The Ministry of Interior District Planning Board has approved the next phase of the Jerusalem light rail, to extend the line to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. This means the train service will begin in N’vei Yaakov in the northern capital and continue to Hadassah Hospital, making the length of the line 22.5 kilometers (14 miles).

Today, the train line is about half the planned length, beginning in Pisgat Ze’ev in the northern capital and continuing to Mount Herzl. The new section approved will run from Mount Herzl along Bayit Vegan, Kiryas Yovel, Kiryas Menachem, Moshav Ora, Hadassah Medical School and Hadassah Hospital.

The experts predict the number of daily riders with the addition from N’vei Yaakov to Ein Kerem will double, reaching 250,000 daily. Ministry of Transportation officials report the budget for the extension of the line is 4 billion NIS.

Once the planning phase is complete, officials hope to set deadlines in place for completion of the work.

Hadassah reports about 30,000 visitors enter the hospital complex daily in addition to hospital staff. The hospital currently has 3,000 parking spaces, some quite far from the building, resulting in the need for ongoing shuttle buses. Officials feel that once the train runs to the hospital complex, it is likely to be the quickest and most efficient way of arriving at the complex. For one thing, it will alleviate the need for one to look for a parking space in addition to paying for parking.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)