Only today did Transportation Minister Miri Regev boast that she succeeded in preventing budget cuts in the public transportation reform to reduce public transportation in the periphery, avoided damage to the "Connecting Israel" railway project, and secured budgets for fixing roads and rehabilitating transportation infrastructure in the Gaza envelope. Meanwhile, the light rail project from Haifa to Nazareth will continue, despite the Treasury's attempt to turn it into a Metronit (bus rapid transit) and save NIS 2 billion.
But beneath the surface, another dramatic delay is unfolding in the Ministry's flagship project: the metro. In a lecture before students at the Technion, NTA CEO Haim Glick stated that the first stage of the metro will start operating in 2040. This is an additional delay, of six years, compared to the current official deadline of 2034. This stage includes operation between regions from the south to Tel Aviv, the first station in Rishon LeZion, Ben Gurion Airport, and Kiryat Ono.
NTA is the planner and will be responsible for implementing the project, and Glick revealed that its second stage will only start operating in 2050, a delay of 13 years from the current set date. This stage includes the full operation of the M1 line of the metro, to Rehovot, Ramla, and Lod in southern Dan District, to Herzliya, Ra'anana, and Hod Hasharon, including a direct connection between Kiryat Ono and Ramat HaHayal, Ramat Hasharon, and the Glilot.
Glick did not explain the reason for the postponement, which is not surprising in light of the ongoing delay in approving the Metro Law and the M1 line. He said that the completion of the planning stage will be postponed to the beginning of 2025, with a delay of a quarter due to the war.
These are not the only bad news that Glick has received. After the Red Line of the light rail was opened only in August last year, with a delay of almost two years, the next lines will also not be opened on time. The Purple Line, from Yehud-Monoson, Or Yehuda and Giv'at Shmuel to central Tel Aviv, will only open in March 2028, and the Green Line from Holon and Rishon LeZion to Herzliya only a year later, in March 2029. NTA still promises on its website that the lines will open in 2028 and 2027, respectively.
NTA stated that "in recent days, the three international teams who are supposed to manage the construction of the lines have started working, conducting a detailed examination of the implementation and timetable estimates. So far, the alignment and statutory plans have been approved, and they are now moving to the detailed planning and execution stage, at the end of which more precise timetables will be determined than the initial estimates".