The Tel Aviv Metropolitan light rail system underwent its first test following six years of work on early Thursday morning, when two trains made their way from Petah Tikva to Bat Yam via Jaffa’s Jerusalem Boulevard.
The 24-kilometer journey was the first time that trains operated on the NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System’s Red Line, which will be one of four operating in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa metropolitan area starting in 2023.
According to the NTA, the Red Line “will be the ‘backbone’ of the mass transit system, and will pass through the most congested regions of the metropolitan area, serving the greatest number of passengers when compared with future lines to be constructed in the framework of NTA’s transit vision.” Trains on the line, which will be partially underground, are slated to run approximately every three minutes.
Underground economy? Tel Aviv subway system could give GDP a $32 billion boost
Graffiti revolution: The night Tel Aviv’s tunnels were occupied
Train wreck: How Tel Aviv’s new transport system is going off the rails
“We made history today, we practically traveled from Petah Tikva to Bat Yam. For the first time, we opened the line from side to side with a perfect system in terms of electricity, carriages and tracks,” NTA CEO Haim Glick said in a statement. “We still have a lot of systems coordination work ahead. But this is a historic day.”
Further tests are expected in the coming weeks.
English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish