The Haifa–Nazareth Light Rail, known officially as Nofit (), is a

tram-train A tram-train or dual-system tram is a type of light rail vehicle that both meets the standards of a light rail system, and also national mainline standards. Tramcars are adapted to be capable of running on streets like an urban tramway but a ...

system under construction in northern Israel, going from

HaMifrats Central railway station HaMifratz Central railway station (, ''Taḥanat HaRakevet Merkazit HaMifratz'', lit. '' aifaBay Central railway station'') is an Israel Railways, Israeli railway passenger station in Haifa, Israel co-located with the Haifa Bay central bus stat ...

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

. The system is slated to open in 2028 and have a daily ridership of 100,000 passengers.

History

The initial proposal and planning for the line were made as early as 2007. Plans were submitted by Haifa's development company Yefe Nof and approved by the National Planning Committee in February 2017. Further planning and construction will be managed by the Cross–Israel Highway company. It is to be constructed in two stages. The first stage involves civil engineering works to build the necessary infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and parking facilities, while the second stage, which will be done under a public-private partnership, will involve the installation of railway infrastructure, track laying, and the procurement of rolling stock. Construction works on the line began in January 2021. Two tenders have been published for the construction of tunnels and bridges. 6 companies have passed the pre-qualification stage for the tender to build and operate the line.

Route

The inter-city route will start at the

in Haifa, continue through northern Kiryat Ata and go along Highway 79 from Somekh Interchange to the end of the highway in Reineh. It will end on Ma'aleh Yitzhak Street in

Nof HaGalil Nof HaGalil is a city in the Northern District of Israel with a population of . Nof HaGalil was founded in 1957 as Nazareth Illit (; ), it was planned as a Jewish town overlooking the city of Nazareth and the Jezreel Valley.Shefa-'Amr Shefa-Amr or Shefar'am (; ) is an Arab city in the Northern District of Israel. In it had a population of with a Sunni Muslim majority and large Christian Arab and Druze minorities. Etymology Palmer writes that the name meant: "The margin ...

, the Yiftachel Interchange, the northern entrance of Nazareth, and an area adjacent to Reineh and

Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...

. Two municipal stations will be built, one in Nof HaGalil and the other in Nazareth.

Development along the route

Up to nine

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...

facilities will be built along the route.

Possible expansions

An expansion to the Krayot has been proposed, going along Highway 22, to serve the neighbourhoods constructed in the 2010s in

Kiryat Bialik Kiryat Bialik (, also Qiryat Bialik) is a city in the Haifa District in Israel. The city was established on July 18, 1934, during the Fifth Aliyah. It is one of the five Krayot suburbs to the north of Haifa. In it had a population of . The city ...

Specifications

The train will travel at up to on the inter-city section, and up to on the urban section. There will be 20 stations, ten inter-city and nine urban. The system's depot will be in Kiryat Ata.Haifa-Nazareth Light Rail Transit, Israel
/ref> The line is expected to serve 12,000 daily passengers when it opens. The cost of construction is expected to be ILS 6.4 billion. The length of the line will be 41km.

References

External links

Project description at the Cross Israel Company

Description at the Yefe Nof website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haifa-Nazareth Light Rail Rail transport in Israel Proposed railway lines in Israel