ISRAEL: The Ministry of Transport & Road Safety and project promoter Trans Israel have selected the Group Three consortium of Alstom, Electra and Minrav for a PPP contract to finance, design and construct the railway systems and rolling stock for the Nofit Light Rail line and operate it for 25 years.
The 41 km inter-urban tram-train style line will run from Haifa to Nof HaGalil and Nazareth, with 20 stations including park-and-ride sites. Services will run every 4 min at peak times, with speeds up to 100 km/h. Ridership is estimated at about 100 000 passengers/day.
The contract announced on February 20 covers the track, signalling, communications, 1·5 kV DC electrification, ticketing and passenger information systems, the stations, depot and control centre, and about 30 LRVs. It also includes 25 years of operation and maintenance.
The other bidders were Shapir (Israel) with CAF (Spain); Comsa (Spain) with Dan Bus and Denya Cebus (Israel); and Shikun & Binui with Egged (Israel).
The civil works contracts were awarded in 2020 through a separate procurement process.
Main works are expected to start next year and take four years.
The line is being developed to support a predicted increase in the population of the region; the number of people in the Nazareth area is expected to grow by 40% by 2040, and Shfaram and Kiryat Ata by 70%, with an expected 60% increase in employment.
The project ‘is great news for residents of the north, signalling renewal and growth, of connecting the periphery to the centre, of freedom of movement and choice in employment’, said Minister of Transport & Road Safety Miri Regev.
Trans-Israel CEO Dan Shenbach said ‘the project is of tremendous importance to the economic resilience of the state of Israel. It will serve as a significant growth engine for the economy in general, and the north in particular.’
