This coming Monday, February 17, the National Infrastructure Committee will discuss the plan to extend the Tel-Aviv-Jerusalem train route all the way to the Western Wall. The plan was advanced by former Transportation Minister Israel Katz, who even declared that \u201cTrump Station\u201d will be built adjacent to the Western Wall plaza. The plan is part of the Ministry of Transport\u2019s strategic plan for 2040.<\/p>\n
The Train\u2019s Route<\/strong><\/p>\n Last June, Ministry of Transport representatives presented a plan to extend the train\u2019s route from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem\u2019s city center, the Khan Theatre, and underneath the Hinnom Valley, arriving at the Western Wall. The train was presented as a solution for public transport users arriving from outside Jerusalem who are interested in visiting the Western Wall. According to the ministry officials, other transport options (the cable car and light rail) offer solutions to those arriving to the Old City basin from within Jerusalem.<\/p>\n The plan to extend the train to the Western Wall faced two primary obstacles:<\/p>\n Within the framework of committee members\u2019 internal discussions, several additional reservations arose:<\/p>\n Ultimately, the committee approved the plan to extend the train\u2019s route to the city center and the Khan Theatre, but rejected the request to extend the line via an underground route beneath the Hinnom Valley through to the Western Wall, with a majority of 8 against 1. The sole supporter in favor of the full route extending to the Western Wall, was a representative of the Ministry of Transport.<\/p>\n The Plan\u2019s Return to the Committee<\/strong><\/p>\n Although it was rejected in June, the plan to extend the line through to the Western Wall will return to the National Infrastructure Committee\u2019s agenda next week. Based on the information we have, settler organizations in the Old City basin placed pressure to advance the route. The light rail is also being advanced. \u00a0Recently a budget of 10 million shekels was approved for the plan to extend the light rail\u2019s route to the Western Wall.<\/p>\n The current Minister of Transportation Bezalel Smotrich, a representative of the religious right-wing, recently expressed his support for the cable car plan to the Western Wall, but in tandem he is advancing the train to the Western Wall. Smotrich recently asserted that: \u201cWe are promoting a rail solution, but it takes time. The cable car at hand will transport 3000 people an hour, which is certainly an efficient response.\u201d The advancement of the rail plan, along with Smotrich\u2019s statement, corroborate the information we have that the cable car is merely a temporary solution until a train is in operation.<\/p>\n In the absence of a comprehensive single plan for the area under one body, the settlers are able to efficiently exert political pressure and advance initiatives that serve their cause. As a result, the Western Wall and Old City basin are granted diverse transportation solutions that are more expensive and innovative than those at other sites which are clearly more obviously in need of such solutions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This coming Monday, February 17, the National Infrastructure Committee will discuss the plan to extend the Tel-Aviv-Jerusalem train route all the way to the Western Wall. The plan was advanced by former Transportation Minister Israel Katz, who even declared that \u201cTrump Station\u201d will be built adjacent to the Western Wall plaza. The plan is part […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"class_list":["post-1603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases","tag-city-of-david","tag-givati-parking-lot","tag-hagihon-spring","tag-hinnom-valley","tag-historic-basin","tag-jerusalem-walls-national-park","tag-kedem-compound","tag-national-parks","tag-settlers","tag-silwan","tag-western-wall-heritage-foundation","tag-western-wall-plaza"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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