⚠ This coming Sunday, February 9th, commercial operations of the Jerusalem light rail will be suspended for about 5 days in order to upgrade systems and conduct test runs for the new extended route.

Cfir Light rail are in the last stages of preparation for the opening the Red Line extensions to Ein Kerem and Neve Yaakov, on Friday February 14th. You can see the extended routes on the maps above.

There will be alternative bus routes added, you can see the details here: https://www.jerusalem.muni.il/en

~ There will be trains running on the tracks during the service shutdown, but these will only be test runs and will not carry the public. They will travel along the entire line - including the extensions to Hadassah Ein Kerem in the southwest of the city and Neve Yaakov in northern Jerusalem.

~ During the service shutdown, an alternative bus service will be operated in Jerusalem along several different routes following the train route. For example, there will be more buses running on route 76, between Mount Herzl and the Central Bus Station.

~ In the northern part of the city, 3 different alternatives will be provided for passengers from Givat Hamivtar to the Central Bus Station. 

~ The biggest problem is expected to be in the Machane Yehuda Market area and the city center - areas where the busiest light rail stations are, and also those that are not accessible to private vehicles and buses.

~ During the shutdown, stewards will be stationed at the various train stations and at central hubs in the city to direct passengers to alternative routes. 

~ It should be noted that in recent weeks, the Ministry of Transportation, the Jerusalem Municipality, and the Transportation Master Plan team have been working to find solutions and alternatives to the shutdown of the service, but these have not yet been released to the media. The Transport Ministry and Jerusalem Iriyah has not yet made any announcement to public about the shutdown or alternative bus routes. 

The shutdown will affect approximately 170,000 passengers a day. 

Expect increased congestion on the roads due to the significant increase in buses on the roads, and also because more passengers will use their private vehicles next week.

Labour Dispute:
Train drivers are expressing their concerns that the travel time on the extended line will be almost an hour and a half each way, which will shorten their break time and pose a real safety risk to train passengers. The Histadrut union has declared a 'labor dispute' until they reach an agreement with the Cfir company, which operates the light rail in the capital, but they note that this is not yet a strike.

You can check for updates on the Cfir website: https://www.cfir.co.il/en/ and their social media.
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