Red Line (Tel Aviv Light Rail)
The Red Line is the first section of a light rail system in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, known as the Tel Aviv Light Rail. The line runs from Bat Yam in the south to Petah Tikva in the northeast with a significant portion of it underground. The total cost of the red line is estimated at NIS 11 billion or, approximately US$3 billion. Construction began in 2011, with the testing phase of the line beginning only a decade later, in 2021. After numerous delays concerning the security and safety of the line, it eventually opened on August 18, 2023 with a 100,000+ daily ridership over just 8 hours of operation.
The first train of the red line
Eastern end of the Red Line tunnel at the depot in Petah Tikva
A reduced-size prototype of a Tel Aviv LRT trainset
Tel Aviv LRT train interior
The Tel Aviv Light Rail, Arabic: قطار تل أبيب الخفيف, Romanized: Qītar Tall ʾAbīb Al-khāfifa also known as Dankal is a mass transit system for Gush Dan, the Tel Aviv metropolitan area in central Israel. The system will include different modes of mass transit, including rapid transit (metro), light rail transit (LRT), and bus rapid transit (BRT). Overseen by NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System Ltd., a government agency, the project will complement the intercity and suburban rail network operated by Israel Railways.
Tel Aviv Light Rail-branded Mock-up trainset of the red line standing outside the light rail depot
Tel Aviv Light rail, construction site on Yehuda Halevi Street
Image: Tel Aviv light rail test ride 1
Image: Tel Aviv light rail test ride 3