Six train tracks needed in Tel Aviv

Israel Railways must plan for the long term, if the railways wants to meet demand and avoid congestion.

Increasing passenger traffic on trains could create especially heavy traffic on the three existing Israel Railways tracks alongside the Ayalon Highway, between the HaHagana and Tel Aviv University stations. Ayalon Highways has plans to lay one more track, but it is not necessarily the best or most cost effective plan.

Since the three existing tracks will not meet future demand, Ayalon Highways proposes laying a fourth track on the Ayalon Highway (Road 20) and on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway (Road 1), until Lod. The company has said that the National Infrastructure Committee will make a decision within three years, and that the project will be carried out in five years. However, according to transportation planning officials, four railway tracks on the Ayalon will not suffice in the long term, and six tracks railway tracks should be built instead, including tunnels and infrastructure.

The problem: train congestion

In the section between the HaHagana and the University stations, there are currently three railway tracks. Heavy traffic is predicted there in the long term: On the southbound tracks, there is the southern line to Rishon LeZion, which will soon reach Yavneh and later Ashdod. 14 million passengers are expected to travel this line in 2015. The double track project to upgrade the Beersheva line will be completed within the next few months. The train will travel at 160 km/h on the Tel Aviv - Ramle - Lod - Na'an - Beersheva route.

On the eastbound track, construction has already begun on tunnels for the Tel Aviv - Ben Gurion Airport - Modiin - Jerusalem line. On the north-eastbound track, the Tel Aviv - B'nai Brak - Rosh HaAyin - Kfar Saba line is currently in operation.

On the northbound track, the Tel Aviv - Haifa line is in operation, and in addition to the two current tracks, another two are being planned for shuttle trains. In fact, the University station will need four tracks, and later on six tracks to serve all the lines.

The plan: much more expensive tunneling

It is clear now, even to Ayalon Highways, that the minimum number of tracks needed in the short term is four, at the expense of the Ayalon River canal that joins the Yarkon River.

As for the water that flows down form the Judean Hills in the Ayalon River on rainy days, some of it will be temporarily redirected to large pools in Sharon Park (Hiriyah). The River will be routed through underground, ten meter diameter pipes, which will be laid from the Ayalon towards the west, under the Ajami neighborhood in Jaffa, in the river's natural path towards the sea. According to the Ayalon Highways plan, it is not clear if the pipe will continue into the sea (an expensive and complicated process) or if the water will flow directly onto the beach. Because of the high cost, the idea of introducing this water into the underground acquifer has been dropped. Rainwater from Tel Aviv and Givatayim that flows towards the Ayalon will drain into the pipeline before joining the channel.

Laying six railway tracks (the long term solution) must take into account that some of them will need to be split level: Four railway tracks will be on ground level, and two additional tracks will be underground alongside infrastructure tunnels.

It seems that Ayalon Highways' plan - to first deal with the short term needs by adding one additional track and only later on adding two more tracks - will ultimately be quite expensive. Since it is now possible to dig using ordinary methods, the cost to build six tracks would be relatively low. If the construction of the two underground tracks is postponed to a future time, when there will already be four overcrowded tracks, tunnel construction would be much more expensive and complicated.

The war over Sharon Park

Another place where it is very important to build another track alongside the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway (Road 1), is on the four kilometer strip from Ganot Interchange until the entrance to Tel Aviv, where there are only three railway tracks. These tracks need to service six lines: both directions of the Jerusalem - Modiin - Ben Gurion Airport - Tel Aviv line; both directions of the Beersheva - Kiryat Gat - Na'an - Lod - Ramle - Tel Aviv line; and both directions of the future Tel Aviv - Jerusalem Fast line.

To prevent congestion at this junction at the eastern entrance to Tel Aviv, a fourth track needs to be added next to the three existing ones. The question is from which side of the road should a strip of land be taken to expand the tracks.

The main obstacle is 30 houses in the town of Azur, which were built on land that was zoned as a transportation expansion corridor. For decades, the authorities did nothing about it, and now a long legal battle is being waged with the tenants, with the latter being requested to vacate the land. A legal victory might not necessarily be reached in reasonable time.

Another possibility could be to use a 20-meter strip of land from Sharon Park for four kilometers, on the other side of Road 1. The use of a strip of land from Sharon Park would not require a legal battle, but after a tough battle outlawing any building within the Sharon Park area, the Planning Committee would like to avoid even the slightest encroachment into the park, lest the real estate developers demand that they too want to benefit from building on park land. The Ministry of Transport and the National Infrastructure Committee have not yet reached a decision.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 11, 2012

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012

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