The subcommittee for important infrastructure plans yesterday approved the plan for the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Light Railway Red Line.
The light railway project consists of two detailed regional outline plans. The first, in the Tel Aviv region, includes the 22-km Red Line from Bat Yam to the Geha junction, with an estimated travel time of 43 minutes.
The second includes a line from the Geha junction to the Petah Tikva central bus station. Both plans were deposited for public scrutiny at the end of January 2002.
The Red Line starts in Bat Yam, runs through Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, and Bnei Brak, and finishes in Petah Tikva. In Tel Aviv, the line is above ground from Jerusalem Blvd. to Manshieh, and is underground north of Manshieh.
The line will be completely underground in the 7.5 km from Manshieh, through Ramat Gan, to the border of Bnei Brak. The National Planning and Building Council recently approved the Red Line plan for deposit.
The Tel Aviv Regional Planning and Building Board promoted the Red Line plan submitted by NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System. Faitelson, Shilo, Jacobson - Architects and Mesilot drew up the plan.
32 stops are planned on the light railway line, including 11 underground. 13 stops are planned in Tel Aviv, six of which are underground. The average distance between above ground stops is 400-500 meters, while the distance between underground stops averages 750 meters.
Almost 700 objections to the Red Line were filed, mostly by residents and merchants on Jerusalem Blvd. in Jaffa. 30 objections were filed outside Jaffa. 16 objections to the second line were filed.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on March 12, 2003