Ra'anana station moved as final section of Metro approved

Metro credit: Bar Lavi
Metro credit: Bar Lavi

The M1 line northern section comprises 28 kilometers with 20 stations, which will link Kfar Saba and Ra'anana to the center of the metropolitan region via Herzliya, Hod Hasharon and Ramat Hasharon.

Israel's Planning Administration today announced that the National Infrastructure Committee has unanimously approved the last section of the M1 line north of the Metro mass transit project in the Greater Tel Aviv area. This means that all three lines of the entire Metro network have now been approved. The section of the plan approved today is the northern section of the M1 line, which was separated for approval from the central section due to objections from the Ra'anana and Kfar Saba municipalities.

The M1 line northern section comprises 28 kilometers with 20 stations, which will link Kfar Saba and Ra'anana to the center of the metropolitan region via Herzliya, Hod Hasharon and Ramat Hasharon.

Initial planning of the new route which extends the line eastwards, to Israel Railways eastern line, will be started by the Ministry of Transport in December 2025.

The change: Ra'anana West station will move

The committee's ruling after hearing objections allows opponents in Ra'anana to claim a victory. The Ra'anana West station will be relocated to provide a solution to the connection with the Israel Railways station and Loewenstein Hospital - Rehabilitation Center. However, claims by residents in one of Ra'anana's neighborhoods, who opposed the metro passing under their homes, on the grounds that the line did not serve the hospital, were rejected as part of the planning process. After significant political pressure was applied, a certain change was ultimately made to the original plan.

In addition, in a hearing in December 2023, the National Commission for Planning and Building decided on the issue of the depot, the location of which was opposed by the Kfar Saba municipality and the residents of its Yaroka neighborhood, and ruled it will remain in its current location near Kfar Saba, to prevent a significant delay in construction of the northern section of the Metro.

150 kilometers of tunnels and 109 stations

With approval of the plan today, initial planning of the largest and most complex transportation project ever in the State of Israel has been completed, including 150 kilometers of tunnels and 109 stations.

The Metro will be used by an estimated 450 million passengers per year (two million passengers per day). Now, with approval of the last section, the detailed planning phase of the entire metro system will begin.

Chairman of the National Planning Headquarters and Chairman of the Metropolitan Transport Authority, Rabbi Natan Elnatan said, "This is a historic day for the State of Israel. The State of Israel will join a number of countries with a quality mass transportation system. The Gush Dan (Greater Tel Aviv) metro system will change the face of the metropolis and significantly improve the lives of millions of residents. The Metro plans form the basis for urban development in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area."

Planning Administration CEO Rafi Elmaliach said, "The Planning Administration is working to promote a quality public transport network for the State of Israel. After the railway and light rail, we are today approving another tier in the mass transportation system - the Metro. This tier will complete an advanced, high-quality transportation network that will reduce traffic congestion in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area and improve the quality of life of residents. Alongside planning the Metro route, we are promoting a complementary move for the urban space of the metro stations (TAMA 70) that will combine housing, offices, commerce and leisure. We will begin the detailed planning phase that will bring us a step closer to building the network."

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 30, 2024

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024

Metro credit: Bar Lavi
Metro credit: Bar Lavi
Unframe founders credit: Yossi Yarom Israeli AI enterprise platform co Unframe raises $50m

Unframe’s turnkey AI solutions enable companies to solve any enterprise AI use case at scale with fully functional, customized AI solutions for businesses in a matter of hours, rather than months.

Combatica credit: Combatica Combatica launches next-gen VR AI training platform

The Israeli company's virtual reality platform includes 50 AI generated scenarios, seven maps and even situations for operating night vision.

Shekel credit: Shutterstock Vladirina 32 Shekel volatility after US tariffs announcement

The shekel is weakening sharply against the euro, which is gaining following the unveiling of Donald Trump's tariffs plan.

Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich credit: Noam Moskovitz Knesset Spokesperson Treasury assesses potential damage to Israel's US exports

Israel will be charged a higher tariff on its exports to the US - its biggest export customer - than Turkey and the UAE.

Iranian flag credit: Shutterstock Why inflation haunts Iran

With a month-on-month increase of 3.3% and an annual rate of 37.1%, inflation reflects the struggles of millions of Iranians.

APM merges with lawyers from Doron, Tikotzky Kantor, Gutman credit: Eyal Merilos APM merges with 12 lawyers from Doron, Tikotzky Kantor, Gutman

With the addition of these 12 lawyers, Amit Pollak Matalon & Co. will now have 135 lawyers.

US President Donald Trump credit: Reuters Sipa USA Israel on list as Trump unveils tariffs

Relatively low reciprocal tariffs will be imposed on Israeli goods sold in the US.

Deflated unicorn credit: Shutterstock Big Tech 50 reports more huge falls in startup valuations

Israeli R&D partnership Big Tech 50 reports that an investment of $2 million in Orcam made in 2021, shrank to just $31,000 at the end of 2024.

NextFerm technologies based on yeast credit: NextFerm Food-tech co NextFerm suspends operations

The company, which produces food ingredients in yeast without genetic engineering, cannot pay its debts and is seeking a buyer.

Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich credit: Shlomi Yosef OECD sees recovery in growth but high inflation

The OECD Israel Economic Survey 2025 recommends that the Israeli government take several restraining measures, in order to exit the economic storm created by the war.

Dano Ben-Hur credit: Dror Sithakol Statisticians contradict BoI on impact of housing finance deals

The Central Bureau of Statistics insists the impact of 20/80 buy now pay later financing deals on the real estate market and housing prices is minimal.

Governor of the Bank of Israel Amir Yaron  credit: Government Press Office Debt fears top Bank of Israel's concerns

Most unusually, Governor of the Bank of Israel Amir Yaron's press conference last week did not focus on inflation and the impending interest rate decision.

US President Donald Trump  credit: Reuters/Leah Millis Israel moves to avoid Trump's tariffs axe

Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich has signed an order canceling all tariffs on imports from the US. The impact will mostly be on agricultural produce.

Forbes Rich List credit: Shutterstock Maslowski Marcin Wiz founders ranked in Forbes 2025 Rich List

There are a few dozen Israelis listed in the 2025 Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List including Wiz founders Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Roy Reznik and Ami Luttwak.

SatixFy CEO Nir Barkan credit: Ariel Barkan Canada's MDA Space to buy Israeli satcom co SatixFy

MDA Space will pay $269 million for the Israeli company, including taking on a $76 million debt and a 75% premium on SatixFy's closing price on Nasdaq yesterday.

Raising dollars credit: Shutterstock Israeli startups raised over $1b in March

Israeli privately-held tech companies have raised $2.1 billion in the first three months of 2025, according to IVC-LeumiTech, up 24% from the corresponding quarter of 2024.

Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018