An agreement was signed in the Prime Minister's Office on
Sunday to raise NIS 1.9 billion for construction of the
initial phase of Jerusalem's light rail rapid transit
system.
This marks the point of no return. Up until now, all of the
infrastructure projects were necessary and desirable for
Yerushalayim regardless of whether the light rail system
would go ahead. They improved traffic flow and upgraded aging
water, sewer and power lines. This agreement means that work
will begin on the laying of rails, perhaps as early as the
coming December.
The initial phase of the project was announced in 2000, but
it has since suffered many delays. The goal is to construct
Israel's first intra-city rail rapid transit system. Now the
final financing agreement has been signed for the first of
eight planned lines and it is expected to be operational by
the end of 2008. All government offices involved, including
the Finance Ministry and the city of Yerushalayim, promised
that they would do their best to shorten any government
approval procedures that are still necessary.
At the ceremony, officials spoke about the improvements they
expect to the appearance of the city, as a result of the
infrastructure improvements and with the opening of the new
line.
The line will run 13.8 km. It will stretch from East
Jerusalem to the edge of the Old City through the city center
and head west past the entrance of the city. There it will
connect with a high-speed train to Tel Aviv that is expected
to be completed in 2009. A fast bus line will also be built
to link to the light-rail system.
"In 2008, Jerusalem will be turned into a metropolis with one
of the most advanced transportation systems in the world,"
Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky told a news conference.
By 2020, the city hopes to have eight above-ground lines
stretching 50 km and with 75 stations.
The total cost of the initial stage is NIS 3.3 billion. The
Israeli government is contributing NIS 1.3 billion with the
remaining NIS 2 billion to be raised by the winning
consortium, known as CityPass.
The consortium includes France's Alstom, Veolia
Environnement's Connex unit, Israel's Polar Investments,
Harel Insurance and the local building firm Ashtrom.
The group's share of the project will partly be funded
through loans from Israel's two top banks, Hapoalim and
Leumi.
"The project is now in the hands of the private sector," said
Alex Langer, deputy director-general of the Transport
Ministry and head of the Jerusalem Public Transportation
Authority.
Under the BOT (Build, Operate, Transfer) scheme, CityPass
will operate the train system for 28 years before it
transfers it back to the government.
Alstom said it will be building and providing 46 train cars,
with each train 32 meters long.
Alstom plans to also bid on the larger intra-city underground
project proposed for Tel Aviv as well as a number of
modernization deals with Israel Railways.
