations and is scheduled to start operating in 2034.
Following appeals filed against the construction of a station of the line under Habima Square, on the grounds that ficus trees were damaged there, it was decided to approve the station anyway in a limited plan that would preserve some of the trees.
So far, the central part of the M1 line from Holon Junction to Glilot, and the M3 line from Herzliya to Or Yehuda, with extensions to Ben Gurion Airport, Holon and Bat Yam, have been approved.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev continues to promote her plan to remove the metro work from NTA, claiming that it did not meet the timetable for the red line and despite the fact that NTA has accumulated experience in the project that other bodies in Israel do not have in carrying out underground railway works. In the meantime, Regev has agreed with the Ministry of Finance to transfer preliminary work on the metro lines to Netivei Israel.
NTA, for its part, has completed the preparations for the planning and execution of the line. A manager for the company's metro operations, Noa Oren, was selected and companies were selected to manage the works.
- More on the subject:
- Gush Dan metro
