Israel Railways last week published two large-scale railway tenders in the framework of the Highway 431 railway project (Sorek railway). The project includes laying two new tracks along this highway connecting the Moshe Dayan and Rishonim Railway stations in Rishon Lezion to the Paatei Modi'in railway station and the high-speed railway to Jerusalem at the Anava Interchange. Completion of the NIS 3 billion project is projected in 2025. The project will complete the railway loop surrounding the greater Tel Aviv region.
Two new passenger railways stations, one in southern Ramle and one in Me'uyan Sorek near Rishon Lezion, will be built as part of the Highway 431 railway project, which will also include a 3.5-kilometer bridge, the longest in Israel. The project will also connect the Negev railway track passing through Rishon Lezion to the high-speed railway and Modi'in.
The tenders published now involved two segments of track in the first route for the section between the Rishonim railway station and the planned station in southern Ramle. The section contains 5.5 kilometers of track, two railway bridges, a tunnel, and a command and control structure. The second, for the section between south Ramle and the Nesharim Interchange, contains 4.5 kilometers of track and four railway bridges.
30 kilometers full of engineering challenges
Israel Railways said today that additional tenders in the project would be published during the coming year, and would include, among other things, construction of six railway bridges, a railway tunnel, a network of support walls, and other engineering infrastructure.
The total length of the railway track in the project, which will be electrified, is 30 kilometers. The project poses unique engineering challenges, including long bridges, underground passages, tunnels, and two new railway stations, in addition to upgrading and extending platforms at the Rishonim station.
The planned 3.5-kilometer bridge in the project along Highway 431 will stretch from the Kiryat Rishon Interchange to the Rishonim station. There will be three tunnels 20 meters underground under Highway 20 in the area of the Mevo Ayalon Interchange and the southern Ramle area, ranging in length from 250 to 450 meters.
The Highway 431 railway project will be the southern section of the railway loop surrounding the greater Tel Aviv region. The northern section will be the Sharon railway built by the National Transport Infrastructure Company (Netivei Israel) along Highway 531, including two railway stations in Ra'anana, which was inaugurated last July. The section connecting the Ra'anana stations to a station in Herzliya will be completed in 2019, thereby shortening railway travel time from Ra'anana to Tel Aviv by 20 minutes.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 2, 2018
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