The lines M3 (Herzliya to Bat Yam) and the southern part of M1 (Rishon LeZion) have been approved by the Ministerial Committee on Internal Affairs. In the coming months, the government is expected to approve another section.
The Ministerial Committee for Internal Affairs Services and Planning, headed by the Minister of the Interior, Ayelet Shaked, today (Sunday) approved two lines from the Gush Dan metro program. In addition, the committee announced 10 preferred housing complexes to be promoted in the committee for preferred housing complexes.
The committee discussed and approved national plans, including the approval of the M3 metro lines from Herzliya through the Ono Valley to Bat Yam, and the southern part of the M1 metro line (Rishon LeZion). To approve another section, but due to the political situation it is not clear when and whether the Metro Law will be promoted to final legislation.
145 km long railway lines
At the end of 2021, the National Infrastructure Committee submitted to the government for approval the plans for the southern part of the M1 line – the longest in the Gush Dan metro project, which is about 45 km long and includes 31 stations (Holon, Rishon Lezion, Ness Ziona, Rehovot, Beer Yaakov , Ramla and Lod).
The line has been updated to address significant centers in the metropolis – Assaf Harofeh Hospital, Kaplan Hospital and the Weizmann Institute, the employment areas – Ben Zvi Business Center, Rehovot Science Park, Bilu Junction, and large-scale urban renewal programs including Tel Giborim, Yoseftal Axis, Neighborhood Jesse Cohen in Holon, Kfar Gvirol in Rehovot, the center of Rishon Lezion, the Giora neighborhood in Ramla, the city center, the Old City and northern Lod.
In April 2021, the committee recommended approving the M3 line, which is 40 km long and includes 25 stations. The line begins in Herzliya, passes through Ramat Hasharon, Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva, Givat Shmuel, Kiryat Ono, Ramat Gan, Or Yehuda, Azor, Holon and ends in Bat Yam. The line also includes a branch to Ben Gurion Airport from the planned southern employment area in Or Yehuda.
The metro line system will connect the entire metropolitan area of Tel Aviv, Lod, Ramla and Rehovot in the south to Raanana and Kfar Saba in the north, and Petah Tikva in the east. The lines will provide an additional and main solution for easing congestion on the roads and increasing investment in public transportation and shortening travel distances to employment centers in the metropolis.
The metro project is planned in parallel with work on the light rail project in Gush Dan (the red line, the purple line and the green line). Unlike the light rail, the three metro lines will pass underground, move at a higher speed and be able to transport thousands more people. The metro project consists of three subway lines with a total length of 145 km that will pass through 109 stations in 24 local authorities in the center of the country.
The estimated cost of the project is NIS 150 billion, and government ministries promise that the initial network of the metro will start operating between 2030 and 2032.