Construction underway on second Tel Aviv light rail line
The line will run entirely overground and will connect to the Red Line, currently under construction, and the Green Line, where work is due to start next month.
By EYTAN HALONUpdated: DECEMBER 27, 2018 03:03An illustration of the Tel Aviv light rail Purple Line.(photo credit: NTA)
Construction work commenced on Tuesday on the Tel Aviv Light Rail's Purple Line, which will connect the eastern regions of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area to the city center.The initial infrastructure work, carried out by NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System Ltd., the state company responsible for the design and construction of the light rail, will take place on Arlosoroff St. between Namir St. and Weizmann St.The 29-km. Purple Line, expected to take six years to build, will shuttle passengers from Yehud-Monosson to central Tel Aviv, via Sheba Medical Center, the Aluf Sadeh interchange and the neighborhood of Hatikva.The line will run entirely above ground and will connect to the Red Line currently under construction, and the Green Line, where work is due to start next month. The Red Line is due to be completed in 2021, and the entire network is expected to carry up to 500,000 passengers every day once complete.“NTA is working day and night to advance the network of lines that will serve hundreds of thousands of residents, and will spare them from traffic jams and parking problems,” said CEO Yehuda Bar-Or.“The Red Line is progressing well according to schedule, and soon the Purple Line and Green Line will join it, transforming the public transportation map in the Tel Aviv metropolis.”Construction work on the Purple Line will be carried out in two stages. Water, electricity and communications infrastructure must first be relocated to clear the way for the railway. In the second stage, railway infrastructure and tracks will be installed.During 2019, construction work will take place along the length of Tel Aviv’s Arlosoroff St. and Ben-Yehuda St., and will later continue to Allenby St., southern Tel Aviv, Aluf Sadeh Interchange and the eastern branches of the line.“After 100 years of vision and 60 years of unfulfilled promises, I have initiated construction of the light rail in the Gush Dan area,” Transportation Minister Israel Katz said.“Work on the first line is progressing as planned, and now the next stage of the project is underway, which will ensure an advanced mass transportation network in Tel Aviv and the Gush Dan area, and will enable private cars to be left at home at rush hour, as is the case elsewhere in the world.”
