Following the harsh criticism of the dire state of public transportation in Israel published this week by two international organizations, Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz is approving construction of the light rail to Ariel, the Ministry of Transport announced today.
Netivei Israel (National Transport Infrastructure Company) will construct the NIS 4 billion project, which will connect Ariel, Rosh HaAyin, and Petah Tikva. Katz ordered the company to assemble a planning team for the light rail project to Samaria, which will serve tens of thousands of residents and students at Ariel University.
The railway to Ariel is designed to relieve the traffic jams in the region and shorten the travel time from Ariel to central Israel. "Most Ariel residents work along the railway route and in the Barkan industrial zone. The light rail will enable them to reach their place of employment, shopping centers, and places of entertainment quickly and safely," Katz said today.
The light rail tracks will be separate from the main traffic arteries, and will optimally serve the transportation needs in the area. According to the Ministry of Transport, traffic jams in the area waste an estimated 277 million hours a year at an estimated annual cost of NIS 5.5 billion.
Today, public transportation service in the corridor proposed for the light railway between Ariel, Rosh HaAyin, and Petah Tikva (and a connection to Tel Aviv) consists of 160 buses a day in each direction and 30-40 buses in each direction during peak morning hours.
The project is currently in the planning stages. Three alternatives routes are under consideration for the line. The Ministry of Transport's currently preferred plan is to connect the light rail with the railway in Rosh HaAyin and the Petah Tikva railway station. In this alternative, Rosh HaAyin will also be connected to the Tel Aviv Light Rail Red Line.
The first alternative will directly connect Ariel and the northern Rosh HaAyin railway station along Road 5. The main centers along the route include Ariel University, stops along Jerusalem Boulevard in Ariel, the Barkan industrial zone, Elkana, the northern Rosh HaAyin industrial zone and Kfar Kassem, and the northern Rosh HaAyin railway station. Other than Jerusalem Boulevard in Ariel, the rest of the route passes along the Netivei Israel interurban road and the Israel Railways area near the railway station on Rosh HaAyin. This alternative is 29 kilometers long.
The second alternative connects Ariel and the eastern Rosh HaAyin interchange. West of the interchange, this route is the same as in the first alternative. This route passes along a future road in the planned business zone in the southeastern part of the Kessem interchange, and crosses Road 6 and Israel Railways on a different level. The route continues west from there parallel to the Israel Railways track, with stations in Segula and Kiryat Arie. The route ends in western Kiryat Arie, and will connected to the Red Line.
This 35.5-kilometer route crosses a number of local authorities, including Ariel, Rosh HaAyin, Kfar Kassem, Drom Hasharon, and Petah Tikva.
The third alternative is Ariel-Sirkin-Petah Tikva Central Bus Station. This route will connect Ariel and the eastern Rosh HaAyin interchange, and continues southward on Ben Gurion Street and Kibbutz Galuyot Street, from which it continues to Highway 444 and crosses Highway 6 and Israel Railways on a different level by way of Camp Sirkin or along Highway 483 from Ganim Junction. From there, its continues along HaRav Herzog Street in Petah Tikva, Kikar Hashoter, Yehoshua Stampfer Street, Hamaccabim Street, Orlov Street, and the Petah Tikva Central Bus Station, where it meets the Red Line.
The 34-kilometer route, which crosses a number of local authorities, including Ariel, Rosh HaAyin, Drom Hasharon, and Petah Tikva, is composed of three main sections.
Commenting on the Minister of Transport's announcement, Ariel Mayor Eli Shaviro said, "The railway is important news for the continued development of the city of Ariel. The city has 20,000 residents, a diverse industrial park, and a university. 15,000 students and tens of thousands more residents of the area for whom Ariel is a district capital visit the city daily. I thank Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz and his team for their joint work in establishing and promoting the city as the capital of Samaria."
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on March 15, 2018
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