Jerusalem Light Rail

[daveklepper]

Steve Sattler	Apr 30, 2023, 3:37 PM (8 days ago)
to bcc: me

 

                The Trains and Tram Society of Israel.

          An update of the Red-line extension;  Light rail Jerusalem

          Dear members,

 

                   I had a meeting with the regional Chief Engineer of the Light rail extension project [South Section today.

 

                   Engineer Sol Nir { he also knowns the 530 km Melbourne Tram system very well} showed me the                           project and we discussed the proposed end-date.

 

                    Over 8 years ago, the City gave the green light to extend the RED line - with a North section[to Neve Yakov] and the South section to the HadassahEin Kerem Hospital.

 

                    This southern section is 5.38 kms of double tracks and is 2/3 finished.  The City has given the engineers till next Yom HaAtzmuth to have the 'Trams' running to Hadassah. The hospital gets 30,000 visitors a day, and the current bus service is 'less-than-good. Currently, they are dealing with local underground flooding and 'hard-rock' problems.

 

                      When both south and north extensions finallyup-and-running the RED line will be 21 kmslong,withTrams every 3 - 8 minutes.

                               

                               Steve Sattler

[daveklepper]

2 of 3,234

 

The tunnel under Mea Sharim and Geula   Inbox         Steve Sattler Wed, Mar 29, 5:31 PM (16 hours ago)     to bcc: me    Jerusalem. The new BLUE LINE LIGHT RAIL: The Israeli ELECTRA company has won the tender to build the tunnel under Mea Sharim and Geula for the BLUE LINE light rail. The project will cost 620 mill shkls and eventually the Blue line [from Ramot to Gilo through the city center and the Bell-park will serve as the Central line of the city. Steve

 

[daveklepper]

Take a ride on our light rail line:

https://youtu.be/_gHQ_HzUDd4

 

[daveklepper]

  News from yesterday,

The Jerusalem City Planning unit of the Municipality has started

their project to build a METRO in Jerusalem. The planning has begun.

   The current project to build 9 light-rail lines ( electric trams) that criss-cross the city and

some distant suburbs is now fully in place and three lines are under construction.

  Never-the-less by 2030 the city engineers know that Jerusalem, with a population of 

between 1.5 to 1.8 million residents and over 450,000 tourists will out-grow the light-rail

and the public bus services.

  Thus, the 'underground' A1 train from the coast will have 4 underground stations across

Jerusalem in addition to the already over crowded Navon station, and probably a continuation

of this train into the Gush Etzion.

  Now, the Minhal HaTichnun of the City - as the Manager said yesterday at a conference,

[23/1/23], is planning a METRO with either 18 or 33 stations for greater Jerusalem.

  The rock under Jerusalem is limestone, so several TBMs will be used to do the work and

the project - in practice, - will take 15 years.

The A1 train stations will all be some 60 meters underground, so the Metro will be between

20 -40 meters underground.

   The first stage of the planning will also include several drillings deep into the limestone 

at selected sites to study the rock and the water- pockets.

    The 'first-stage plans' will then be put before the National Planning Board for further study

and 'the go-ahead'.

Steve Sattler

[daveklepper]

10 of 2,577

 

The new TENDER for the BLUE line of Jerusalem   Inbox         Steve Sattler Aug 14, 2022, 10:41 AM (1 day ago)     to bcc: me       Dear all,  14 August. The Jerusalem light rail trams:-   RED >  GREEN  >> BLUE   The Ministry of Transport, the Jerusalem municipality and the treasury have issued an open tender to build the new BLUE LINE of Jerusalem. From South Jerusalem, the Hebron rd, King George, [an underground section] , Har Hotzviim, Ramot, Talpayot and the depo complex at Malcha.    So far 4 company-units have applied:- Shickun U'Bnei + EGGED                                                                  Alstom + Electra                                                                CAF + Shafir                                                                DAN + COMSA 66 Train sets will run on the line - of 20 kms. It should start by 2028 and the full sections by 2030.      All together Jerusalem plans 9 colored lines and the Cable car. Steve

 

[daveklepper]

Unsure about visitors but think not, since the various monthly passes are available only for citizens and registered forreign students.  Corection:  75-and-over.  65 - 74 continue with half-fare.  Half-fare also applies to registered students, including foreign students (who must also sign-up for sick-fund insurance and then receive treatment when required.)  That being the case, I believe a visitor 75-and-over, who is a student at a University or Yeshiva, could get the free-transportation card.  65-74 half-fare, including an appropriate monthly pass.

[blue streak 1]

Free fares over 65 but not visitors?

[NP Eddie]

Dave:

 

Was that the cap I sent you several years ago?  It looks nice on you.

 

Ed Burns

[daveklepper]

Today, the first of August, was a  big day for me and other senior citizens  who use public transportation, effective today, free thoughout Israel for citizens over 65, and I'm 90.  The same plastic card is used, and converted electronically for me at the Central Bus Station.

[daveklepper]

This map is not-to-scale, and some  relative distances are very distorted:

[daveklepper]

Lines currently under costruction bor in detailed engineering all pass through or touch the main central business sdistrict.  Now an exception has been authorized, the Puplee Line.

 

The Regional Planning Committee has approved the proposed route for the Jerusalem  Purple Line. This 14 km line with 19 stops is will rub east-west across the southern part of the city.  Stage 1 will start at an interchange with the Blue Line at Talpiot and run west for 4·6 km, six intermidiate stops. to Malcha, the depot location..Stage 2 will continue west via Kiryat HaYovel to the Hadassah-Ein Kerem Hospital, where there sharing the Red Line Extension Terminal, already under construction.  Bridges and tunneel will be requiredm because of hills along the route.

 

 

Funds are from the budget of 13bn shekels which the national government has already allocated for construction of the Green and Blue lines. Five consortia were shortlisted in August 2021 to tender for a 25-year PPP concession to build, operate and maintain the Purple and Blue lines totalling 31 route-km with 53 stops and a combined fleet of 61 trams

 

 

[daveklepper]

Steve Sattler	Jan 26, 2022, 9:18 PM (14 hours ago)

26/1/2022   21.00

From Israeli TV tonight :-

Jerusalem: As the snow begins to fall harder and catch on the ground from 5 PM - this evening, 

an interview with the deputy Traffic Commander for the region [ on the Harel bridge in Mevessert 

Tzion - in the falling snow ]: He  said " that now,  ( 8 PM ) the main road #1 is closed in both

directions by the police,  and only the A1 train (Tel Aviv - Jerusalem direct via Ben Gurion Airport) 

is running and will run till midnight.

He expects the IR to add extra trains on this " King David " route till midnight tonight, and tomorrow 

morning till at least mid-day.

In Jerusalem the roads are slippery, some are covered with snow,  and ice may form overnight.

The Jerusalem trams will run till midnight on the full Red Route, but city buses will stop - now.

Gilo has at this time [21.00 ] some 4 inches of snow.

Tomorrow - the City will open most main roads with their 300 tractors they have on standby.

Tomorrow schools are closed in Jerusalem.

My son [ the head of a security team for the Bank of Israel ] needs to be at the bank's

security suite at 4 am - so a special 4 wheel drive [ owned by the bank ] will pick him up

at 03.30 am . This diesel monster has  a 70 cms clearance over the road- with big

balloon tyres.

The weather lady says that overnight snow will continue to fall and by 7 am - it should

cover all of Jerusalem till Friday.

Steve

[daveklepper]

 

1... The Cfir Jerusalem RED-LINE tram is doing maintenance and changes for their rail lines from 20th Jan 2022 for about a month between the CBS and the Damascus Gate.

 

Here is the  diagram.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bus #79 will connect the two CBS - DG [see the blue line] for the duration.

 

Ste

 

 

 

[daveklepper]

The airport at Jerusalem/ Atarot, and the train.

Inbox

Steve Sattler	4:10 PM (1 hour ago)
to bcc: me

Dear all, 

an update:-

1... The British built an airport north of Jerusalem at Atarot in the early 20s [May 1924].

The airport code is JRS.

The complex [ a runway, control tower and several buildings - including a nice VIP section] 

is 9.5 Kms North of Jerusalem/ city center,  and 3.13 kms South of Ramallah.The runway

 is 1.9 kms long and unfortunately the planes taking off are within a simple rifle-range of

900 meters from

some Ramallah houses. In some places the runway is 160 meters from an Arab refugee

camp [run by the PA ].

Part of the airport is built on Jewish land owned by the members of Moshav Atarot -

that was destroyed by the Jordanians in 1948. This land is registered in the national

land registry [the TABU] as private Jewish land.

2... This airport was in use till October 2000 - when security and bullets caused the

IAA to close the airport to routine flights. In those days, 2 - 6 flights left Aratot airport

for Eilat or Haifa every day.

3... The (Arab)  Minister for Regional Security Issawi Frej in the Bennet Government is 

'processing '  a plan to re-open the airport. The airport will be run by both the Israeli

ministry of  transport [ though the IAA],  and the PA ministry of transport from Ramallah.

[As a joint program ].

4... Furthermore, - he said in his radio interview [today ] that both the Jerusalem tram line,

[ from the Atarot industrial zone ]; the new Ramallah tram line [ to be built, -soon ]

and a train from the main airport [ BGA] will service this reborn airport.

5... If a train line is built it will run from Pa'atee Modiin [the North of Modiin Central station ]  ,

past/through Modiin Ilit to the airport. (I can assume some tunnels will be built for this 22 km route -

it is hilly country).

6... OK - We will see?

Steve Sattler

[daveklepper]

I'm posting this photo again, because the chartered bus sogn on the negative was badly deteriorated, and in the coirrecton on the first posting, I misread the sign on another posted image, and need to post the correction.  I will also replace the original posted image:

I owe Bradley Clarke's book Boston's MTA, Boston Street Railway Association, publishers for the correction.

[daveklepper]

It's really an electronic piano, with much the same technology as a synthesizer keyboard.  A think the best answer to your question is "a good wide-range lousdspeaker."

[MidlandMike]

What does a concrete piano use for a sounding board?

[daveklepper]

One Dave Klepper, age 17+, wearing his ROTC uniform, Oct. or Nov. 1949 in front of MIT on Massachusetts Avenue, with a Type-4 enrout from Memorial Drive to Watertown, via Central Square, between.  The Vassar Street on the roll-sign is there because the operator could not find a Mrmorial Drive sign and picked the sign for the closest point he could find, and then did not change it for the return trip to Watertown:

Dave Klepper, age 88+, 2020, playing HaTikvah on the Jerusalem City Hall concrete piano, with an Alstom Citidas 302 light-rail train as background, Jack May photo with unknown lady-in-red:

71 years separate the photographs, but 100 years the rail-cars, 1912-1913 and 2012-2013.  NP-Eddie, note the head covering!

 

 

[daveklepper]

With new management, this old symbol for Citipass:

Has been replaced by:

With the Hebrew word Kafir; translation is "young lion/"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[daveklepper]

The existing line has traffic-light ore-emption in spots, but definitely not everywhere it should.

And even the traffic systems for buses at the intercfhange stations need lots of improvemen.

Still, on balance, it is a good system, and I enjoy every use I make of it.  Which ranges from no use on one day to four or five times on another.

My general moral on living in Jerusalem jumped 100% on its year 2012 opening.  Only the Unification of 1967  (I began visiting in 1960, moved in 1996.) made more of a difference.

[daveklepper]

Also note this from a posting some four years ago:

[daveklepper]

 

With the exception of the grassed RoW (currently under repair) adjacent to the Old City Wall (picture posted above posting before repair work), all Jerusalem Light Rail is paved private RoW, strong enough to support tanks, anti=aircraft missal launchers, and field artillery; and is restricted to the light rail trains and emergency vehicles, including police and military vehicles and ambulances, which do use the RoW.

[blue streak 1]

Does this line and others have traffic light pre emption ?

[MidlandMike]

What I was really wonderind was if they would have a dedicated ROW, or share the road with autos.  From the photos you showed it looks like they have their own separate ROW, at least in part.

[daveklepper]

My tentative answerf is: temporary.

It appears much like temporary fencing in constructing the existing line:

I don't find it on the finished and operarting part of the Red Line:

But I cannot be certain.   Different parts of Jerusalem may have specific requirements.  

[MidlandMike]

Is the fence temporary, or will the ROW stay separate?

[daveklepper]

The two of the four photos in the JR artikcle that I downloaded to my coputer/  This is on the southern extention of the Red Line, probably on Herzl Blvd,:

[daveklepper]

New track installation

27 KM of routes and more thann 50 new stops arebeing added to Jerusalem Light Rail.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF, Edited and distiklked by DLK  

AUGUST 11, 2021 21:50

   

The expansion of the light rail red line begins with the laying of the first tracks

(photo credit: ABIR SULTAN)

The first new tracks lines were laid Wednesday morning with Jerusalem's mayor, Moshe Leon present.

 

The new tracks were installed on Hentke street.

The red line will be extended south to Hadassah Ein Kerem and north to Neve Yaakov for 11 new stops.

The full route may be open in first half of 2023, but tmay be delayed.

Mayor Leon:  "In the next few days we mark a decade since the red line's activation, and I am excited to open a second decade for the revolution of public transport in Jerusalem with the launch of the extended red line,  I would like to thank all involved and wish us all luck on this project."

"The laying of the red line tracks is launched parallel to the rapid infrastructure works for the green line and the advertisement of the blue line, which will be the third in the light rail system in Jerusalem," said Zohar Zoller, CEO of the Transportation Master Plan. "There is no doubt that the moves we are making these days in Jerusalem will be an inspiration for similar moves in other big cities, and that we are creating a new urban standard for transportation systems."

"Today marks an important milestone for Jerusalem's transport revolution, and Cfir is excited and proud to take part in the actualization of this vision," said Oren Cohen, CEO of Cfir Light Rail.

Transportation Minister MK Merav Michaeli added that "this is another move in the reordering of metropolitan and national priorities for the sake of lessening the use of personal vehicles and toward a more advanced transportation system."

 

[daveklepper]

A better view of what the "driver" (nahag) does and what he sees.