Jerusalem light rail

Jerusalem light rail
Citadis train on the Calatrava bridge
Basic information
Country	Israel
city	Jerusalem
opening	August 19, 2011
operator	CityPass as a concessionaire
Infrastructure
Route length	13.8 km
Gauge	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Greatest inclination	90  ‰
Power system	750 V DC overhead line
Stops	23
Depots	1
business
Lines	1
vehicles	46 Alstom Citadis 302
Top speed	60 km / h
statistics
Passengers	70,000 per day (mean, April 2012)
Routing

The Jerusalem light rail ( Hebrew הרכבת הקלה בירושלים HaRakevet hakala biruschalajim , English Jerusalem Light Rail Transit ) is a tram in Jerusalem built by Alstom and Connex and opened on August 19, 2011 . It currently consists of a single line (L1) between Pisgat Ze'ev and Herzlberg , with a length of 13.8 kilometers and 23  stops . The landmark of the route is the 118 meter high Calatrava bridge built by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava . This suspension bridge , called the White Harp , was inaugurated three years earlier, on June 25, 2008, and is reserved for trams and pedestrians. Due to the inclusion of Jewish-populated districts in the eastern part of Jerusalem , which has been occupied by Israel since 1967 , the project is politically controversial and the subject of calls for a Palestinian boycott.

Prehistory of rail-operated local transport in Jerusalem

Early ideas for a tram system in Jerusalem were presented in 1892 in connection with the opening of the Jaffa – Jerusalem railway line by the engineer George Franjieh, who came from Lebanon and who was involved in the planning of this line. This network was supposed to connect Jerusalem with Bethlehem or Ein Kerem , but the idea had no response from the outset.

In 1910, an advertisement in the Havazelet announced that the authorities at the time were planning to build it by asking for bids “for the construction of electric cars”, that is, the construction of a tram network. In 1914 the authorities of the Ottoman Empire finally concluded a concession agreement with the Greek entrepreneur Mavrommatis for the construction of a tram and the expansion of the water and electricity supply in Jerusalem. However, work was delayed because of the First World War , at the end of which Palestine was placed under the administration of Great Britain . The British government refused to recognize the treaty with Mavrommatis . They re-awarded the concession to a British entrepreneur. However, since the XII. Additional protocol to the Treaty of Lausanne provided that the concessions awarded by the Ottoman authorities up to and including 1914 were to be observed by the British government, this case came before the Permanent International Court of Justice . On August 30, 1924, this announced his decision under the title " Mavrommatis Palestine Concessions " .

To what extent the operation of a light rail by the British Army in 1918 as a tram and thus in fulfillment of the concession now awarded by the British authorities as a tram , which was presented in the Israeli national daily Ha'aretz , was practically forgotten until then, in connection with the opening of the new light rail The forerunner of today's light rail is to be seen, but according to the well-known photos it is more likely to be classified as a steam-powered narrow-gauge railway. Nevertheless, the 30 km long route from the German colony (Moschawa germanit) in the south of Jerusalem via Giv'at Ram and today's parliamentary grounds along the Valley of the Cross, Giv'at Ha-Mivtar, French Hill , Shu'afat to Al -Bireh , a suburb of Ramallah , through today's (or built-up) urban area. However, after only four months of construction (May to September 1918), it was only operated for a few months: by the end of 1918 it was no longer needed and was dismantled a few months later.

Nothing is known about further plans for local rail transport in Jerusalem, in particular for the British concession after the First World War. For the history of the railroad in the British Mandate Palestine see also under: Palestine Railways .

Planning and construction of the light rail

planning

Jaffa Street in June 2006 still without a light rail

The city reacted to the rapidly growing need for transport with the population, also against the background of the politically difficult situation in Israel , until well beyond the 1970s only with an increasing number of roads and more and more extensive plans for city highways and sub-tunnels, the public being carried out exclusively by buses Local public transport lost more and more of its attractiveness and passengers due to the increasing congestion problem and terrorist attacks. However, from the 1980s onwards, this also prepared the ground for a fundamentally new and integrated planning approach.

The conceptual plans for the light rail system are based on the Integrated Transport Plan for Jerusalem, which was systematically prepared and set up from the 1980s onwards against the background of the traffic problems described. In this respect, this approach corresponds to the known approaches from Europe.

The integrated transport plan for Jerusalem envisaged in the section " Transport Solutions " ( Transportation Solutions ) to abandon the Tel Aviv - Jerusalem from Jerusalem-Malcha to Jerusalem railway line , but to renovate and modernize it between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem-Malcha, and from this point onwards (new to be built) station to connect the line underground in a semicircle below Jerusalem to the high-speed line Tel Aviv - Jerusalem, which was already in conceptual planning .

Above ground, a system of three light rail lines (two radial and one tangential line ) with branches was to be created:

1. A south-west-north-east line from Hadassah Hospital via Herzlberg, the central bus station (ZOB), the city center and the old town as well as Ammunition Hill to Shu'afat, there branching into a line to Pisgat Ze'ev and on to Neveh Ya 'akov and another via Beit Hanina to Shikunei Nusseiba. Between Herzlberg and Pisgat Ze'ev it is the tram that opened in 2011.
2. A west-east line from Giv'at Sha'ul via the central bus station (with a short turn to the government district), on via Tel Arza and Ammunition Hill to the university campus on Mount Scopus as well
3. a north-west-south-east line from Ramot, the high-tech industrial area of ​​Har Hotzvim, Tel Arza, the city center finally southwest to the German Colony and from there with two branches on the one hand along the abandoned railway line to Jerusalem-Malcha and on the other south via Talpiot to Gilo .

In 1995, the then mayor of Jerusalem, Ehud Olmert , declared enthusiastically that the tram system in the city center would be completed within five years. At the same time, the concrete planning had only just begun at this point. This planned light rail system of the Integrated Transport Plan was modified several times and, above all, also reduced, until the end of the 1990s only the now built line as a light rail and the north-west-south-east line between Ramot and Talpiot as a metro bus route were to be expanded (see map at Frey - see bibliography.)

With the decision to renew the entire water and sewage system in the area of ​​the line at the same time as the construction of the tram, it was inevitable that the construction would take considerably longer than Ehud Olmert initially promised: the tram started operating in 2000 therefore unrealistic from the start.

In 2000, the bidding process for the building and operator concession based on the “ Build-Operate-Transfer ” model began, which was awarded in 2002 to the (then) concessionaire Connex Jerusalem Ltd. (later transferred to CityPass ).

Although it took almost 17 years from the start of planning in 1995 to the start of operations in 2011, and even in 2009 the then newly elected mayor Nir Barkat would have preferred to abandon the project and install a metro bus system ( Bus Rapid Transit , BRT) due to the slow progress , those in charge stuck to it . The fascination of the project itself, the growing environmental awareness and also the improved financial situation of the city of Jerusalem in the last few years not only led to the start of operations, but also to plans for further light rail routes and route extensions, some of which are in preliminary planning and some have already been approved. See the section on further planning .

Concession

Connex Jerusalem Ltd. , a subsidiary of Veolia Transportation , was awarded the concession to build and operate the first tram line in Israel in 2002 . From the Israeli standard SI 5350 (details under: Operation - Basics ) , however, analogous to the German BOStrab, the operation itself is strictly between the operator part "entrepreneur" (§ 7 SI 5350, analogous to § 7 BOStrab, referred to as a concessionaire in Jerusalem ) and the operator part "operation" (§ 8 SI 5350, analogous to § 8 BOStrab, referred to in Jerusalem as operator ). In the aftermath, the Israeli side insisted that the operator's license be split up and that the operator's part "entrepreneur", i.e. the license holder, should become an Israeli company. At this instigation, this part was transferred to the CityPass consortium . The "operation" part, i.e. the actual operator, remained with Connex Jerusalem Ltd. (today Veolia Transportation ), which in this context was granted a (temporary) “dwarf share” in the CityPass concessionaire .

As of the end of 2011, the concessionaire CityPass was made up of a consortium of the companies Alstom (20% of the shares, vehicles , technical equipment), Ashtrom (27.5%, Israeli construction and real estate group), the financiers Harel (20%) and Polar Investments (17.5%), the Israel Infrastructure Funds (10%) and Veolia Transportation (formerly Connex Jerusalem Ltd. , 5%) as operators together; the contract for rail operations is expected to run until 2036. As it became known, Veolia (including Veolia Transportation ) wanted to withdraw from all concessions at the end of 2011 (i.e. both the share in the concessionaire and as the operator), but this was prevented by state intervention.

Under Connex Jerusalem Ltd. was Citadis Israel established, an Israeli company that belongs to Alstom and the technical equipment was entrusted with the installation, commissioning and maintenance.

construction

The construction work on Jaffa Strait in June 2009 (at this point half of the vehicles had already been delivered)

"Grotesque planning errors, years of delays, immense costs, political disputes about the route and fundamental doubts about the sense of the 13.8-kilometer route accompanied the construction of the tram."

It was not until December 2005 - more than five years after the first announced opening date - that the actual construction of the line began with the laying of the first tracks . Due to improper execution work, however, the tracks had to be removed and re-laid. This alone extended the construction time by two years, which led to the situation that although the first vehicles were delivered from May 7, 2008, the route was only halfway completed by then.

Further delays arose in Shu'afat when the remains of a late Roman settlement (ordered rows of houses facing north and the remains of two bathhouses) were discovered during construction. Construction work in this section was suspended for several months, as no construction progress was possible during the archaeological excavations.

The trial operation on the only partially completed route began on February 24, 2010, and construction was completed on June 15, 2010.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the construction cost was around NIS 4 billion (about € 800 million). With costs of around 58 million euros per kilometer (including vehicles and infrastructure), the Jerusalem light rail system is significantly more expensive than comparable light rail systems newly built in recent years.

The cover of the selected " solid track " design was, however, removed in large sections of the route directly next to the two rails just a few weeks after the start of operations and had to be re-installed as part of the warranty. The affected areas were temporarily filled with asphalt. The reason was that the concrete paving stones used for the cover were only insufficiently connected to the concrete base plate and were peeling off. In this way, they represented a significant obstacle for the fully clad vehicles, which only tolerate a height difference of a few centimeters above the track.

Controversy

The route leads from Damascus Gate to Shim'on Ha-Tsadik along the 1967 demarcation line and further north to the part of Jerusalem that is claimed by the Palestinian Authority as state territory. Pisgat Ze'ev as the northern end point of the line has led to protests by the autonomy authority since the beginning of the planning, as this district was built from 1982 in the eastern part of the city, which was occupied during the Six Day War in 1967 and has been controversial since then.

Light rail on the New Adam Bridge, in the background Pisgat Ze'ev (October 2011)

From the perspective of the Israeli Jerusalem Law , urban areas such as French Hill and Pisgat Ze'ev are seen as an inseparable part of (Israeli) Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority, on the other hand, takes the view that this light rail connection will permanently and permanently prevent East Jerusalem from becoming the capital of a Palestinian state within the framework of a two-state solution. For example, in 2009 she sought support abroad to prevent the construction of the light rail.

As the Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported, the PLO in France tried to force Veolia and Alstom to give up the light rail project in Jerusalem because it violated international law , and the bureau chief of the Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas called on all Arab states to boycott Veolia. In addition, the Arab states were asked to end their connection to all companies connected to the light rail system in Jerusalem (i.e. beyond the French companies Veolia and Alstom). This was preceded by the withdrawal of the Dutch ASN bank from financing the project in response to this pressure.

The complaints filed were dismissed on May 30, 2011 by the 6th Chamber of the Nanterre Regional Court and by the Paris Administrative Court on October 28, 2011, and Veolia was exonerated of the allegations.

Before the start of operations, there were demands to offer separate seating areas for men and women in individual parts of the car for particularly strict Haredic Jews, similar to the Mehadrin bus lines . This demand was supported by Yair Naveh , among others . However, the demand met with overwhelming rejection and also ran counter to a ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court that declared gender segregation on public transport to be illegal in 2011. There is a dedicated security staff for general security.

A currently significant controversy - according to press reports, it is about 500 million NIS (about 100 million euros) - is apparently the one between the Jerusalem Transport Master Plan Team , which acts as a technical supervisory authority according to the Israeli standard SI 5350 (see under: Operation - Basics ) , and the CityPass concessionaire , whereby the Jerusalem Transport Master Plan Team mainly accuses the Citypass concessionaire of having offered the entire system too cheaply from the outset despite knowledge of the existing difficulties, while CityPass counters the price increases by the authority itself caused. This controversy led to an ongoing arbitration process that went on for years.

Route description

Line L 1

Legend 'Heil Ha-Avir further construction planned Sayeret Dukhifat Pisgat Ze'ev Center Yekuti'el Adam New Adam Bridge Old Adam Bridge (Highway 60) Beit 'Hanina (in-house: Shuafat North) Shu'afat (in-house: Shuafat Center) Es-Sahl (in-house: Shuafat South) depot Giv'at-Ha Mivtar (internal: French Hill ) Ammunition Hill Shim'on Ha-Tsadik Shivtei Israel Damascus Gate City Hall Jaffa Center (in-house: King George) Ha-Davidka Mahane Yehuda Ha-Turim (internal: Jaffa West) Central Station Calatrava Bridge (via Kikar Shitrit) Route planned Kiryat Moshe (in-house: Ben Dor) He-'Haluts (internal: Haft Square) Denia Square Yefeh Nof Mount Herzl Sweeping system, further construction planned

Course of the route

Line L 1 begins in the northern district of Pisgat Ze'ev, initially in the middle of Sderot Moshe Dayan street to the “Sayeret Dukhifat” stop, then in an eastern lateral position to “Yekuti'el Adam”.

House painting of the CitéCréation on Jaffa Street for the new tram

From here to Beit 'Hanina, a new route based on the road layout was created, for which a bridge was built on the slope, among other things. The existing bridge was widened for the overpass over Autobahn 60. The route through the Arab district of Shu'afat (from the Beit 'Hanina stop) is in the middle of the Derech Shuafat, whose lane has been narrowed from four to two vehicle lanes.

At the Giv'at Ha-Mivtar ( French Hill ) stop , the train changes to the side of Sderot Haim Bar Lov and leads from here to the Damascus Gate (from Shim'on Ha-Tsadik in the middle position) exactly along the demarcation line between west and east -Jerusalem . From the Damascus Gate to the junction with the Jaffa Street is the section with grass track (approx. 300 m). From there, the entire and once heavily used Jaffa Street has been converted into a pedestrian zone to the “Central Station” (ZOB) stop . At this point, construction is currently underway on Jerusalem's new central station: in 2019, the future high-speed line from Tel Aviv is to end in it at a depth of 80 meters .

Behind the central bus station , the Sderot Herzl is reached via the Calatrava bridge, the landmark of the tram. After a short stretch on the western side, you drive to He-'Haluts in the central position. Between He-'Haluts and Yefeh Nof, the four-lane road - along which the tram now runs sideways - has been narrowed to two lanes, one lane of which in the direction of Herzlberg may only be used by buses and taxis . From Yefeh Nof to the end station Herzlberg (hereinafter with the official name: Mount Herzl) the route is again in the middle of the Kiryat Hayovel Street.

Technical equipment

With the exception of a short section along the city wall of the Old City of Jerusalem , which was designed as a grass track, the double-track line with the standard gauge of 1435 millimeters is of the " slab track " design. There are emergency routes 60 centimeters wide on both sides.

The line is equipped with a post-tensioned single contact line with a voltage of 750 volts DC . The maximum route speed is 60 km / h.

Access to property in Sderot Herzl with barrier and red spring light (November 2011)

As a special feature, there are private property driveways on the route, which vehicles can only reach by driving over the track area. During the planning phase, the respective owners ensured that these property entrances received their own security with barrier systems and red spring lights. There are a total of seven such driveways on the entire route: one each between Pisgat Ze'ev Center and Yekuti'el Adam and between Giv'at Ha-Mivtar and Ammunition Hill, and five between He-'Haluts and Denia Square, of which two are two property entrances are right next to each other and can therefore be controlled at the same time. In practice, these barriers are operated every time a light rail train crosses, that is, not on request or when needed.

Behind the two final stops' Heil Ha-Avir and Herzlberg there are turning systems with two tracks each for two train units (i.e. for a total of four trains), sweeping takes place via double track changes that are not used according to a fixed plan. These crossings are in 'Heil Ha-Avir in front of the terminus, in Mount Herzl behind it.

The five platform changes are (as seen from Herzlberg) after the Denia Square, Central Station, Damascus Gate stops, just before the Ammunition Hill stop and again behind the Beit 'Hanina stop and are used for the sweeping of trains as required. The Damascus Gate stop also has a sweeping track in the middle position, which, however, like the track changes, can only be reached using manually operated switches , which have to be reset after being driven on by the train drivers.

Since double trains with a length of around 65 meters are regularly used, all platforms were designed with a uniform length of 75 meters. They are all on a straight stretch of road, usually to the right of the direction of travel, with the exception of the Shivtei Israel, Es-Sahl, Shu'afat and 'Heil Ha-Avir stops, which are in the middle (exit on the left). They are completely handicapped accessible with a special guidance system in the floor.

View of the depot in November 2011

Central facilities

The depot with the workshops and a size of about four hectares located in East Jerusalem in the district Anata ( 31.80894 °  N , 35.23843 °  O ), a few hundred meters from one of the large border crossings in the West Bank removed and by French Hill reached from by two interconnected single track lines. Only in the depot itself is there a double track change in order to then freely reach the sidings, the workshops and the washing facility.

The center for the entire operation and control center is located in the depot . The management of the concessionaire and the operations management of the operator as well as the entire management of the maintenance area are also based in the main building of the Anata depot.

The Calatrava Bridge

Calatrava Bridge - the "White Harp"

At the end of May 2008 the suspension bridge over the Kikar Shitrit was erected and assembled. The "white harp" was designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava . 66 white steel cables with a thickness of 4 cm are guyed to a 118-meter-high white pylon, which - in addition to the pillars located outside the Kikar Shitrit - carry the load of the 4500-ton bridge structure, the superstructure of which is also completely white. The Calatrava Bridge can be seen from afar on Autobahn 1 at the approach from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, making it a new landmark in the city.

For the design, Calatrava is said to have been inspired by Psalm 150 ("Praise HIM with trumpets, praise HIM with psalteries and harps"). The comparison with the Kinnor of King David should, however, go back specifically to Mayor Uri Lupolianski , who played a decisive role in the realization of the building project. On June 25, 2008, the 49 million euro bridge was inaugurated with a festival of lights in the presence of the architect, the mayor and the prime minister Ehud Olmert . Calatrava admitted that he had built over 40 bridges around the world, “but on these I am proud of the bridge ”.

business

Basics

Traffic signs in Pisgat Ze'ev: Compliance with the German tram construction and operating regulations (BOStrab) is clearly recognizable, in the foreground a signal for the block zone of the siding

The Israeli standard SI 5350, which became binding for light rail vehicles in 2005, corresponds to the English translation of the German BOStrab . This means driving on sight (§ 49 SI 5350, translated from § 49 BOStrab) and the technical signaling is translated from Appendix 4 to BOStrab (SI 5350). However, the seven restricted crossings are not secured with level crossing signals on the railway side , as they are closed each time they are driven on and then reopened.

Nevertheless, to nine percent all the sections with more than seven percent gradient (seven sections) and in addition the western track Calatrava Bridge as were because of the presence on the track climbs to block zones ( block sections ) and is separately, that is about the in Section 49 SI 5350 (translated from Section 49 BOStrab) signaled, so that a total of eight "block zones" are available on the route. Two further block zones are located on the driveway to the depot in Anata. Block zones also secure the installation tracks in the two terminal stops.

The operation is technically controlled by an AVLS ( Automatic Vehicle Control System , computer-aided operations control system ), which is monitored in the Operation and Control Center (OCC) . The data is transmitted with the Mirs system , developed in Israel , which also transmits the requirement for unimpeded priority rights to the tram to (in the final stage) over 60 traffic  lights .

The tram is equipped with a horn and a warning bell to warn other road users , the closing of the door is announced with a humming sound and monitored by light barriers.

As is customary in road traffic in Israel, the stations are signposted in three languages ​​- Hebrew , Arabic and English -, on the trains in the line tape they are indicated alternately in these languages ​​and also announced on tape before each stop. Depending on whether the station name differs from the Hebrew name or not, the additional announcement in Arabic and / or English can be omitted.

safety

Israel is at safety as Anglo American usage between safety ( "reliability") and security ( "security attack") strictly distinguished. While the "operational security" was secured by the application of the Israeli standard SI 5350 (BOStrab) and checked by an international consortium, above all by the German TÜV Nord Systems , the "security against attacks" was a significant point of discussion during the planning phase. The main focus was on the route through an Arab quarter, the shared use of the train by Arabs and Jews, and the security measures in the cars themselves.

Technically, the "security against attack" was reflected primarily in the vehicle concept with the full paneling of the vehicles and the installation of bulletproof windows. In addition, a large number of internal service instructions and a private security service ensure security in this regard. The original objective of operating the light rail during the Sabbath period has also been abandoned due to safety concerns.

Incidentally, ensuring "security against attacks" and combating such attacks is a permanent task of the police , who also have considerable rights to intervene and issue instructions right through to ongoing operations.

Start of operations

Jaffa Street Light Rail (November 2011)

The opening was rescheduled four times: When the original opening date was planned for January 2009, CityPass had also won the tender on this date . Even this date meant a delay of nine years compared to Ehud Olmert's promises. Due to financial problems and the lack of trained staff, the date was initially moved to August 2010. At this point in time - the construction was just two months ago - it had also become apparent that the tram's signaling system was incompatible with the Israeli system of junction signaling, and CityPass was forced to apply for a further extension, this time until April 2011. But since these problems persisted and other security issues were also unresolved, the date was postponed again and set for August 2011. A number of technical problems were not resolved in August either.

A few days before the opening, the concessionaire CityPass announced in public that it would hold onto the opening on August 19, 2011 with a "limited operation". For its part, the city administration had decided in advance to offer free use of the system until September 1, 2011, because there were problems with the ticket machines (this was then extended several times, finally until November 30, 2011). At the same time it was decided to keep the parallel bus traffic until "full operation", that is, the contractually agreed status, had been achieved.

Operation began on that day with 14 trains without a major opening ceremony. Because of the problems, the journey time was estimated at 70 minutes for the entire route. This corresponded to a cycle of ten to twelve minutes and, converted to the total length of the route, a cruising speed of around 12 km / h. The experiences of the travelers on the opening day were in the focus of the newspapers, also abroad, after all over 40,000 passengers were carried on this Friday until the end of operations at 3 p.m.

Although there were several further intermediate stages in 2011 and still in 2012 until full operation, December 1, 2011 was officially selected as the opening day .

Timetable

The Jerusalem light rail runs from Sunday to Thursday from 5:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., on Fridays from 5:30 a.m. to around one hour before the Sabbath begins. On Saturday evenings, about half an hour after the end of the Sabbath, the first trains leave the depots and run again until midnight. Even on Jewish holidays, which prohibit work such as Yom Kippur , the train stops, while it only temporarily interrupts operations on national commemorative days such as Shoah and Jerusalem Day .

While only a limited number of 14 trains were permitted immediately after the opening, the number was increased to 18 at the end of November 2011. An international testing consortium confirmed in mid-February 2012 that the technical safety permits the use of the full number of 21 trains. At the same time, not all traffic lights were in operation (51 of 60 in the final expansion) and the radio-technical problems had not yet been completely resolved, which resulted in problems in the operational and service quality.

In "full operation", which has not yet been offered, the tram should run every 4½ minutes in the morning peak, every 5 minutes in the afternoon peak, every 8 minutes during the day (every 6 minutes on Fridays) and every 12 minutes outside of these times. 42 minutes of travel time (this corresponds to a cruising speed of around 20 km / h) should be achieved from one end point to the other with normal operation.

Tariff

The originally planned two-week period of free use of the tram (calculated from the start of operations on August 19, 2011) has been extended several times due to problems with the ticket sales system. It was not until December 1, 2011 that the use of the tram became chargeable. Single tickets are valid for 90 minutes, they must be purchased at one of the vending machines before entering the car and validated immediately after entering the car (stamped). There are no plans to sell tickets on the trains. In the office of the operating company CityPass in the Central Bus Terminal, a rechargeable chip card called RavKav can be purchased free of charge in order to avoid queues in front of the ticket machine . The respective trip is validated on the chip card without contact at a column inside each car.

The original retail price of a single ticket of 6.40 NIS was increased to 6.60 NIS (around 1.40 euros) on January 1, 2012. Children under five and soldiers can use the tram free of charge. With the general alignment of tariffs across Israel in 2016, the fare for the tram was also changed to NIS 5.90. In addition, it is now possible for all RavKav owners with day or week tickets as well as single tickets (up to 90 minutes) to change between trams and buses without having to pay again.

The density of checks in the cars is high. Failure to buy or validate a ticket costs a fine of 168.00 NIS (around 35 euros). From the beginning of 2012, this fine led to a large number of complaints about non-functioning ticket machines at the stations or validators in the vehicles because the inspectors were also petty and too rude. A total of 13,000 fines were imposed in the first four months of 2012. The massive complaints prompted the Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, to call on Israel's Minister of Transport, Israel Katz , to revoke CityPass ' concession.

vehicles

Citadis 302 for the JLRT in the Anata depot 2009

For the operation part 46, a total of five low-floor vehicles of the type Citadis 302 to 32.516 meters in length provided, the two are fixedly connected to each other. In order to be able to cope with the inclines of up to nine percent in the route network, all axles of the vehicles are driven. According to the manufacturer, they have 56 seats and an additional eight folding seats and 164 standing places (for 4 people / m²), are equipped with bulletproof panes and their mechanical parts have been completely covered.

Of the 23 trains formed from this, a maximum of 21 are used in the morning peak per day, which means that an availability of 95 percent must be guaranteed. The first 30 vehicles were delivered in 2008, and on May 7, 2008 the first vehicle reached the depot in Anata.

The maintenance of the vehicles is carried out by Citadis Israel Maintenance in the Anata depot.

Remaining problems and further planning

In May 2010, the city presented the new transport plan, which, according to those responsible, should define the framework for the next five years. Not only was the extension of the now existing light rail line presented as part of the program, but also the construction of a second light rail line. According to the press, this will connect the university campus of Giv'at Ram with that of Mount Scopus . Since the government district is also connected in this way, this would largely correspond to the west-east line from the integrated transport plan .

Problems that remained at the opening, such as priority for traffic lights, air conditioning of the vehicles, the ticket sales system as well as electrical and communications problems were essentially resolved by January 2012 as a prerequisite for "full operation". However, there are still significant problems with the quality of service. However, since, contrary to the announcement prior to the opening of operations, parallel bus services were abolished in the first months of 2012, with 54 bus routes either being completely canceled or only running to a tram stop, there are considerable coordination problems at the transfer points as well for many passengers, the change means significantly extending their daily travel time .

The extensions in the north to Neve Yaakov and in the south to Hadassah Hospital are already well advanced under construction (as of October 2017), the railway body has largely been built and the roads have been adapted. With the extension, the south-west-north-west line provided for in the integrated transport plan will be completed. At the end of December 2011, the southern extension to Kiryat Hayovel and a branch from the previously existing line to Giv'at Sha'ul were approved (this corresponds to part of the west-east line of the Integrated Transport Plan ). On the construction side, however, these are to be created independently by state or municipal companies; a new operator model or integration into the existing one was strictly rejected. The existing tram line will be extended by 6.8 km and the 46 existing trains will be renewed. A new green line is being built. It is scheduled to open in 2024 and will be 20.6 km long. 53 new stops will be built on both lines. 114 CAF Urbos will be delivered for the green line.

Security incidents

Overall, since its eventual commissioning, the light rail system has been a very successful and low-conflict project by Israeli standards, which all sections of the population - Orthodox Jews , seculars , Palestinians , Christians and Arabs , locals and tourists - use equally. Some observers therefore even describe it as a peace-building measure in public space . However, there are occasional conflicts.

• On October 10, 2011, the windshield of a tram broke when a stone was thrown at it , and there were no injuries. This form of violence is not unknown in Jerusalem and was foreseen at the planning stage: This was also one of the reasons to extensively protect the vehicles against any kind of attack, even if these stone-throws were never publicly discussed, but rather the discussion itself limited to bomb attacks.

• On March 15, 2012, a Palestinian attacked a Jew in the light rail (in this case a Jewish soldier) for the first time: at the Beit 'Hanina stop in northern Shu'afat, he stabbed the young woman several times with a knife and fled. She survived this attack thanks to fortunate circumstances; Security personnel were not present in the car at this time.

• At the onset of winter in mid-December 2013, the tram had to temporarily stop operating.

• On July 2, 2014, when a schoolboy from Shu'afat was kidnapped and murdered, riots broke out in the Shu'afat and Beit Hanina areas through which the train ran, which made it necessary to stop operations on this section of the route. Among other things, stops were set alight. The damage required days of repair work. It was not until July 13 that the whole route could be used again, although the stations in Shu'afat were initially not served.

• After this incident, stones were thrown almost every day in the Arab quarters on the railway, which the Palestinians increasingly regard as a symbol of the Israeli occupation.

• On October 22, 2014, an East Jerusalem man attacked the Ammunition Hill bus stop. He drove his car at passengers just leaving the train, killing a baby. As a result, another person died from her injuries. As a result, the US State Department issued a temporary ban on its staff from using the railway line in East Jerusalem.

• On November 5, 2014, a similar attack occurred on Shim'on Ha-Tsadik Station, in which a border police officer was killed. The assassin was shot dead on the tracks by the police. In response to these attacks, some stops were secured with concrete blocks.

literature

• HaRakevet No. 88 (2010), pp. 9f; Eisenbahn-Revue International, issue 5/2010, p. 244, gaz: First trips on the Jerusalem tram.
• Main-Echo, 23 August 2011, page 8 (according to a dpa report) Web link to the introduction to the chargeable article
• Jan Schapira: With the tram through the holy city. Jerusalem Line 1 . Die Welt, April 2014 - Virtual city tour of Jerusalem by tram , accessed on August 3, 2014.

Web links

Commons : Jerusalem Light Rail  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Operator's website (English / Hebrew)
• Article from the online presence of the Haaretz ( Heb. And English_1. , English_2 , English_3 & English_4 )
• Sabine Brandes: Zion's new train - after years of delay, the tram should finally go into operation. Jewish General, August 18, 2011

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Birgit Frey, Martin Frey: Under the white harp. In: Tram magazine , issue 1/2009, p. 60.
2. ↑ George Potterell: A tramway project in Jaffa. In: Harakevet ., No. 6, 1989, p 11. Harakevet to German: The railroad is, as a private publication edited by Rabbi Walter Rothschild , whose first editions are only available as copy version and the editor successively under www.harakevetmagazine.com general to be provided.
3. ^ ^{A b} Nir Hasson: Jerusalem light rail to finally get on track after 101 years. In: Ha'aretz , June 7, 2011, last accessed on May 22, 2012. Although this article claims that nothing is known about this, evidence of this could be found here in the German-language Wikipedia.
4. ^ ^{A b c} Robert Daniel, Marc Render: From Mule Tracks to Light Rail Transit Tracks - Integrating Modern Infrastructure into an Ancient City - Jerusalem, Israel. (PDF; 6.5 MB) pp. 768/769. Last accessed on May 22, 2012.
5. ↑ A map of Transportation Solutions can be found here (PDF; 6.5 MB). On p. 770 the now opened line is marked in yellow
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Oz Rosenberg: Jerusalem's Light Rail System opens to the public after years of delays. In: Ha'aretz , August 19, 2011, last accessed on July 12, 2012.
7. ^ ^{A b c} Ron Friedman: Jerusalem presents new transport plan. In: Jerusalem Post , May 25, 2010, last accessed May 23, 2012.
8. ↑ This entire problem is only revealed by the fact that the Israeli standard SI 5350 is identical to the “Building and Operating Regulations for Trams” in Germany. Due to this division into “entrepreneur” (concessionaire) and “company” (operator), it is also no longer a “classic” operator model in the narrower sense, which is almost not reflected in the public perception.
9. ↑ Tram only in use in 2011? Israel Magazine, June 28, 2010, last accessed May 22, 2012.
10. ^ Avi Bar-Eli: Veolia pulling out of transit, contracting sectors in Israel. In: Ha'aretz , December 9, 2011, last accessed on May 22, 2012.
11. ^ First tram in Jerusalem. In: Tageblatt Online , August 18, 2011, last accessed on May 22, 2012.
12. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Birgit Frey, Martin Frey: Under the white harp. In: Straßenbahn-Magazin , issue 1/2009, p. 61.
13. ↑ ^{a b c} Melanie Lidmann: 40,000 ride Israel's first light rail in Jerusalem. In: Jerusalem Post , August 20, 2011, last accessed May 21, 2012.
14. ^ ^{A b} Seth Freedman: Israel's occupation, linked by rail. In: guardian.co.uk , November 26, 2009, last accessed May 22, 2012.
15. ↑ Palestinians hope to derail Jerusalem light rail project In: Ha'aretz , January 29, 2010
16. ↑ Amira Hass : Palestinians to Arab states: You can stop Jerusalem light rail. In: Ha'aretz , November 17, 2009.
17. ↑ ^{a b} Ian Volner: A Bridge, Yes, But to Where? In: The Jewish Daily Forward , July 9, 2008, last accessed on May 22, 2012. A current compilation of the projects can be found here (PDF, last accessed on May 25, 2012; 420 kB)
18. ↑ An English translation of the judgment of the Regional Court of Nanterre from May 30, 2012 can be found here ( Memento from May 28, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 542 kB), the judgment of the Administrative Court of Paris from October 28, 2012 here ( Memento from May 28, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 30 kB).
19. ↑ Nir Hasson: CityPass CEO says he backs gender-segregated train cars. In: Ha'aretz , August 24, 2010, last accessed on May 22, 2012.
20. ↑ Reports from APA and AFP, for example in the Supreme Court stopping gender segregation in buses. In: Der Standard , January 6, 2011, last accessed on May 22, 2012.
21. ^ Nir Hasson: Jerusalem light-rail security guards use pepper spray on Palestinian passengers. In: Ha'aretz , October 6, 2011, last accessed on May 22, 2012.
22. ↑ Sal Emergui: Jerusalem inaugura el puente de su nuevo 'rey', Santiago Calatrava. In: elmundo.es , June 25, 2008, last accessed on May 22, 2012 (Spanish)
23. ↑ According to an American journalist, however, local residents who were present booed the mayor and prime minister; residents referred to the bridge as a clothesline , which was unsightly and out of place. See: Ian Volner: A Bridge, Yes, But to Where? In: The Jewish Daily Forward , July 9, 2008, last accessed May 22, 2012.
24. ↑ SI 5350: Construction and operation of Light Rail Transit, reference via http://www.sii.org.il/sip_storage/FILES/6/326.pdf ( Memento of October 18, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)
25. ^ Gemma Pörzgen: Train in Israeli settlements. In: fr-online.de , November 30, 2011, last accessed on May 21, 2012.
26. ↑ ^{a b c} Amiram Barkat: Citypass to complete Jerusalem light rail improvements. In: Jerusalem Post , March 14, 2012, last accessed May 21, 2012.
27. ^ Hans-Christian Rössler: Last stop Damascustor. In: FAZ.NET , July 10, 2011, last accessed on May 22, 2012.
28. ^ Reports on the opening and its problems in: HaRakevet 94 (September 2011), pp. 8-10.
29. ↑ Melanie Lidmann: J'lem faces new hurdles before opening. In: Jerusalem Post , August 15, 2011, last accessed May 21, 2012.
30. ↑ Press release: “For the first two weeks the ride will be free”, City Council of Jerusalem, August 18, 2011. The newspapers themselves even reported “a few months” in advance - for example Melanie Lidmann: Break out the Champagne! J'lem light rail to start. In: Jerusalem Post , August 17, 2011, last accessed May 22, 2012.
31. ^ Amiram Barkat: Analysis: Too few trains, too many passengers. In: Jerusalem Post , August 17, 2011, last accessed May 22, 2012.
32. ↑ The dpa report was also processed by several daily newspapers in Germany, such as Jan-Uwe Ronneburger: What takes a long time. In: sz-online.de , August 20, 2011, also with the same wording Main-Echo: Finally free travel for a controversial system. (both subject to charge), 23 August 2011, p. 8. Identical in: dpa: First tram in Jerusalem. In: Tageblatt Online , August 18, 2011, last accessed on May 22, 2012.
33. ↑ Jerusalem tram is chargeable. In: Israel Magazin , November 8, 2011, last accessed on May 22, 2012.
34. ↑ Miriam Woelke: EGGED - Fares from January 1, 2012. In: Leben in Jerusalem , January 3, 2012, last accessed on May 21, 2012
35. ↑ ^{a b} Oz Rosenberg: Jerusalem commuters up in arms over light rail's bumpy track record. In: Ha'aretz , April 10, 2012, last accessed on May 21, 2012.
36. ↑ Melanie Lidmann: Jerusalem light rail: 13,000 fines in 4 months. In: Jerusalem Post , May 21, 2012.
37. ↑ Melanie Lidmann: Barkat demands Katz fire J'lem light rail operator. In: Jerusalem Post , May 1, 2012, last accessed May 21, 2012.
38. ↑ Nir Hasson: Jerusalem reading to phase in major bus reforms. In: Ha'aretz , January 3, 2012, last accessed on May 22, 2012. On January 13, 2012 alone, 22 bus routes were changed (see an English version here ( Memento from January 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ); PDF ; 1.6 MB).
39. ↑ Melanie Lidmann: Interior Ministry approves J'lem light rail extension. In: Jerusalem Post , December 27, 2011, last accessed May 23, 2012.
40. ↑ CAF-Saphir consortium wins Jerusalem tram project in Israel on railway-technology.com, accessed on August 10, 2019
41. ↑ Jerusalem light rail Green Line tender launched on railjournal.com, accessed on August 10, 2019
42. ↑ Jerusalem Green Line concession awarded on metro-report.com, accessed August 10, 2019
43. ↑ http://www.timesofisrael.com/trains-bikes-and-shoppers-the-quiet-unification-of-jerusalem/
44. ↑ Oz Rosenberg: Stones hurled at Jerusalem light rail, bus; police suspect nationalist motives. In: Ha'aretz , October 11, 2011, last accessed on May 22, 2012.
45. ↑ Miriam Woelke: Tram Jerusalem: "Palestinian stabs soldier". In: Leben in Jerusalem , March 15, 2012, last accessed on May 21, 2012.
46. ↑ In Shuafat, the summer heat and Ramadan are no match for Palestinian rage over local killing , Jerusalem Post of July 3, 2014
47. ^ In Divided Jerusalem, Rail Line for Arabs and Jews Is Among the Fractures , New York Times, July 13, 2014
48. ↑ Jerusalem intifada Could spark Westbank fire , Ha-Aretz from October 23, 2014
49. ↑ Baby killed, 7 hurt in Jerusalem terror attack; terrorist dies of gunshot wounds , Ha-Aretz, October 23, 2014
50. ↑ US State Dept. temporarily bans personnel from using light rail in East Jerusalem , Ha-Aretz on October 24, 2014
51. ^ 1 dead, 3 seriously wounded in Jerusalem terror attack , Ha-Aretz, November 5, 2014
52. ↑ Bennett: Concrete barriers to prevent ramming attacks are 'a prize for terror' , Jerusalem Post, November 6, 2014

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on June 1, 2012 .