Jerusalem braces for gridlock as nine light rail stations shut down for 14 weeks starting May 21, part of a major project linking the Red and Green Lines and aiming to reshape the capital’s transit future — while testing its present.
Beginning on Wednesday, May 21, nine Jerusalem light rail stations will shut down, to allow for infrastructure enabling the existing “Red Line” to connect to the future “Green Line.”
The construction is expected to continue for 14 weeks, and will lead to heavy traffic congestion in the capital.
The project involves track work at two intersections currently used by the Red Line, and is a joint effort involving the Transportation Ministry, Finance Ministry, Jerusalem Municipality, the city’s Master Plan Transportation Team, and Kfir, the operating company. The Green Line will link southern neighborhoods to Mount Scopus University, passing through Givat Ram and the government precinct. It is set to become operational early next year.
As part of the work, nine key stations along the Red Line — from Ammunition Hill to the Central Bus Station — will be suspended. Between the Central Station and Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center, service will operate with only a single light rail car.
Kfir has dubbed the operation “Nordau-Shragai Mission,” named after the intersections where the track work will take place. Dedicated bus lines will replace the non-operational light rail stations, and several existing lines which usually connect to the Yad Sarah and Mount Herzl light rail stops have been extended until the Central Bus Station.
The temporary bus lines are:
- 500 from Givat Hamivtar to the city center
- 501 from Ammunition Hill to the Central Bus Station, via Jaffa and Agrippas
- 502 from the Central Bus Station to the municipal offices near the Old City, via Jaffa, Agron, and Agrippas
- 503 from Givat Hamivtar to the municipal offices near the Old City
All but the 503 run through Hanevi’im Street.
