Special video: How was an 11-kilometer tunnel dug on the way to Jerusalem?

August 27, 2014   

Israel Railways completed the excavation of the longest tunnel in Israel on Tuesday, as part of the project to build a high-speed railway line from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The line is scheduled to be operational in 2017. The work to dig the tunnel, which stretches 11.6 kilometers underground, was completed after 22 months, at the end of which the Yatla River area was connected to Mevaseret Zion. When the line is completed, two parallel tunnels are expected to be built, including a double track 57 kilometers long, which will pass through Ben Gurion Airport and Modi'in and end at the 'Ha'uma' station, between the central bus station and the Ha'uma buildings at the entrance to Jerusalem. עם השלמת התוואי כולו, יעמוד זמן הנסיעה בקו על 28 דקות בלבד, ובהנהלת הרכבת מקווים כי הקו יפעל לפחות ארבע פעמים בשעה לכל כיוון. בחודשים הקרובים צפויות להתחיל העבודות לסלילת המנהרה המקבילה, כשעלותו הכוללת של הפרויקט נאמדת בכ-7 מיליארד שקלים.