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NEWS
Modi'in-Tel Aviv Train Line Set to Start Running
By S. Fried
Israel Railways is scheduled to open its Modi'in Line on Motzei Shabbos parshas Ki Sovo. The first train will depart from the station on the edge of the city at 9:22 p.m., destined for Tel Aviv.
The opening of the Modi'in station is part of the project to lay the Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion Airport-Modi'in line. Construction got underway on the NIS-1.5 billion ($360 million) project in 2003. In the second phase, slated for the beginning of 2008, the Modi'in Central station will open in the center of the city. Situated 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the station currently set to open, the second station is in advanced stages of construction.
Travel time on the Modi'in-Tel Aviv line is 20 minutes, including the airport stop. Train service will be available from 5:30 am to 11:15 p.m., with two trains running in each direction during peak times and a total of 58 departures per day.
According to Israel Railways estimates, 1 million passengers are expected to ride the line in 2008 and 1.2 million — 4,000 per day — in 2009. The one-way fare is NIS 12.50 ($3). The line is expected to benefit the chareidi residents of Modi'in Illit.
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