The new line, which is 10 km long, joins the already approved Red, Green, and Blue light rail lines. The Purple Line will cross the other light rail lines, thereby significantly increasing the light rail network and enabling many connections between starting points and destinations in the city. The Purple Line is expected to start operating in 2031.
By Doron Broitman, Nadlan Center
The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee, headed by Shira Talmi Babai, decided at its meeting this morning (Sunday) to approve the plan for constructing the Purple Line of the Jerusalem Light Rail. The budget for the construction of the Purple Line was approved as part of the NIS 14 billion Blue Line Light Rail project. Construction work is expected to begin at the end of the year and peak in 2025, and the line is expected to start operating in 2031. The new line joins the approved lines – the Red Line from Mount Herzl to Pisgat Ze’ev, the Green Line from Gila to Mount Scopus, and the Blue Line from Malha to Ramot.
The Purple Line route is about 10 km long, of which about 6 km has already been approved in previous plans, and now an additional 4 km has been approved to complement the entire route. An east-west line with the previous lines will enable an east-west line from Hadassah Medical Center to the Talpiot neighborhood.
The Purple Line is planned to pass through the neighborhoods of Kiryat HaYovel, Malha, Pat, and Katamonim (along Tahun, Golomb, and Kulitz Streets, the Tunnel under the Malha neighborhood, Hapoel Sports Association, Pat, Yehuda Hanasi, and Ben Zakai). It will cross the other light rail lines—red, green, and blue. This will significantly increase the light rail network and enable many connections between starting points and destinations in the city.
The committee noted in its decision that the light rail system in Jerusalem makes a significant contribution to the city, among other factors, by reducing road congestion (reducing air pollution and travel times) and bringing distant neighborhoods closer to employment and entertainment centers while improving quality of life, public health, social resilience, and equal opportunities.
The committee also noted that the Purple Line significantly contributes as it connects the Kiryat HaYovel and Katamonim neighborhoods to the light rail network. These Jerusalem neighborhoods are undergoing urban renewal processes, and the line construction will significantly upgrade the quality of public space in them. In addition, a mass transit system enables densification of the city and efficient use of the land, and its influence extends beyond the routes through which it passes.
Shira Talmi Babai, Chairman of the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee: “Jerusalem leads and is ahead of the other cities in everything related to the development of public transportation through a mass transit system and the encouragement of walking. Jerusalem has enjoyed an active light rail line for about a decade, and the city has already approved several light rail lines in the advanced stages of construction. The light rail network will connect the city’s renewed neighborhoods to employment centers.”
Jerusalem District Planner at the Planning Authority, Arch. Dan Keinan: “The route chosen for the Purple Line crossing is the route that best serves the neighborhoods undergoing urban renewal processes. In this way, the light rail route expresses the policy of the District Committee to strengthen the city’s oldest neighborhoods and support pinui-binui processes and the reconstruction of Jerusalem’s housing complexes.”
