Beersheba to get its own light rail systen

[daveklepper]

Steve Sattler	Wed, Aug 16, 9:46 AM (5 days ago)
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Beersheba to get its own light rail after 30 years of attempts.
The project is set to take a decade to complete and will cost about
NIS 8 bil. shkl. Beersheba, the gateway to the Negev, is set to get
its own light rail, the NPB announced on Monday, although it will be
over 10 yrs until residents
 of the city will get to enjoy it. The Committee for National
Infrastructures  approved a decision to advance the light rail plan on
Monday.

             The planned line will travel between the Israel Railways
stations and the CBS of Beersheba and along Highway 60 to the new
Kiryat Hamodi'in military intelligence base being built in Likit, east
of Beersheba. The light rail line will continue to Meitar and end near
the Meitar Crossing In Yehuda South of Hebron. the tracks will also
serve the Soroka Medical Center and Ben-Gurion University. The 25 km
line is intended to be a central transportation solution for IDF
soldiers who will need to travel to and from the new intelligence
base.

A location for the depot for the 'trams' of the light-rail has not
been decided on yet and will be chosen after an environmental impact
review is conducted. The planning of the light rail is being handled
by Netivei Israel – National Transport Infrastructure Company.
The chairperson of the committee, stated that "The plan is an
immportant landmark in expediting the IDF's transition to the Negev,
the development of the Negev, and service for the city of Beersheba.
The plan will advance the southern metropolis to a light rail
transportation service, as has already been promoted in the other
three metropolitan areas."

Beersheba Mayor Ruvik Danilovich welcomed the announcement, calling it
"very important news for the future of transportation in Beersheba and
the Negev." "The railway will be an engine of economic growth for
Beersheba and the entire region that will serve the civilian
settlements and the IDF bases."

While the new central IDF intelligence base is set to begin operations
in 2028, the light rail will only be ready at earliest in 2033,
according to Walla. The project is set to cost about NIS 8 billion.
Beersheba has been discussing building a light rail system for almost
three decades, with all previous attempts falling through.

The plan was first mentioned in a Local Outline Plan for Beersheba in
1997, with then transportation minister Yitzhak Levi, then Dutch
ambassador to Israel Van-Hellenberg-Hubar, the Dutch Logitech planning
company, and then mayor of Beersheba David Bonfeld signing an
agreement to conduct the planning of the line in 1998. In 1999,
Beersheba mayor Yaakov Turner announced that the light rail would
begin to run in 2003.

In 2008, the Transportation and Finance ministries announced that they
were examining the establishment of the light rail again and in 2016,
then transportation minister Israel Katz and the mayor of Beersheba
announced that the planning of the line would begin. The planning
efforts began in 2018 and in 2020 the government announced that a NIS
30 million budget had been approved for the planning of the line.
Steve Sattler