Jerusalem  
LRT subway under construction

The first 13.8 km line between Pisgat Ze'ev and Yad Vashem is expected to be fully operational in 2005. Eight lines are planned by 2020. Tunneling allegedly began in March 2001, but recent information does not support this. Information on a planned LRT for the old city can be found here.

Details remain to be ironed out, such as, will local terrorists' suicide belts be considered carry-on? Once the entire system is built, will it be divided into the Old Subway and the New Subway? And, if one gets on a train before sundown Friday night, is it permitted to step off the train before sundown Saturday night?

There are also legitimate concerns about safety. Already, one prospective line through an Arab town has been cancelled due to a rash of bus bombings by people from that area. There is also the question of, if a Palestinian state were formed and the subway went through that area, should those living there benefit from the line?

According to the PLO, "By using a the light rail system to integrate Occupied East Jerusalem into West Jerusalem, Israel is furthering its stranglehold over the entire city". It would force those in the Eastern part of the city to suffer the inconvenience of using the light metro, bearing it's intense heat, sticky grime and foul odors, rather than riding in the comfort and convenience of air conditioned buses, some of which prefer not to serve their neighborhoods since they have a tendency to blow up "real good" after going through them. In addition, land was seized from 15 families to put up a parking lot and a station. It is unknown how many camels the families received in this exercise of eminent domain.

Jerusalem Development Authority light rail home page
New official home page
Unofficial Home Page
Jerusalem Post article about the now approved LRT
World Tunneling's blurb on the Jerusalem LRT
Treasury considers light rail funding guarantees Jerusalem Post, 10/16/98
Official home page
Bloomfield Science Museum - Jerusalem's LRT project