ISRAEL: Tel Aviv urban transport project promoter NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit Systems has selected a consortium of the CAF Group and construction firm Shapir as preferred bidder to design, build and finance the light rail Purple Line and provide 25 years of maintenance.
The 27 km line with 45 stops is scheduled to open in 2027. It will start at the 2000 Complex bus station next to the ISR main line station at Arolozorov, and run west and south to HaHagana station from where it will run east, splitting into a northern branch serving the Bar Ilan University area and a southern branch to Yehud-Monoson and HaTayyasim.
CAF’s share of the €1·015bn contract announced on January 31 is worth more than €525m. This includes the supply of a fleet of 98 five-section Urbos low-floor trams around 35 m long, with an option for a further 32 trams, as well as the signalling, power and communications and systems integration. CAF will also have a 50% stake in the company formed to manage maintenance.
CAF and Shapir already manage the Jerusalem light rail network under a 15-year concession which began in 2021 and includes the construction of extensions.
