The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) embarked on a bid to finalize the high-speed railway and add another line connecting Tel Aviv to Western Occupied Jerusalem.
The railway line will involve digging tunnels for two kilometers at a depth of 80 meters.
Scheduled to be fully operational by 2018 the railway will be vital in lowering journey times between Tel Aviv and Occupied Jerusalem.
At a cost of $1.8 billion the high speed link allegedly aims to lower the journey time by rail and to reduce the road traffic congestion on this route
The Israeli Minister of Transportation and Road Safety Yisrael Katz has instructed the extension of the high-speed railway line from Tel Aviv to Occupied Jerusalem so that it extends into the Old City near the Western Wall. As part of the project an underground stop will be built in the Western Wall area.
The high-speed railway project costs are estimated to be about NIS 7 billion. It includes the laying of 56 kilometers of tracks which go from Tel Aviv through Ben Gurion Airport and the illegal Modi’in settlement and end in Occupied Jerusalem. Trips from Tel Aviv to Occupied Jerusalem are expected to take just 28 minutes.
Work on the line is expected to conclude by the end of 2017 with its first voyages planned for Passover 2018. Three trains are expected to launch between Tel Aviv and Occupied Jerusalem each hour during peak times of day with a total of four million trips per year.
Observers said the project makes part of an Israeli Judaization scheme aimed at smoothing and boosting Israelis’ presence in the holy occupied city of Jerusalem and wiping out the typically Islamic character of the city.
