"Just as last year, I will repeat and say again this time that the Light Rail Red Line will begin commercial operations before the end of this year and for the first time we will enjoy a very modern line that will provide a solution for an astronomical number of passengers - about 70 million a year and about 250,000 a day. The obligation of proof is ours and we will open this line," NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System CEO Haim Glik told a panel discussion today at the Globes Real Estate and Infrastructures Conference.
"The light rail will stop at every station," Glik added. "The station which is slightly behind schedule is Carlebach Station. This station is 52 meters deep with the Red and Green lines, a floor for the systems, the Carlebach underpass and above them all the street. It is a very advanced engineering project and this station will also open. It might be that at the very start there will be some snags just as there were at the start in Jerusalem. The public will have to get used to the light rail being around - that mainly means pedestrians, bicycle riders and the like.
He continued, "The cost of the project is NIS 18.6 billion. It is one of the most complicate projects ever undertaken in Israel. The digging started on February 15, 2015 so that after seven years NTA deserves a pat on the back. There was no rise in prices beyond what is reasonable. The light rail will operate throughout the week, except on Shabbat, as decided by the government."
Full disclosure: NTA is one of the sponsors of the Globes Real Estate and Infrastructures Conference
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 27, 2022.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2022.