According to Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, the new Jerusalem-Tel Aviv express train, which will cut travel time down to 28 minutes, is expected to be up and running before Pesach.

Traveling at 160 KPH (100 MPH), the express train during the first phase of service will travel from the Jerusalem Central Bus station the Haganah Station in Tel Aviv. There will be two trains hourly in each direction. A few months following, phase two will go into effect, with trains operating three times an hour.

The new Jerusalem train station includes a light rail stop, taxi stand, 1,200 parking spots, as well as being 80 meters under the ground, making it a suitable to provide safety against nuclear attack.

Facilitating passage through the station, there are three express elevators capable of carrying 35 people each, brining commuters to the station in a few seconds. There are also restrooms, ticket booths and more and the Transportation Ministry information sheet indicates some 4,000 commuters can be in the station simultaneously.

The route of the train will take it through Ben-Gurion Airport, Modi’in and Shar HaGai traveling to the capital. The train is slated to make four million trips in its first year of operations at a cost of NIS 7 billion.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)